It’s easy to feel a sense of community at Grady
In the weeks leading up to the Grady College Centennial Weekend, April 16-19, we'll feature a guest blog post authored by a preselected alumnus/alumna. For ways in which students, faculty, alumni, donors and friends can share Grady College memories and photos in honor of the centennial year, please visit grady100.uga.edu.
My best memories from my time at the University of Georgia are almost all connected to Grady College. It gave me a sense of purpose and pride to call myself a ‘tele kid’. I walked into the double doors of Grady’s basement and knew that my day would be filled with scripting, edit sessions, and field shoots. In the thick of all of it, I distinctly remember thinking to myself, ‘this isn’t work. This is fun.’
I owe a debt to Grady for giving me this sense of excitement for video production work. Years later – and hundreds of projects behind me – I still rely on the foundation of knowledge that my professors provided. I look at things differently now because of their insights. Even though I haven't attended any lectures for a while now, bits of wisdom like 'always kill your babies' somehow still float to the forefront of my mind when needed I'm grateful for this, despite how strange it sounds to an outsider…
Grady has your back. In fact, it’s kind of like being in an awesome secret club. In the large sea that is the University of Georgia, it’s easy to feel the sense of community amongst fellow journalism students.
You feel that community working the long hours perfecting that story. Editing late into the night or getting up early for ‘magic hour’ on set… and noticing your classmates still smiling, still pushing forward alongside you.
You feel it when you stand up at the graduation ceremony in Sanford Stadium and Grady College yells the loudest and longest. We don’t care that it’s annoying to the other colleges. We are GRADY!
You really feel it when you need to network or get a job. I’m pretty sure I would not have my current job producing for ImageArts if it wasn’t for Grady. My professor recommended me for the position, and my boss is also a Grady alumnus. Grady's network of alumni is unmatched.
A sense of excitement for journalism, a foundation of skills and information to draw from always, and a gang of people that have your back; what else could you ask from your alma mater?
I’m so excited to be apart of this legacy and can’t wait to celebrate the Grady Centennial in April. I know the best way to celebrate one hundred years… eating oysters at the Field Party surrounded by fellow Grady grads. Cheers to that!
More Alumni Reflections:
There’s always a friend to be found at Grady by Lauren Patrick (ABJ '07)
It’s simple: The Grady family is forever by Michael Gray (ABJ '11)
How to celebrate a centennial: recommit, reconvene, re-engage by Brittney Haynes (ABJ ‘09)
Date: February 10, 2015Author: Shannon Sullivan Collado, sclaresullivan@gmail.com