Tyla Abercrumbie
Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alum Tyla Abercrumbie ’98, star of the Showtime series The Chi and author of the award-winning play Relentless, will be the keynote speaker at CODE: Cultural Opportunities and Diversity Expo, hosted by the Columbia College Chicago Career Center on Tuesday, April 11, from 11 AM to 2 PM at the Columbia College Chicago Student Center, located at 754 S. Wabash in Chicago’s South Loop. The event is free. Students can register for the event by going to https://app.joinhandshake.com/edu/events/1268836. Columbia College alums can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/code-cultural-opportunities-and-diversity-expo-tickets-591706850117.
Aimed at students and alumni of Columbia College Chicago, CODE highlights employers and organizations that offer jobs, internships, and programs intended for undergraduate and graduate students or alums. It’s a chance for attendees to learn about organizations that are committed to providing opportunities and resources designed to recruit, support, and promote diverse talent.
The event begins with a Career Fair (11 AM-12:30 PM). with participation by 30 expected employers such as Live Nation, the Chicago Cubs, City Year, Asian Pop-Up Cinema, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Riot Fest, Build Chicago and more. There will also be an Expo in tandem with the Career Fair, featuring other organizations that can provide resources for attendees.
Lunch (12:30-2 PM) will feature a keynote address by Columbia College Theatre Department alum Tyla Abercrumbie ’98, star of the Showtime series The Chi. Abercrumbie’s speech will be followed by a roundtable discussion, where Columbia College alums will talk about their career paths and answer industry questions during a leadership and mentoring session. As reported previously in this blog, Abercrumbie – a playwright and director as well as an actor – won the 2022 Joseph Jefferson Award, Chicago’s top theatre award, for her play Relentless. She also won the 2022 Lorraine Hansberry Award for Writing of a Play for Relentless as part of the 28th Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards.
