Grady Gratitude: Fueling creativity and marketability

Most college graduates enter into the real world as a small fish in a big pond, but some ambitious Grady alumni excel in their workplace from the start. Grady graduate Callie Wamsley (ABJ’14) was determined to utilize her Grady education when she took on Charleston, South Carolina, upon graduation. Packing up her bags the week of graduation, Wamsley used her skills obtained at Grady and quickly learned the tricks of the trade.

After three years, Wamsley decided it was time to move back into the big city and went to work with M-Squared Public Relations in Charlotte, North Carolina. While working there, she was able to represent a variety of clients including WP Kitchen + Bar, Bulla Gastrobar, Life Time Athletic Charlotte, Undercurrent Coffee and LBA Hospitality.

Giving back to Grady is something Wamsley plans to do wherever she lives. “I do not think I would be where I am today without the support of my professors and classmates at Grady, so I give back as a ‘thank you’ for everything the school did for me while I was there,” Wamsley explained.

Lessons Wamsley acquired at Grady include “be creative” and “market yourself,” and have shaped her into the professional she is today. Grady gave Wamsley real-world experience prior to graduation. Advertising professor Jennifer Griffith not only contained “energy and gumption,” but she also provided her with a “taste of the real world brainstorming, drafting and presenting a campaign,” reflected Wamsley. Continuously, Griffith pushed Wamsley to be creative, which has paid off in her life once she left the safety net of college.

Grady gave Wamsley an abundance of skills and lessons and she is not holding back from sharing them with those around her. Wamsley wants current students to know that getting to know your teachers is essential because they “have had or continue to have a career in the field you want to pursue” and sparking up a conversation with them can go a long way.

Grace Townsend is senior at North Oconee High School, participating in UGA’s Young Dawgs program