A Look Inside the S4 Capital Fellowship From Our 2022 Class

As graduates from Morehouse and Spelman College, we are excited to extend the application to the next class of Fellows. For 2023, we aim to recruit up to five new Fellows from HBCUs nationwide.

Coming from various professional backgrounds, we each joined the Fellowship Program with the shared goal of becoming industry leaders. As we now approach the end of our first year, we’re extremely excited to share our experiences and advice with potential applicants in the video below.

From the moment you begin the application process for the S4 Capital Fellowship, you’ll be challenged to reflect on your professional experience and your ambitions. This process isn’t just about our team getting to know you—it’s also about taking the time to learn about us, and to get a glimpse of what the S4 Fellowship is truly about.

Hear directly from us above as we share what our first year was like—and find more details about the program itself below. Eager to kick off your application? You can start here. We can’t wait to meet a new cohort of Fellows in 2023!

• Justin Lawrence - Morehouse College ‘20, Atlanta, GA
• Robert Rucker - Morehouse College ‘20, Los Angeles, CA 
• Jasmine Vanhorn - Spelman College ‘20, Atlanta GA
• Aaron Parrish-Dean  - Morehouse College ‘20, Atlanta, GA
• Ananda Palmore - Spelman College ‘20, Atlanta, GA

About the S4 Fellowship Program. 

The S4 Fellowship was conceived to give college graduates embarking in their careers a strong start in the advertising and digital marketing industry. As we were preparing to launch the application process for the inaugural class of fellows, the tragic events of June 2020 pointed a spotlight on racial injustices and the need for action. So we pivoted our approach to take steps in addressing the imbalance in employment and future opportunities for underrepresented groups. Our focus on inviting graduates from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to apply for the fellowship was a first, small step. Our hope is that the S4 fellows will serve as role models for young people in the field, and inspire the next generation of talent. 

The S4 Fellowship is a paid, four-year immersive accelerator program, organized around two, two-year rotations: one within our content practice, and another within our data practice, both based primarily in the US. We offer opportunities to work internationally (as travel allows), as well as apprenticeship with one of our eight global leaders. Fellows also have the opportunity to work with a client on a live assignment.

Fellows work on the essential practicalities of digital advertising and marketing and learn in-depth how the industry and brands are adapting to the continually changing digital landscape, gaining a fundamental understanding of everything we do—firsthand. This includes how data and analytics inform better content, how we use programmatic to plan and buy advertising for our clients and how technology is applied to the outcome—all for clients in technology, FMCG, pharmaceutical, financial services, manufacturing and many more areas as part of a planned curriculum for the fellows’ career development.

Our company is evolving fast, and we expect our fellows to do the same. The S4 Fellowship provides a secure platform and scope to grow. Each role and responsibility is designed so fellows can contribute directly to the company’s success, which is contingent on all of our individual successes. We’re in this together and will learn from each other.