Shawn Zachery, a dance director at Prairie View A&M University, was recently highlighted by NPR. Zachery just completed her 10th year as the head director of the Black Foxes Dance Line at Prairie View. Her exploits drew the attention of Ayesha Rascoe, the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. Rascoe included Zachery and her experiences in her upcoming book “HBCU Made.”

Rascoe reportedly reached out to Zachery after reading about her via an article from Essence.com. Rascoe is a Howard graduate herself. She knew she had to include Zachery’s perspective in a book filled with other HBCU alumni, such as Roy Wood Jr., Stacy Abrams, Branford Marsalis, and April Ryan.

“Our influence is everywhere,” Zachery said in an excerpt from “HBCU Made.” “You see our style at professional sporting events, with mega-stars like Beyonce, and in television shows and movies.”

Despite her expertise, Zachery was surprised when Rascoe reached out.

“We were interviewed by various media outlets after the release of “March” on The CW Network, but I was still surprised that someone picked up on my interview and invited me to contribute on their project,” she said. “I was shocked, to say the least, when she told me some of the other invited authors for the project… I’m so honored to have been chosen for this project. I still can’t believe it!”

Before coming to Prairie View A&M, Zachery was a Dancing Doll at Souther University and a dance team coach at four other HBCUs. She details those experiences in “HBCU Made,” which is already available for pre-order and will release on Jan. 20.