Yarbrough-Grady Fellows for Fall 2023 announced

The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication welcomes four Fall 2023 Yarbrough-Grady Fellows: Morgan Jones, Jin Lee, Lila Maiolo and Kathryn Penn. 

Jones and Lee are Yarbrough-Grady Communications Fellows, and some of their responsibilities include crafting Grady College’s social media graphics and copy, writing articles and strategizing Grady College’s website redesign campaign.

Jones is a fourth-year public relations major and sociology minor with a certificate in new media. Throughout her collegiate career, Jones has been active in PRSSA, previously serving as the social media director and currently as the president. 

She was an SEO copywriter at Bipper Media, delving into technology-focused topics. Also, as a summer Yarbrough-Grady Fellow, she executed the InternViews series. 

Jones aspires to apply her hospitality and service-oriented background to food and beverage accounts within an agency before venturing into in-house or freelance work.

“This college provides such a solid foundation for students to succeed in the future,” Jones said. “I’m excited to be a part of the team that showcases these success stories.”

Lee is a fourth-year public relations major with minors in dance and business. She studied abroad at Oxford in 2022 and participated in the inaugural 2023 Grady Chicago internship program. 

On campus, she is the director of outreach and DEI for PRSSA, director of mass media for Shop with a Bulldawg and co-captain of the UGA club dance team. After graduation, she hopes to combine her love of travel and communications by working at a global PR agency. 

Lee is thrilled to work as a Fellow to recognize all the people and programs that make Grady College exceptional. 

Maiolo and Penn are Yarbrough-Grady Crisis Fellows and will join the Crisis Communications Think Tank leadership team in coordinating online content creation, event activities, and other communication efforts.

Maiolo is a third-year public relations major and fashion merchandising minor with a certificate in new media. She is involved with Talking Dog Agency, PRSSA and Gamma Phi Beta sorority. In addition, she has interned at The Scratch Collective and Pineapple Public Relations. 

This summer, she was at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and will spend this upcoming spring semester in Oxford, England. After graduating in May 2025, Maiolo hopes to work at a PR agency. 

“I am eager to connect with more thought leaders in the niche industry of crisis communication,” said Maiolo.

Penn is a fourth-year public relations major with minors in film studies and general business. She serves as the director of member relations for PRSSA and as alumni relations chair in a Panhellenic sorority.

Penn has interned at Sloane & Company in New York and at Destination South Meetings + Events in Atlanta. She plans to pursue a career in corporate PR and crisis communications upon graduation.

The Yarbrough-Grady Fellowship is funded by Dick Yarbrough (ABJ ‘59), an alumnus of Grady College who has helped promote the success of Grady students for many years. Yarbrough also gives back to students via the C. Richard Yarbrough Student Support Fund, which has provided stipends to hundreds of Grady students for more than a decade.

“I am honored to be able to fund fellowships at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia,” Yarbrough said. “I can never repay my alma mater for what it has meant to me.  I am so impressed with the quality of the students there today and hope that perhaps the fellowship will give the recipients a learning opportunity they might not have been able to receive otherwise.  The only thing I ask in return is that when they are able, they give back to the next generation that will succeed them.”