This is part of a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their summer internship experience.
Briefly describe your internship and responsibilities.
I am working remotely at Weber Shandwick NYC as a Strategy Intern. I use analytics tools and syndicated data for social listening and market overview respectively based on the research plan developed by the project lead. The strategy team touches base a few times in the research process to establish areas of interest or improvement in the data. Once the research is conducted, the strategy works together to come up with a cohesive strategy to present to the creative team.
I am interning through MAIP, which connected me with Weber Shandwick. The internship is remote – it took some adjusting at first but I have grown to like it. I get to research in the quiet of my home without any distractions. Much of the correspondence is done through Microsoft Teams so meetings and organization have been a breeze.
How do you feel that Grady has prepared you for tackling the job?
I’ve done many projects that dealt with campaigns and from start to finish. This helped to better understand the relationship between research and creative as well as always keeping KPI’s and budgeting in mind.
What is the most memorable experience you have had during your internship?
Both MAIP and Weber Shandwick NYC have the interns work on (hypothetical) campaigns that is shown to the agency. It’s very reminiscent of days in Grady when we had campaign projects we worked on throughout the semester and is super fun to do. As a strategist, your role in creative execution is limited but doing a campaign from scratch is fun as you get to bring many of your ideas to life. Since it’s hypothetical, the sky is the limit!
What is your advice for other students looking to take on a similar role?
The analytics or software certifications and research you do for classes helps a lot with the role. It helps to have fundamental knowledge in how to conduct research and ask meaningful questions because it will help you think like a strategist.
Shawlini created her Feel the Good podcast, which she describes as her “personal journal.” (Photo: submitted)
Editor’s note: This is an example of many different podcasts our alumni produce. Visit our Alumni Who Podcast Pinterest page for a full list.
Shawlini Manjunath-Holbrook holds many titles: an actress, UGA graduate, a mother, and most recently, a podcaster. She recently started Feel the Good Podcast, which is a “mix of uplifting and/or reflective conversations with some of your favorite tastemakers, influencers, experts, community creators, fellow podcasters, artists and creatives doing good, spreading good or feeling good,” according to her website.
Shawlini says her podcast is her “personal journal,” meaning she has been able to make her personal podcast exactly the way she wants.
“I bring a lot of myself to it, it’s very authentic to who I am, and the values that I honor and cherish,” she said. “And that’s what ‘Feel the Good’ ultimately is. It’s like, how can we evolve, how can we grow, how can we change together to do the best possible for each other, how can spread the good, do good by learning and growing and evolving together? So that’s something else that I think that I add to my show that is very personal to me.”
This emphasis on positivity that aligns with Shawlini’s personal values and morals is what she calls her “secret sauce” — something that she says every successful podcast needs. From moments of gratitude inserted in the podcast to highlighting main points to help herself and her followers evolve, Shawlini says her listeners resonate with her podcast and often reach out to her on social media to share how they connect with her message.
Through Feel the Good, Shawlini says she’s gotten to “network authentically” with her guests. Because she hand-picks each of her guests, she says she’s able to choose people whose values and goals match her own. This has allowed her to “build that connection around like-minded people,” which is one of the biggest takeaways she’s had from the podcast.
“Podcasting is really great for that if you have that type of show where you are doing interviews because you do develop connections with the people that come on your show and a lot of times, I mean, they do become friends and you start cheerleading each other on and you follow each other on social media or you can reach out about things,” Shawlini said. “I would say probably about 95% of the people that I’ve had on have continued to be in my life.”
After graduating from Grady College with a degree in public relations, Shawlini studied at a conservatory for acting. While acting and raising her daughter, she decided to start her podcasting journey three years ago. A self-described Hallmark movie lover, her first podcast was called Hallmark Channels’ Bubbly Sesh.
Shawlini fondly recalls how this podcast helped teach her everything from editing to filming. Along with her co-host, Shawlini interviewed talent and discussed Hallmark movies from rom-coms to Christmas movies. After the show took off, the Hallmark Channel officially took it on, which Shawlini said was “wonderful.”
While now she says there are plenty of podcasts on the market centered around the Hallmark Channel, at the time Shawlini says Bubbly Sesh was “niche.” This not only helped it stand out to Hallmark, but it also gave her the opportunity to learn how to podcast on her own.
