Heather White
Heather is an Advertising major from Roswell, Georgia. She entered UGA aspiring to major in Public Relations or Advertising through Grady College. Her extracurricular activities here at UGA include Ad Club, serving on the public and family relations committee for UGA Miracle, as well as social chair for Zeta Tau Alpha. She also participated in UGA’s Alternative Spring Break homelessness and poverty program in 2007. This past summer, Heather interned at Green Olive Media, a full-service, boutique Public Relations firm in Atlanta, where she gained a great amount of experience. She hopes to find a job in Atlanta in a Public Relations firm after graduating in May 2009, as long as her job includes writing and a lot of interaction with different people.
Katie Kelly
Katie Kelly is a senior from Jacksonville, Florida double majoring in Advertising and Spanish, graduating in December 2008. This is Katie’s second term serving as a Grady Ambassador. On campus, Katie has been a member of the Georgia Recruitment Team, Kappa Delta Sorority and the Ad Club. She was also a student judge for the 2008 Peabody Awards. Off campus, Katie enjoys volunteering, traveling, art and the outdoors. Katie studied abroad in Valencia, Spain and recently interned in the Media Department of Fitzgerald+CO in Atlanta. She will act as the Media Planner/Buyer for her campaigns class this semester. Katie looks forward to her last semester at UGA and is excited about sharing what Grady College has to offer with others.
Mandi Woodruff
Mandi is a senior Magazines major and Spanish minor from Locust Grove, GA. She currently works as associate news editor for The Red & Black and has been writing for the paper since her sophomore year. If she’s not at the paper, she’s usually either sleeping or thinking about being at the paper.
She has been involved with Grady’s award-winning chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists since Day One of freshman year, working her way from Treasurer to last year’s President. Though she’s a magazines major, she’s having second thoughts and thinks she’ll end up working for a newspaper after graduation. Traveling is one of her biggest passions, and she spent a summer volunteering in Salta, Argentina and interned last summer in New York City with Reader’s Digest as part of the prestigious American Society of Magazine Editors intern program. She’s always looking for a new challenge, so she plans to move to the Big Apple as soon as she gets her diploma to dive right into the biggest media center in the world. Her goal for senior year is to not stress out about small things and just enjoy her last year with good friends and good times.
Tamara Best
Tamara Best considers herself to be a native New York apple and an imported Georgia peach. A third year student at the University, Tamara is pursuing a degree in Newspapers with a photojournalism emphasis and a minor in Spanish. Tamara loves the Grady College and is ecstatic about the opportunity to serve the college with her fellow Grady Ambassadors.
Outside of the classroom, Tamara is very active on campus serving as the current President for the UGA Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, Ivy Leaf Reporter for the Eta Xi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and News Reporter for the Red & Black just to name a few.
Tamara also enjoys serving her community and has participated in Alternative Spring Break and a volunteer trip to Guatemala with CARE. With a love for travel, Tamara plans on going to the Caribbean and Europe in the coming year and South Africa in 2010.
After graduation in December 2009, Tamara plans on pursuing a career in newspapers and use her other talents to one day become an entrepreneur. She believes that ‘the sky is not the limit, but the starting point!
Lizzie Azzolino
Lizzie Azzolino is a fifth year senior from Woodstock, Ga., studying public relations and working toward a certificate in new media. She is interning at Jackson Spalding, one of the nation’s largest independent marketing and communications firms, where she also spent her summer. In addition to Grady Ambassadors, Lizzie enjoys staying involved at Grady by serving as the student representative on the Grady Alumni Board and working on the 2008 Connect Conference planning committee.
Last year, Lizzie served as president of Grady’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and on the executive board of the International Association of Business Communicators and plans to be actively involved this year, as well. Some of her favorite classes at Grady have been on the topic of social media, which encouraged her to engaged in the blogosphere and become a self-proclaimed Twitter addict. In her spare time, she likes to dream about one day living in a big city, take almost daily spinning classes and spend time her expanded Italian family, two dogs and friends.
Drew Wheatley
Drew Wheatley is a senior Magazines major from Marietta, Ga. During his time at the University of Georgia, Drew has written for Athens Exchange, an online magazine serving the local community, and he has worked as a student editor for the college newspaper wire service U-WIRE. He is currently a member of The Red & Black editorial board. Drew enjoys traveling, attending concerts and watching Atlanta Braves games.
Davis Adams
Davis Adams is a senior from Sharpsburg, GA majoring in Publication Management with a minor in German and a certificate in New Media. After changing majors four different times, he found his niche in Grady College with our smallest, most eclectic program available. Aside from being a Grady Ambassador, Davis is also one of two of the college’s Student Government Senators and the college’s only student representative to the University Council.
Davis’ passion lies in the world of automotives, and he hopes to tie together his work in Grady College with a Big City publishing house as a features writer/editor.
Kristen Fraser
Kristen is a senior from Snellville, Ga. majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Sociology. She is also pursuing the New Media Certificate. This past summer, Kristen studied Tourism & Recreation Management for six weeks as she traveled across Australia—a dream come true for her! Before leaving, she worked with UGA’s Office of International Education fulfilling various graphic design needs. Kristen also gained public relations experience as the Marketing and Public Relations Intern at Childspring International, a small non-profit organization in Atlanta, during the summer of 2007. Before entering Grady, Kristen completed four externships to determine what major to pursue; her externships were at Coca-Cola North America (Public Affairs and Communications Department), Melissa Libby and Associates Public Relations Firm, skirt! Magazine and Match, Inc. Advertising Company. After her externships, Kristen knew PR was the perfect fit for her!
