Grady Gratitude: Scholarships empower students

Gabrielle Cowand shared her Grady College experiences with fellow graduates at the December 2017 convocation. “A whole lot of legwork is required on our end, but the good news is that we have a whole lot of people behind us,” Cowand said during her speech. “Grady really is a family.”

Gabrielle Cowand (ABJ ’17) is finishing her Masters of Arts in Emerging Media at Grady College after completing her journalism degree in December 2017.  From a young age, Cowand knew she wanted to study journalism and decided to leave her home state of Virginia and enroll in the University of Georgia specifically because of Grady’s prestigious reputation.

Cowand was fortunate to receive the Classic Scholarship, an award given to non-Georgia residents to help alleviate the costs of out-of-state tuition. With this foundation, Cowand was able to enter Grady College as a journalism major where she continued to receive help from private gifts.

Her favorite way she has benefitted from the generosity of donors is being chosen as a Yarbrough Fellow, an opportunity made possible by Dick Yarbrough (ABJ ’59), in which Grady College students work part-time doing public relations for the college. This opportunity gave Cowand the chance to build a portfolio while relieving financial pressures.

Cowand has also received the William Ray Scholarship, Peyton Anderson Scholarship and Boswell Scholarship.

Cowand’s dedication to academics led to her being named Grady’s First Honor Graduate. She was also chosen as the student speaker for Grady’s convocation.

“Speaking at convocation was a culmination of all my hard work at Grady,” Cowand said. “Knowing I had done really well in my classes made me proud, and it was meaningful to share that empowerment with my fellow graduates.”

Cowand completed ten internships while she enrolled in college and says she would not be where she is today without the encouragement of Grady College faculty and staff.  She encourages future Grady College students to take advantage of all the opportunities Grady has to offer, including internships, experiential learning, and networking.

Students like Cowand use private gifts to flourish at Grady College.  Scholarship gifts are an influential way to empower students to set themselves up for success.

Contact Claire Kinane at cwall5@uga.edu to learn more how to give to scholarship fund.