“I really had to teach myself a lot of the elements of podcasting on my own. Now the great thing is for anyone who wants to do it there are so many tutorials and videos online in terms of what equipment you need and what you need to do this and that and hosting and editing and you can find people, freelancers and stuff to work on your podcast if you have a budget,” she said. “It’s a lot easier to get into it now, I think, without any knowledge at all than it was when I started out, so the benefit of that though was I really got to learn how to do it and build one.”
This is part of a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their summer internship experience.
Briefly describe your internship and responsibilities. Walk me through a typical day.
I’m currently working at Georgia Power Company as a social media intern. Our headquarters are in Atlanta, G.A. but I’m currently working remote. My internship responsibilities include strategizing social media posts for two out of the six content pillars, taking ownership of the value channel calendar, working with the brand strategy team, brainstorming new campaign concepts and executing my ideas. Everyday looks different depending on where we are in our calendar. Right now, we are in Q3, so we are really trying to drive up our J.D. Power score. J.D. Power rates utility companies based on key messages like reliability, billing, rates, customer service and more. My typical day includes waking up, checking emails and prioritizing my tasks for the day. I can do anything from working in our social media calendar deck to updating our vegetation management creative brief to analyzing a media flowchart and inputting that information into our value channel calendar. I also love to sit in on meetings that don’t necessarily pertain to my job but clarify the brand on a holistic level. For example, I’ll be a fly on the wall during our economic development meetings, media relations or email strategy. I learn a lot from just listening and taking it all in.
How is it structured? Is it remote or in-person and what has that been like?
Drake’s view from her office. (Photo: submitted)
There are four social media interns, including myself. We report to either the brand strategist or the digital media manager. I absolutely love my higher ups, and they are both Grady alumni! Since I also work with the brand strategy team, I have weekly one-on-one’s with the brand strategy manager. I am in the corporate communications department where there are several different teams like media relations, internal communication, public relations, brand strategy and more. If we were in person, we’d be on the top floor with an amazing view. The different areas may technically be separate, but we all work together to make Georgia Power the best brand it can be. My job can be fully done remote and I don’t mind working in my pajamas. That being said, I’ve gone in-person twice and can’t wait to be back. I have met all these people through Teams, I want to meet them in-person and get to know them a bit better. We are thinking that it’ll be a hybrid remote / in-person situation once the pandemic is over.
What has been the biggest growth you’ve experienced so far?
My biggest growth is my creativity. I brainstorm new ideas every day and this role has really pushed me in terms of how I think. My company posts almost every day, that’s a lot of content! It takes time, effort and new ideas to keep the stories engaging and fun for our customers. Sometimes topics like energy efficiency and rebates can be boring, but we try and figure out how to make it interesting. Once you have the idea and it’s been approved, you must execute. In creative fields, there can be a lot of talk, but you must act on the idea or else nothing is going to happen. That’s my other area of growth, execution. I’ve seen many of my ideas come to fruition because I pushed and advocated for them to come alive. Don’t be afraid to advocate for your ideas and make it happen!
What is the most memorable experience you have had during your internship? Tell us a story if you have one!
Drake and the other Georgia Power interns at Lake Oconee. (Photo: submitted)
My most memorable experience during my internship must be when I got to be in a Georgia Power commercial. All the social media interns as well as some line workers from the citizens chapter drove to Lake Oconee for a commercial shoot. We staged a volunteer lake clean up event for our sustainability commercial. My role included carrying the soil, planting a tree, picking up trash, etc. I haven’t seen the commercial yet, so hopefully they got a good close up of me (just kidding). It was incredibly cool to see the level of production that goes into shooting a commercial. Our clip is probably five seconds long, and it took two hours to film. How crazy!
How do you feel that Grady has prepared you for tackling the job?
Grady has given me the tools to succeed in this role. From being a leader in PRSSA, to networking at meetings, to working with clients in Talking Dog, Grady has given me everything to be successful. I wouldn’t have this job without Grady. I met my current manager at a PRSSA meeting during my junior year of college. I added them on LinkedIn and followed up when I saw a job posting. My biggest advocate was my PRSSA advisor and campaigns professor, Kim Landrum. She really believed in me and put in a good word to the hiring manager. I am forever thankful to Kim and everyone at Grady for helping me get to where I am today.
