Tag: convocation

Themes of truth in storytelling and making connections highlight 2018 Fall Convocation

Posted on by Sarah Freeman

Pictures from the Fall 2018 Grady Convocation can be viewed on the UGA Grady Flickr gallery:

Fall 2018 convocation graduates:

Themes of hard work, perseverance, truth in storytelling and making connections were shared as Grady College graduates were celebrated at the Fall 2018 Convocation ceremonies on December 13, 2018, at the Hugh Hodgson Performing Arts Center. Nearly 170 students graduated from Grady College this semester, many of whom participated in convocation.

Graduate students eligible for graduation included 28 MFA, Emerging Media and master’s in public relations students. Undergraduates who were recognized included 32 students with an advertising degree, 30 with a degree in public relations, 45 from the journalism program and 31 from entertainment and media studies.

Dean Charles Davis presided over the ceremony, giving an overview of Grady’s accomplishments this past year and praising students for their hard work, passion and academic excellence.

Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout and author of “Swiped,” addressed graduates with a talk focusing on employing truth in storytelling to “critique, clarify and convince,” and to bring stories to light that need to be told.


“Your mission is to seek out the truth, explore human emotions and give expression to the hopes and dreams of your fellow human beings,” Levin said. “Your duty is to use your talent, your skill and your public platform to give a voice to those who have none of these things. This is an awesome responsibility.”

Levin continued by saying that freedom of the press is vital to our democracy and as graduates go out into the world to pursue these professions, they will have the support of others.

“In the war on truth, you are the front lines,” Levin added. “We owe you our support. As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to stand with those with the guts to engage the world and bear witness to it…journalists, communication professionals…those who reflect reality back to us and help us make sense of it.”

He continued: “As you are society’s storytellers, I implore you to keep the stories that matter on our radar to keep them from being forgotten.”

The distinguished senior speaker, a student chosen based on an audition among the graduates for the honor, was Kathleen Brennan, an EMST major who also earned a major in English.

Brennan’s talk focused on the power of connection and relying on fellow graduates.


“If you know the people next to you, great,” Brennan said. “They will our greatest asset as we venture out into the world. Not just as networking opportunities, but as friends who can attest and support us during our greatest struggles. If you don’t, say ‘hello.’ They might just be the Lennon to your McCartney or maybe just someone who can sublease from you in LA someday. We are entering a really intimidating field, but I feel so blessed to be doing it alongside some insanely cool people.”

Lauren Izzo (ABJ ’05, MA ‘07), a member of the Grady Society Alumni Board,  concluded the platform of speakers by welcoming the students to the alumni ranks of the college and encouraging new alumni to stay involved through mentoring, coming to alumni receptions to meet current students and supporting Grady Giving Day.

Complete versions of the speaker comments can be found here:


Adam Levin to address Grady College graduates at Fall 2018 convocation

Posted on by Sarah Freeman

Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout and author of “Swiped,” will address Grady College graduates during the Fall 2018 Convocation ceremonies Dec. 13. The ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. at the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall and is expected to be live-streamed on the UGA Grady College Facebook page.

Adam Levin (photo: Allison Michael Orenstein)

Levin will lead the charge to graduates through his talk, “Two Plus Two Equals Four:  A Speech About Truth.”

Levin is a nationally recognized expert on cybersecurity, privacy, identity theft, fraud, and personal finance. He is a former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and a co-founder of Credit.com. He is author of the critically acclaimed book “Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves.” Levin’s mission is to educate consumers, businesses, journalists, law enforcement officials and lawmakers on identity management and protection, privacy, credit, and election security issues. His writing and interview credits include ABC News, Inc., The Huffington Post, Yahoo!, The Today Show, Good Morning America and the CBS Evening News, among others.

Levin, a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Michigan School of Law, is a friend to Grady College, visiting several times over the last few years to talk with students about entrepreneurship and cyber security. In October, Adam Levin and the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation pledged a gift to the James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership to create the Levin Leaders Initiative.

Kathleen Brennan is 2018 Fall Convocation Senior Speaker.

In addition to Levin’s talk, Kathleen Brennan, an Entertainment and Media Studies student, was selected as the distinguished senior speaker and will address the graduates.

Grady College students can find more details about the ceremonies on Grady’s convocation webpage.

Tickets are required to attend the convocation ceremonies and can be ordered by contacting Karen Andrews via email at karena@uga.edu.

First MFA and Emerging Media graduates among those recognized at Fall 2017 Grady Convocation

Posted on by Don McClain

Pictures from the Fall 2017 Grady Convocation can be viewed on the UGA Grady Flickr gallery:

Master’s degrees, Advertising, Public Relations, Journalism, EMST

Nearly 175 students graduated from Grady College this semester, many of whom were recognized at the Fall 2017 convocation on December 14, 2017, at the Hugh Hodgson Performing Arts Center.

A student celebrates with a moment of victory as he crosses the stage at the Grady College Convocation ceremonies.
Sports Media Certificate graduate Patrick O’Shea celebrates with a moment of victory as he crosses the stage at the Grady College Convocation ceremonies. (Photo: Chamberlain Smith)

Among graduates were 28 master’s students, including Grady’s first graduates of its Master of Fine Arts program and its new Emerging Media master’s degree.

