It Starts at State
Timothy Little, Class of 2023
Sophomore Timothy Little’s journey toward owning his own production company began almost as soon as he arrived on the State campus in the fall of 2019. Shortly after the semester began, he found himself shooting and editing promotional videos for the men’s basketball team.
After gaining experience through a production program at his Cleveland, Ohio, high school and an internship his senior year with a professional production company, Timothy was eager to continue the type of hands-on work he’d become used to, so he approached a classmate with an idea.
“I said, ‘Hey, don’t you play basketball? If the team ever wants any videos shot, hit me up.’ The next thing I know, I was talking with Coach Poore. A week later, I was back with a camera and started shooting.”
The first video was a hit. By the spring of 2020, he had already produced multiple videos for the team, with plans to continue working with them on a documentary-style film of season highlights.
Landing the gig with the basketball team is simply the latest example of the ambition the 18-year-old has exhibited his entire life. Even as a young kid, he had visions of what his career would entail.
“I told my mom and everyone at 12 years old that I wasn’t interested in working a 9 to 5 job. I wanted my own company. They were like, ‘You’re 12. What are you talking about?’”
It turns out, he knew exactly what he was talking about. As a teen, he began teaching himself to shoot and edit video on his smart phone and launched a comedy YouTube channel that quickly grew to 500 subscribers. Hoping to learn more professional shooting and editing techniques, he immersed himself in a video production program at his high school, which led to an internship with the Cleveland-based production company Purple Films.
After graduation, the desire to attend an HBCU - and his mother’s work with the WVSU Cleveland alumni chapter - put State on his radar. The welcoming vibe he felt on a visit to campus sealed the deal.
“Coming to State was predicated by the fact that, when I came for a tour, the people were nice, and it just seemed right.”
Now, he is working toward his bachelor’s degree in communications, expanding his experience with real-life production work, and inching ever closer to his ultimate goal: opening his own production company, and writing and directing films.
“When I leave State, I want to own my own production company and continue to do what I love, which is make people feel good with the content I create. I want people to say, ‘We need to hire Timothy Little, Straight Vertical Entertainment.’”