What is your advice for other students looking to take on a similar role?
My biggest advice is to network, network, network! Your professors, speakers at your clubs, and faculty members are very connected in the industry. Don’t be shy and reach out. you’ll be surprised how many people want to help aspiring young professionals. You just have to go for it, you’ll never know what will happen unless you do.
This year officially marks 25 years since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. These games have gone down in history for bringing international attention to the south and also for the tragic bombing in Centennial Park.
University of Georgia broadcast journalism graduate Dick Yarbrough was instrumental in planning these Games and in the subsequent crisis management after the bombing. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Atlanta Games, Yarbrough has re-released his book And They Call Them Gamesdetailing his experience.
He served as managing director for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games from 1993-1996 where he was responsible for media relations and government relations. Yarbrough worked hard for three years alongside his team to ensure that the United States — and the state of Georgia — was prepared to host an event with as great a magnitude as the Olympics while the entire world was watching.
While there were certainly stressful times that came along with the Games and the planning, Yarbrough says this time in his life was filled with fond memories.
A page from Yarbrough’s book.
“There were many. Seeing the Olympic Flame lit in the ancient city of Olympia. Having the opportunity to travel to many countries across the globe. Watching young Olympic athletes interacting with each other in the Olympic Village, not caring about their own countries’ political positions,” he remembered. “It was brought home to me that no matter how well an athlete fared in their competition, they were and always would be known as Olympians. I was also heartened by the enthusiasm of the five million who attended the Games and the 50,000 volunteers who showed everyone the true meaning of the term ‘Southern Hospitality.”
After the Games had ended, Yarbrough said he kept waiting for someone to write a book about everything that had happened, from the idea to host the Olympics in Atlanta to the planning stages to the fruits of the ACOG’s labors to the bombing.
While working on the planning committee, Yarbrough recorded tapes of what had happened each day on the way to and from work. His habit of documenting everything had been reinforced by his career, which had him regularly visiting the White House, working with Congress, navigating “high-profile issues” and traveling the globe.
“After the Games, it became clear no one was planning to do a book on the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games,” Yarbrough said. “I asked if I would be interested in taking on the project. With 82 tapes as a resource, I produced the book in roughly six months.”
Yarbrough’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. (Graphic by Sam Perez)
His goal for his book is that readers would see the complexity surrounding the planning and staging of the Olympics. As for the name, And They Call Them Games, Yarbrough says it holds a very intentional meaning.
“It is easy to forget that the Olympics are a chance for nations to put aside their differences for even a brief period and allow people to engage in peaceful competition,” he explained. “With all the politics, money, controversy, special interests involved, the title was meant as a dig at those who forget that.”
Dick Yarbrough graduated from Grady College in 1959 and has gone on to accomplish many impressive achievements. Most recently, he has been named Georgia’s most widely-syndicated columnist with his name appearing regularly in over 40 newspapers across the state.
“The Georgia Press Association has recognized my column with first place awards for humor, although a number of politicians would like a recount. They don’t find me that funny,” he said.
Throughout his exciting — and impressive — career, Yarbrough has managed to stay connected to his alma mater. He served as president of UGA’s National Alumni Association, received the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus and Fellow of the College at Grady, has the C. Richard Yarbrough Laboratory named in his honor and established the C. Richard Yarbrough Chair in Crisis Communications Leadership.
“I owe more to Grady than I have the words to express,” he said. “A chance internship led to a job in radio upon graduation. That led to an opportunity to join Southern Bell as a public relations manager. Twenty year later, I was a corporate vice president of BellSouth Corporation. Having developed a reputation for crisis management, I was offered a once-in-lifetime opportunity to become a managing director of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. And it all started with a dedicated faculty who saw some merit in a raw kid from East Point, Georgia.”
The revenue from Yarbrough’s column goes toward fellowships for students at Grady. He also funds the Crisis Communications professorship under the leadership of Dr. Bryan Reber, which he says is a “small effort to repay Grady for all it has meant to me and done for me.”
Editor’s Note: This feature was written by Sam Perez, a 2021 Yarbrough Fellow in the Grady College Department of Communication. As part of the fellowship, she is helping market the re-release of Yarbrough’s book.
