The Fresh Connect is an annual event that helps connect fresh emerging talent, seasoned professionals, participants and supporters of Hip-Hop culture at Columbia College, the City of Chicago and beyond.

The first Fresh Connect was established by Columbia Faculty, Amina Hawkins and Kelsa Robinson in 2017. It served as the launch event of the Hip Hop Studies program and has since become an annual celebration, now going on its sixth year. This event was created because there was a need for students in Hip-Hop to build community with alumni and Hip-Hop professionals in the Chicagoland area.

In 2021, the EMP class established a scholarship that is awarded annually to a student within the Hip-Hop Studies program. The Parker Lee Williams Award for Hip-Hop Excellence honors the memory of Parker Lee Williams, a local Hip-Hop performer and Columbia alumnus, who went by the name of DJ P-Lee Fresh.
The Fresh Connect also serves as a networking event and gives Hip-Hop students at Columbia a platform to show their craft, connecting with old school and new school hip-hoppers. Donating to this scholarship fund directly supports Hip-Hop students and reinforces P-Lee Fresh’s legacy at Columbia.