The 93rd annual Academy Awards will be held Sunday night. It is a historic year, with the most people of color ever nominated.

“Judas and the Black Messiah” is nominated for Best Picture. It is the first all-Black producing team to be nominated for the category “Nomadland” director Chloe Zhoa is the first Asian American woman to be nominated for best director.

Actors who are about to graduate from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts say that this year’s awards are a sign of change.

“I feel that the opportunities are endless, as expansive as we want to be and still be recognized for our humanity,” says student Kirby Davis.

“Most importantly, it’s just flat-out exciting. I think it is just really cool to walk into a world that is automatically, hopefully, more accepting,” says student Lazarus Simmons.

With more artists of color being recognized in Hollywood for their contributions, these actors also hope that it will broaden the types of stories that are being produced.

“My first step is to be cast in something. But after that, to start getting into the rooms and the buildings where the gate-openers and gatekeepers are, because that's how we can really affect change,” says student Marcella Cox.

“It is going to make room for stories. There are a lot of stories that aren't being told, actually, they are being told, but they’re not getting the attention,” says student Petey McGee.

The students all say that they believe that the face of entertainment is changing, but that there is still a long way to go.