FACULTY ENGAGEMENT
education, SAFETY, Music & performance Arts
At Orange Crush, our commitment to impact goes beyond entertainment — it’s about empowerment. Through strategic initiatives in Education, Safety, and the Arts, we provide year-round opportunities for students, creatives, and community members to learn, perform, and thrive. From campus-based workshops and mentorship programs to certified crowd safety training and performance showcases, we build bridges between culture and responsibility. Our platform invests in future leaders, supports creative expression, and ensures that every voice and every venue is safe, seen, and heard.
FACULTY engagement
Orange Crush University actively engages faculty across HBCUs and partnering institutions to co-lead educational innovation, research collaboration, and real-world programming. Our initiatives include curriculum-integrated projects, faculty-led workshops, grant-funded research opportunities, and advisory roles in festival planning and student mentorship. By empowering faculty as co-creators of impact, we bridge academia with community action, public policy, blockchain literacy, and the arts. This collaborative model ensures lasting outcomes that benefit students, universities, and the larger civic ecosystem.
Why Faculty Engagement Is Important
Faculty are the architects of student growth, institutional integrity, and academic innovation. Their engagement ensures that initiatives like Orange Crush University are not only culturally relevant but also academically grounded and sustainably impactful. Faculty bring deep subject expertise, research experience, and mentorship capacity—making them vital to turning short-term programming into long-term systemic change. Their involvement also builds credibility with universities, communities, and funders.
How We Implement Faculty & Government Administration Into Our Ecosystem
We strategically embed faculty and government administration into the core operational and advisory framework of the Orange Crush ecosystem through:
Academic Advisory Committees – Faculty are appointed to lead and co-design curriculum-based initiatives, guide grant proposals, and align programming with academic goals and accreditation standards.
Integrated Course Collaborations – Departments partner with us to offer special topics classes, internships, and co-curricular opportunities tied to event planning, policy, technology, and the arts.
Policy & Public Affairs Leadership – Government administrators, city officials, and public service faculty serve as advisors to our Civic Impact and Festival Safety Boards, ensuring regulatory alignment and shared community goals.
Research, Grants & Publications – We co-author studies, policy briefs, and white papers with faculty across disciplines such as criminal justice, marine science, business, and journalism.
Faculty-Led Programming – Professors facilitate masterclasses, town halls, and seminars during festival weekends and throughout the academic year, offering both community education and professional development.
Government-University-Festival Triad Model – This model formalizes a shared structure between faculty, city leadership, and festival organizers to manage permitting, beach sustainability, public safety, and long-term civic engagement.
This multi-tiered integration makes Orange Crush a replicable model of community-university-government collaboration, driven by shared leadership and measurable impact.
CRUSH MAGAZINE
🎓
STUDENT & ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Matthew “MJ” Gresham
📍 Savannah State University Alumnus | 🎧 Official CRUSH DJ
📲 IG: @mj.da.kid
🔥 Title & Roles:
Director of CRUSH Education & Faculty Engagement
Head of Performance Arts Programming
Student Engagement Leader – Orange Crush University
Founder, Underground SAV ENT
Official DJ & Ambassador – Orange Crush Festival
🎤 About MJ:
Matthew “MJ” Gresham is the pulse of student culture and creative leadership across the Orange Crush movement. A proud Savannah State University alumnus and founder of Underground SAV ENT, MJ is dedicated to uplifting emerging talent, empowering student voices, and uniting the next generation of creators through music, performance, and education.
At the core of CRUSH’s faculty and student engagement efforts, MJ bridges the gap between higher education and entertainment. He leads CRUSH Education Initiatives, organizing everything from campus tours and faculty collaborations to student-led panels, artist showcases, and HBCU workshops. As an Official CRUSH DJ, his sound sets the vibe at every major event — from Tybee Island to campus festivals across Georgia.
🎯 Impact Highlights:
✅ Co-led faculty engagement at SSU and regional HBCUs
✅ Organized artist showcases spotlighting student talent
✅ Built direct bridges between professors, performers, and civic leaders
✅ Created platforms for student-led brands and emerging artists to perform and grow
✅ Developed mentorship pipelines across Orange Crush University programs
💬 Quote:
“CRUSH is bigger than a weekend—it’s a platform. We’re turning music into movement and education into legacy.” — MJ Gresham