Aside from the Grady Ambassadors, Kristen is very involved with UGA’s Wesley Foundation. She has been on their Leadership Team for three years and a CrossTrainers mentor for four years. Kristen is also an active member of PRSSA, serving on the 2008 PRofessional CONNECTION Committee and as a Creative Consultants Account Executive for the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. In addition, she is assisting with public relations for the Dry Tears Campaign this year. Following graduation this May, Kristen plans to pursue a career in tourism or hospitality public relations.
Debbie Ebalobo
Debbie Ebalobo was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States when she was nine. She is currently a junior at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications with a major in public relations. She is involved in numerous campus organizations from being the chair for the Public Relations Student Society of American’s diversity committee to being the current president of the Asian American Student Association at the University of Georgia. She will graduate in May 2010.
Carolyn Crist
Carolyn Crist is a junior Honors student majoring in newspapers and English. She attended East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, Ga. Carolyn is the news editor of The Red & Black, the University’s independent student-run newspaper, and a teaching assistant for first-year students in the Honors program. This past summer Carolyn was the editor-in-chief of The Red & Black and worked on research with Grady College staff members Diane Murray and John Greenman as a Summer Undergraduate Fellow with the Honors program. She researched how to teach journalists to cover poverty in areas of Georgia with persistent poverty. Carolyn also works for the Georgia Scholastic Press Association, housed in Grady College, and last year was an external affairs intern for Grady’s public relations office. She hopes to become a reporter after graduating from the University in May 2010.
Ryan Carty
Ryan Carty is a fourth year senior majoring in Telecommunication Arts. He was born in Oceanside, New York and raised in Stockbridge, Georgia. He graduated from Stockbridge High School in May 2005. This past summer, Ryan served as the Development intern at TruTV in Midtown, New York where he was an integral part in the network’s movement to a new brand. In addition to Grady Ambassadors, Ryan currently serves as the Website Committee Chairman for the National Association of Black Journalists, Historian/Public Relations Chairman for the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Historian/Reporter for the Zeta Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, Assistant Editor for the Kappa Khronicle newsletter, and is a member of the Wildlife Society. After a planned graduation in May 2009, Ryan hopes to pursue a Masters of Natural Resources to become a Communications Specialist in Wildlife Conservation.
Evan Cobb
Evan Cobb is a fourth year senior studying Advertising. He was born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia and attended Blessed Trinity High School. Aside from being a Grady Ambassador, Evan is the Co-Director of the student run advertising agency, HSBT (Hooper Sanford Baldwin Thomas), and serves on Ad Club’s executive board. This past summer, Evan had an account management internship with Ogilvy and Mather at the worldwide headquarters in New York City. He was placed on the American Express team, where he played a vital role in the brand’s travel, fashion, and entertainment executions. Specific projects he worked on included the U.S. Open, and Delta Airlines partnerships as well as updating American Express concerning the competitive marketplace. In addition to his responsibilities to American Express, his intern group placed first out of seven for the new business pitch to Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), one of Ogilvy’s pro bono accounts.
Evan is very enthusiastic about the advertising industry, and is looking forward to climbing the corporate ladder at an agency; however, for now, he’s enjoying his final year in school and living each moment to the fullest.
Jacob Cole
Jacob Cole is a senior Public Relations major from Rome, Georgia. Jacob is a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America and is a senior financial counselor with the Peer Financial Counseling program. He is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership UGA program and a Fellow in the Richard B. Russell Leadership Foundation. While in Athens, Jacob serves as a mentor at a local elementary school and is the volunteer public relations coordinator for Visual Effects, a non-profit Deaf advocacy group. While at home, Jacob enjoys spending time with his family and is an active member at Pleasant Valley South Baptist Church.
Dennis Byrd
Dennis Byrd is a 4th year from Kennesaw, Georgia majoring in Advertising and Sociolog. He is actively involved with Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity, a peer advisor for the Creswell Music Learning Community, and a member of the Dean William Tate Society. He hopes to participate in Teach For America and one day own his own entertainment agency.
Laura Ann Sills
Laura Ann is a Broadcast News major from Harris County, GA. She is also a
Sociology and Anthropology major. She traveled to Australia this summer to
study abroad and then came back to her home town to intern at WTVM in
Columbus, GA. Laura Ann is fluent in American Sign Language and has danced
with the Wesley Foundation for the past 4 years.
Erin Parks
Erin Parks is a third year student at the University of Georgia with a double major in Telecommunication Arts and Sociology. In addition to serving as a Grady Ambassador, Parks works at the UGA Career Center as a Career Development Intern. She has also studied abroad in Ghana and hopes to cover issues in the US and abroad in documentary films in the future.
Stephanie Perrett
Stephanie Perrett is a senior Public Relations and Speech Communication major from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority, Delta Epsilon Iota National Honors Fraternity, and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Stephanie serves on the PRSSA executive board as President. Additionally, Stephanie works at the UGA Public Affairs Office and is a contributing writing for The Red and Black. She completed an internship with Athens Regional Medical Center in 2005 and an internship with The Spizman Agency in 2008. She attended the Grady @ Oxford study abroad program in Summer 2007.
Marc McAfee
Following a family tradition dating back to his Great-grandfather in 1912, Marc McAfee comes to UGA after graduating from Young Harris College in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.
Up there he was active in many student organizations, including being elected SGA President. Now at UGA he is content to pursue the lofty goal of graduating, as well as writing a weekly Opinions column for the Red and Black.
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