Rattlers on the Rise: Third Time’s the Charm for FAMU Student Faith Paul
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For Florida A&M University student Faith Paul, hearing “no” has never meant the end of the road. Instead, she learned to interpret rejection as “not right now.”
That mindset recently paid off for the fourth-year business administration student, who spent the summer working with the San Antonio Spurs through the NBA HBCU Fellowship program. The Orlando, Florida, native and marketing student in FAMU’s School of Business and Industry (SBI) applied to the fellowship twice before earning the opportunity on her third try.
“I don’t take no as rejection. I just take it as not right now, and I go ahead and try again,” Paul said. “Third time is the charm.”
Paul initially was not selected during this year’s application process, but the Spurs later reached back out and offered her a position. She became the only HBCU intern working with the organization during her fellowship experience.
FAMU School of Business and Industry student Faith Paul poses at the San Antonio Spurs
Draft Rookie 2026 event during her summer experience as an NBA HBCU Fellow with the
organization. (Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
As a member of the Spurs’ social impact team, Paul helped connect the organization with the San Antonio community through service, outreach and programming. Her experience included participating in a Juneteenth parade, supporting Habitat for Humanity initiatives, assisting with a back-to-school event and contributing ideas for the organization’s Impact Nights.
Working alongside different departments also exposed Paul to the planning behind large-scale community initiatives and helped clarify the kind of career she wants to pursue.
“I’ve always looked at myself as a mind for business, but a heart for people,” Paul said. “It really taught me that I want to go into more of a social impact kind of work in the corporate world.”
Faith Paul is featured in a San Antonio Spurs Sports & Entertainment card highlighting
her work in impact during her NBA HBCU Fellowship experience with the organization.
(Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
Creating Her Own Roadmap
Paul arrived at FAMU without an established roadmap for navigating college.
As a first-generation college student, she said she did not have parents who could point her toward internships, conferences or other professional opportunities. During her first semester, Paul watched classmates pursue experiences she wanted for herself.
By her second semester, she changed her approach.
“I make my own future,” Paul said. “I apply for every opportunity that I see. It doesn’t matter if I don’t meet the qualifications. I’m applying.”
One of those early opportunities was a micro-internship connected to BET Week in Los Angeles, where she worked with artist and entrepreneur will.i.am. Being surrounded by professionals in entertainment helped solidify her interest in the industry.
Paul highlights a semester of leadership, service and professional development experiences,
including the Molson Coors Innovation Challenge, Wells Fargo ChangeMakers Summit,
TMCF Leadership Institute and XceleadHER HBCU Women Leadership Summit. (Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
Paul has since attended several fully funded professional conferences and represented FAMU as a student speaker. Stepping onto those stages required her to move beyond her comfort zone.
“You’re never going to know how far you could go if you don’t step out your shell,” Paul said.
Finding Her Voice at FAMU
Paul credits SBI with helping turn that willingness to try into professional confidence.
Johnny McCaskill, liaison to the SBI Living Learning Community (LLC), remembers Paul differently from the student now representing FAMU in professional spaces across the country.
“She was quiet and reserved,” McCaskill said. “Over time she became acclimated to the SBI culture and blossomed socially and academically.”
Paul takes the stage during the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Fearless Futures
event, one of several professional development experiences that helped her strengthen
her confidence, leadership skills and industry network. (Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
Paul said lessons introduced early in SBI — from professional greetings to the way students formulate questions — became useful tools during her internship with the Spurs. She recalled McCaskill teaching students to confidently declare “I am” when introducing themselves and command their presence in a room.
McCaskill also encouraged students to look beyond academics when building their college experience.
“I stress to her and all my students that the work you do in the classroom is par for the course,” McCaskill said. “It is important to do things outside the classroom to really grow. And she took that message to heart.”
For McCaskill, the results are evident. He described Paul’s growth as going “from quiet and shy to a bold representation of the drive that we attempt to instill in each of our students.”
Another Third Try
The number three would prove significant for Paul once again.
She was recently selected as a Dream Foundation Scholar, an opportunity she also pursued unsuccessfully twice before earning a spot on her third attempt.
“There’s something about that number three this year,” Paul said.
The program supports HBCU students interested in sports business careers through mentorship, professional development, networking and industry experiences. Its mission particularly resonated with Paul because it recognizes that HBCU students may not always have the same geographic access or industry connections to professional sports as their counterparts.
Paul plans to use the experience to explore her interests in marketing, partnerships, strategy and social impact while building relationships within the sports industry.
Paul represents Florida A&M University as an intern during the BET Week Experience
in Los Angeles, an early professional opportunity that helped solidify her interest
in the entertainment industry. (Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
“I want to continue figuring out where my strengths and interests best fit within the sports business,” Paul said. “I also want to continue building those genuine relationships within the industry.”
McCaskill sees another quality in Paul that extends beyond her own ambition.
“Her drive and her willingness to assist others in reaching similar goals are the qualities that set her apart,” he said. “She is a true team player.”
Paul puts that philosophy into practice on campus as a member of Jewels Incorporated, a mentoring organization that works with young girls in the Tallahassee community. She said mentoring has taught her about sisterhood, patience, adaptability and the importance of giving back.
Representation Beyond the Hill
Paul expects to graduate from FAMU in May 2027 and plans to pursue graduate education in business administration and sports. Her long-term goal is to become a marketing or social impact executive in the sports or entertainment industry.
She hopes that position will allow her to create meaningful connections between organizations and their communities while increasing representation in spaces where young people may not always see themselves.
Faith Paul, second from left, joins fellow Florida A&M University students at the
NBA HBCU Fellowship program, where HBCU students gained professional experience across
the sports industry. (Photo Courtesy: Faith Paul)
“It’s easy to say to children that, ‘Hey, you can make it here in life,’” Paul said.
“But if they don’t see representation of themselves there, then it’s kind of hard
for them to actually believe it.”
For Paul, the opportunities she once watched others receive are now part of her own story — from BET and national conferences to the San Antonio Spurs and Dream Foundation.
As she prepares for life beyond FAMU, she wants other students, particularly those navigating college without a blueprint, to know that an initial rejection does not have to determine the outcome.
“Be the change that you wish to see,” Paul said. “Keep shining, keep reaching for the stars, even if it looks impossible. Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s.
Media Contact:
Ashley Flete
Senior Communications Specialist
ashley1.flete@famu.edu
