Tag: My Grady Story

My Grady Story: Na’im Carlyle

Posted on by Don McClain

Na’im Carlyle, a senior advertising major who is also pursing a New Media Certificate, shares about his experience as an intern for the inaugural AdPR Academy, a six-day boot camp held earlier this month that was designed to give students a crash course in advertising and public relations.

When I first heard about the premise of AdPR Academy and its mission to expose ethnically diverse students to the fields of advertising and public relations, I knew I wanted to get involved in any way that I could. While most of my classmates were traveling, and enjoying their break from school, I decided to forgo my weeklong break and spend time learning from and interacting with advertising and public relation professionals.

The program brought together 23 students from UGA and Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), including Albany State, Savannah State and Florida A&M. Students spent the week learning about the day-to-day activities of AdPR professionals. Speakers included professionals such as The Richards Group, Porter Novelli, the Creative Circus and Moxie.

Students were given the opportunity to learn about a variety of different roles in the AdPR fields including targeting, strategy, research, and the creative process. They were also given the opportunity to practice interviews, résumé critiques, and network with industry professionals through mixers that were hosted throughout the week.

In conjunction with the knowledge the students were gaining from interacting with the professionals, they were also tasked with creating a campaign to be presented after the program.  Each team worked long and hard to apply everything that they had learned and apply it to their campaign brief.

Being an intern, I had the pleasure of getting to assist each team throughout its campaign execution. It was amazing to see how fast the teams could concept their ideas and flush out a full-fledged campaign from strategy, targeting, creative executions and analysis. Watching them work through their creative briefs made me realize how excited I am about entering the advertising industry to work with a diverse group of people who have unique perspectives to bring to the table.

All of their hard work was rewarded as they presented their campaigns on the final day of the program for a panel of judges consisting of speakers from the week. During the closing luncheon, students heard from Sean Reardon, CEO of Moxie, as he expressed his excitement for the success of the program and why it is crucial to increase diversity within the industry.

I caught up with Orlando Pimentel, senior advertising major at UGA, to hear what he thought of the week. “This week was an enriching experience to me,” he said. “The courses gave me insight in not only how advertising currently works in the field, but reminded me how each segment is crucial in building an effective campaign. Furthermore, it was invigorating to see how helpful and supportive the professionals were to us. I can definitely say the Academy was a life-changing experience.”

Tom Reichert, AdPR department head, added: “It was an amazing week! It was very fulfilling to see students from across the state and Florida learn more about AdPR and get connected with professionals. One of the most fulfilling moments was watching students discover where they fit in the profession. That was great.”

I’m thankful for the opportunity to have made 23 new friends who all share my passion and excitement for the Advertising and Public Relations field. Getting the opportunity to interact with AdPR professionals makes me proud of the direction the industry is moving toward. I look forward to contributing my own diversity of thought to the industry in my future career.

My Grady Story: Stanley Miller

Posted on by admin

Stanley Miller, a new Grady College student studying journalism, recently attended the Climate and Health Meeting in Atlanta. He shared his experiences in the following summary.

Miller met Lisa Turner Seyfield, co-founder of Mothers and Others for Clean Air

On February 16, 2017, I covered the Climate and Health Meeting hosted by Vice President Al Gore at the Carter Center. The conference was originally planned as a three-day conference to be hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, after its cancellation Vice President Gore decided to host it as a single day conference.

I was absolutely excited to receive a media pass from the office of Vice President Gore’s communications team to cover such a significant and educational event. The Climate and Health Meeting included speakers from institutions such as the American Public Health Association, Harvard Global Health Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vice President Gore also gave a presentation which discussed the effects of climate change on various countries. One of the points he noted is that runoff and flooding resulting from increases in extreme precipitation, hurricane rainfall and storm surge will increasingly contaminate our water sources. He said, “More than two thirds of the water born disease outbreaks in the United States have been immediately preceded by these extreme precipitation events.”

Following his presentation, I met Vice President Gore and relayed to him that I was a journalism student at the University of Georgia.

Shortly before this, I interviewed Lisa Turner Seyfield regarding her involvement with the organization which she co-founded, “Mothers and Others for Clean Air.” Being that I am from the Bahamas, I also interviewed the executive director of the American Public Health Association, Dr. Georges Benjamin during a press briefing about his outlook regarding the effects climate change has on the tourism industry of West Indian countries.

These comments can be found in an article I wrote on the WUOG radio website.

Midway through the conference, Vice President Gore introduced and thanked President Jimmy Carter who also addressed the crowd and reflected on the public health work of the Carter Center.

Overall, attending this event further sparked my interest in political and health journalism. The opportunity to gain experience through speaking with and covering this heavily publicized event alongside journalists from organizations such as CNN, The Washington Post and The Hill gave me a valuable insight into this field.