Noelle Lashley: Senior speaker combines luck and hard work
One of Noelle Lashley’s favorite ways to destress is to walk in the park and look for four-leaf clovers.
And, while many people might look at her impressive resume and comment on how lucky she is, she will be the first to make a correction to say how hard she has worked to get to here.
“I have never worked so hard in my life,” Lashley said about her time at Grady College. “I have never been pushed this hard. I have never been challenged this much. I think that being in Grady really taught me to fight for myself.”
Lashley has a unique combination of endless energy, determination and spunk that helps her think quickly on her feet and make friends along the way.
Lashley transferred to the University of Georgia two years ago and has been extremely active since then. Focusing on activities with her future in mind, Lashley has worked as a manager and editorial team member of Grady Newsource, a Grady Ambassador, development director of DiGamma Kappa and co-host of “The Lead” podcast.
During that time, she has earned numerous honors including the UGA Presidential Award of Excellence, Cox Institute Student Leader, McGill Fellow and member of Kappa Tau Alpha.
“One of the biggest that I have learned here is that you have to be your own champion and chase things down that you want. I have had amazing opportunities here and amazing professors. I get to do incredible things, but they didn’t just start handing them to me. I had to be there all the time and show up. I’ve learned that working hard and showing up, and just being stubborn and pushing can honestly get you farther than you think.”
The relationships she has created at Grady College are the centerpieces of her Grady experience. She acknowledges that what she likes the most about journalism is the team aspect, and that is obvious from the friends she has made.
“My biggest accomplishment isn’t a resume piece,” Lashley said, “but my biggest accomplishment is bonding with so many people here. You can go to a lot of different colleges in the country that are just great and you can get resume experience, but I don’t think every college offers the opportunity to have a family like we do here.”
