Greg Bluestein, Joshua Marx headline College Spring Convocation

Greg Bluestein (ABJ ’04), a political reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Joshua Marx, a graduating Entertainment and Media Studies student, will be the featured speakers at the Spring 2021 Grady College Convocation.

The convocation ceremony will be virtual and broadcast on the UGA Grady College YouTube channel, UGAGrady Facebook page and on the college graduation webpage beginning at 10 a.m. on May 13, 2021.

Bluestein will deliver the charge to candidates. As a political reporter, Bluestein covers the governor’s office and state politics. He joined the newspaper in June 2012 after spending seven years with the Atlanta bureau of The Associated Press, where he covered a range of beats that included politics and legal affairs. He also contributes to the AJC’s Political Insider blog and is writing a book, “How the Peach State turned Purple,” about the 2020 Georgia elections. He discussed the publication process, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and identifying local angles in national stories in this episode of The Lead podcast. Bluestein received the College’s John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award in 2014.

Marx is from Gainesville, Georgia, and was selected in a competitive search to address the graduates as the distinguished senior speaker. In addition to his EMST studies, Marx is also majoring in economics. During his time as a student, Marx has written multiple screenplays and pilot scripts, as well as an economic thesis investigating the impact of Georgia tax credits for the film industry. During his sophomore year, Marx studied at Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg in Germany. Marx has been involved with several organizations on campus including serving as vice president of Esports at UGA, president of On the Spot Improv and a judge for the Bahamas International Film Festival screenwriting competition. Following graduation, Marx plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in screenwriting at Boston University in further preparation for a career in screenwriting, directing and producing for film and television.

In addition to comments from Bluestein and reflections from Marx, the virtual convocation will include comments from Dean Charles Davis, a virtual roll-call of graduates with self-submitted pictures and short videos, a welcome message from Grady Society Alumni Board President Lauren Izzo (ABJ ’05, MA ’07) and reflections from some Grady Ambassadors.

Spring undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit pictures and short videos for the production which is being produced by StageClip. Graduates who did not receive an email from StageClip with a link to submit materials should email Karen Andrews at KarenA@uga.edu for further instructions.

Editor’s Note: Several UGA Commencement ceremonies will be offered to encourage social distancing.

 

The UGA Commencement ceremony for Grady College undergraduate students and family members takes place Thursday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium. Maria Taylor (ABJ ’09, MBA ’13) will deliver comments live to graduates.

 

The UGA graduate student Commencement ceremony takes place Friday, May 14 at 10 a.m. at Sanford Stadium. David Lee, vice president for research, will deliver comments to graduates.

 

A special Senior Send-off will be hosted on the Grady College lawn for all College graduates and their family members on Thursday, May 13 from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The convocation video will be played and graduates will have a chance to enjoy some light snacks, photo opportunities and visiting with faculty and staff.