New York Archives - Grady College

Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13) is this year’s recipient of the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award, honoring a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career.

Carpenter is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She previously worked at both CNN and The Washington Post, and has also written for publications including Glamour, Vogue and New York Magazine.

Covering stories on gender, culture, finance, technology and everything in between, Carpenter has received several awards for her reporting. In 2019, she was honored with the Excellence in Business Coverage Award from The Association of LGBTQ Journalists for her story “When Work Puts You Back in the Closet,” published in CNN Business. In 2020, she received a Front Page Award in the Personal Service category from the Newswomen’s Club of New York for her reporting in WSJ’s “The New Rules of Money” series.

In addition to reporting, Carpenter also publishes a daily newsletter, “A Woman to Know,” and mentors aspiring writers through Girls Write Now.

Following is a brief interview with Carpenter:

GC: What is it about your field that appeals the most to you? Why did you decide to enter that field?

JC: I’m a big talker and an obsessive journaler. As soon as teachers saw those two things, they started recommending I think about studying journalism. In my career now, those two things — my chattiness and my note-taking — are huge strengths of mine. As a student, I loved the idea that journalists could ask anyone about anything and spend all day learning about everything. Even today, I’m still marveled that I will think “I wonder how that’s going to work?” and then I’ll call someone and say, “You’re the expert, and I’m a journalist — can you tell me how that’s going to work?”

Carpenter is currently based in New York City, where she reports for The Wall Street Journal (Photo: submitted).

GC: Looking back at your time at Grady, is there anything you wish you had done (classes you had taken, skills you would have liked to have learned, clubs to be involved with) that would help you with what you are doing today?

JC: As a college student, I was so intent on double-majoring (in English and in journalism) and excelling at the student newspaper. I wish I had taken more classes just for fun! Looking back on my time at UGA, I can truly think of only a handful of classes I took that weren’t fulfilling a requirement or adding to some other part of resume. If I could go back, I like to think I would do that differently. I know I would be a better writer for it, that’s for sure.

GC: What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

JC: There’s no “right way” to build a career and a creative life. Stop trying to find it! Go to Marti’s and eat some pita chips.

Carpenter graduated In 2013 with a degree in journalism (Photo: submitted).

GC: What motivates you?

JC: The day after I publish a piece, I set aside time to read all the tweets, emails and comments responding to it. Sure, some of them are negative, and many require an eye roll or, in bad cases, a block and report. But I save all the emails that say, “you put words to what I was experiencing” or “thank God someone finally said this!” or — this one most of all — “I thought I was the only one.” Those motivate me.

GC: Is there anything else you would like to share?

JC: I have spent countless hours, therapy sessions and fat baby tears stressing over finding a mentor. Everyone kept telling me “Do you have a mentor? You need a mentor!” and at all these different points in my career, I resolved to find a mentor who (I presumed) could shepherd me to career enlightenment. But here’s the thing: my strongest advocates and best advice-givers and most generous sounding boards have always been people at the same level as me. Some of them I met at The Red & Black, some of them I met at internships and some of them I met during my early days at my first job. But we’ve all come up together, and grown together, and I want future students to know that building those connections is enough. Now, these peers are worth more to me than any idea I had of some “Fairy GodMentor.”

This is one in a series of profiles about our 2022 Alumni Award honorees and Fellowship inductees.

All our honorees and inductees will be honored at Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 29, 2022 at Athens Cotton Press. Please visit our Grady Salutes registration webpage for more details.

Alumni: Vaibhav Kumar (BA ’20), Madison Gable (AB ‘19), Caroline Friedman (AB ’19),

For Public Affairs Communications (PAC) students, connections are one of the most important parts of the program. Whether staying after class to meet guest speakers or keeping in touch with classmates after graduation, these connections can set you apart in an interview and help you get the job.

At Sloane & Company, a strategic corporate and financial communications firm, three University of Georgia Public Affairs Professional Certificate graduates with concentrations in Public Affairs Communications or Applied Politics have found their place in the Big Apple.

Madison Gable (AB ’19), a former Carolyn Caudell Tieger Fellow, joined Sloane after another PAC graduate recommended her for the role. Gable recently graduated from Central European University with an MA in Political Science, but she kept in touch with her PAC classmate after becoming close during the GradyDC summer program.

“The great thing about PAC is that a lot of your fellow students and friends from the program could likely wind up being a part of your professional network as you go on in your careers,” Gable said.

In class, Gable learned how to write in different voices and styles. One of her most essential takeaways was how to consume all types of media.

“The PAC program also helped me develop a strong understanding of how to continually analyze the media environments I work in and to continually cultivate that understanding as these environments are constantly evolving,” she said. “The PAC program taught me how to compose my writing in different voices and styles depending on the deliverable, as well as how to write material that can catch media attention.”

Two more UGA graduates and alumna of the PAC and Public Affairs Professional Certificate programs also work at Sloane. Vaibhav Kumar (BA ’20), who received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Caroline Friedman (AB ’19), who received her bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Kumar stayed behind after class to talk with guest speaker Whit Clay. He didn’t realize that conversation would lead to a full-time job one year later.

Professor Watson invited Whit Clay, co-CEO at Sloane & Company, to talk with students in September 2018.

Kumar works as an associate for Sloane. His chat with Clay, who is co-chief executive officer at Sloane, led to exchanging contact information and keeping in touch. It ultimately set him apart when the time came to apply and interview for an internship at Sloane in the summer of 2019.

Now, Kumar helps companies across multiple industries tell their corporate story to key audiences. While he graduated from UGA with degrees in political science and international affairs, it was his PAC classes that developed his writing and editing skills.

“Inviting spokespeople of all backgrounds helped me find cool internship opportunities like this,” Kumar said. “Additionally, the PAC classes helped me on my writing skills, especially when it came to memos and press releases. That practice with writing helps me daily at Sloane & Company.”

Clay said he is always impressed by the preparedness and eagerness of UGA graduates who join Sloane.

“UGA does an outstanding job of preparing young people to work,” Clay said. “The UGA graduates are all smart, but they distinguish themselves by being humble and willing to learn. They are not entitled and recognize that their education is a strong foundation, but that their careers in public relations will be built over time and success is earned through hard work, commitment and experience.”

Tag: New York

Alumni Award Profile: Julia Carpenter