Undergraduates who were recognized included 32 students with an advertising degree, 20 with a degree in public relations, 59 from the journalism program, two who studied digital and broadcast journalism, 28 from the entertainment and media studies department and five with a mass media arts degree.

Dean Charles Davis presided over the ceremony, giving an overview of Grady’s accomplishments this past year and praising the students for their hard work, passion and academic excellence.

Jody Danneman (ABJ ’88), executive producer and president of Atlanta ImageArts and a member of the Grady Board of Trust, addressed candidates with a speech that compared the five principles of journalism — who, what, when, where and why — and challenged the graduates to ask themselves questions to determine what their personal story is.

Danneman explained that much of this is rooted in the values and principles you hold dear.

“If you can find your ‘why’ and you can be rooted in your values, you are going to be happy when you get up and go to work every day,” Danneman advised.

He also challenged the graduates to “let people know by the integrity of your work, by the quality of your work, by the camaraderie and friendship that you have with your co-workers, that you are a team player…that you are a Grady graduate.”

“I am Grady, you are Grady and it is a great day to be a Grady Dawg,” Danneman concluded.

The distinguished senior speaker, a student chosen based on an audition among the graduates for the spot, was Gabrielle Cowand, a journalism major and communication studies minor, who is working toward her master’s in Emerging media, as well.

“Grady didn’t teach us the ‘it’ factor; we already had that,” Cowand said. “It simply taught us how to use our talents at max capacity. It opened our minds to what we didn’t know to do or create. We have learned how to constantly strive to reach our full potential and that we have no limits.”

“We have to create our own circumstances,” she continued. “We define the rules. We write our own story. 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. Grady really is a family.”

Bryan Harris (MA ‘03), outgoing chair of the Grady Society Alumni Board, concluded the platform of speakers by welcoming the students to the alumni ranks of the college.

“The real education is just beginning and members of the Grady Society will be with you every step of the way,” Harris said.

He encouraged the students to stay in touch with the college and give their time, experiences and talents to future students.

Harris finished his thoughts with this advice: “Stay engaged and raise your hand when Grady calls.”

Grady College Fall Convocation

Grady’s Fall Convocation honors students graduating in Fall 2019. The Convocation brings students, faculty, family and friends together to celebrate Grady student achievement and to welcome graduates into the professions in journalism and mass communication.

Convocation will be held on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Hodgson Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center. Directions to Hodgson Hall and parking information are available at  www.uga.edu/pac/directions.html.

The event is free but tickets will be required for family members and friends. Each student will receive up to four tickets with the possibility of receiving more two days before Convocation.

The speaker for fall convocation is Randy Travis (ABJ ’82), investigative reporter for Fox 5 in Atlanta and recent Peabody Award winner.

More details are available at Grady.uga.edu/grady-students/graduation/.

 

Fall 2016 Grady Convocation celebrates graduates

Posted on by admin

Pictures from the Fall 2016 Grady Convocation can be viewed on the UGA Grady Flickr gallery:

•  Fall 2016 convocation candids

•  Fall 2016 convocation graduates

•  Fall 2016 convocation ceremony

Nearly 140 students graduated from Grady College this semester, many of whom were recognized at the Fall 2016 convocation on December 15, 2016, at the Hugh Hodgson Performing Arts Center.

Students graduating from Grady College this fall included four master’s students, 33 students with an advertising degree, 27 with a degree in public relations, 28 from the journalism program, 10 who studied digital and broadcast journalism, nine from the entertainment and media studies department and 17 with a mass media arts degree.

Dean Charles Davis presided over the ceremony, giving an overview of Grady’s accomplishments this past year and praising the students for their hard work, passion and academic excellence.

Keynote speaker, Julie Winskie (ABJ ’84), a partner and global branding and communication leader for Mercer, addressed candidates with a speech that was centered on a unique airplane theme, inspired by her travels.

She opened by assuring students that Grady has prepared them for whatever lies ahead. Her first metaphor was based on the revolving nature of the digital age.

“Even if the light is illuminated, you should keep your seat belt fastened…translation – expect constant change.”

Advising students that they are entering an era of individual accountability, Winskie spoke of the importance of being their best advocate.

Her final tenant emphasized the importance of their responsibility to the world.

“You have to be the truth tellers—whether in journalism, advertising, PR, corporate, or public communications.  You are the ones to assure that opinions on all sides are heard and that civil discourse not only survives but it thrives.

The distinguished senior speaker, a student chosen based on an audition among the graduates for the spot, was Nylah Oliver from Lithonia, Ga., a digital and broadcast journalism major who also minored in anthropology.

She addressed her fellow graduates with a speech that articulated the importance of their voices in whatever profession they pursue.

Bryan Harris (MA ‘03), chair of the Grady Society Alumni Board, concluded the platform of speakers by welcoming the students to the alumni ranks of the college. He encouraged the students of the centennial class to stay in touch with the college and give their time, experiences and talents to future students.