Clint Burkett, ’15, did not finish his collegiate journey where he expected, like most Georgia College & State University (GCSU) graduates. Instead, the Bacon County native discovered his passion for rhetoric through GCSU’s liberal arts approach—dynamic classes for beginning students. Burkett enjoyed his rhetoric classes, and found them more compelling than his major in early childhood development. That breakthrough led him to where he is now—pastor at The Bridge Church in Blackshear,...
Jenna Byrd, ’22, was recently awarded a prestigious fellowship to Germany. The mass communication graduate is one of 75 Americans selected to study and work in Germany, August 2022 through June 2023, as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. Approximately 450 young professionals competed for the opportunity. “I wanted to live in the country and experience things firsthand,” Byrd said. “I’ve taken German language courses but never got...
It took a study abroad program to Denmark to renew Michael Marcinko’s faith in journalism. A senior mass communications major and music minor, Marcinko was one of 14 Georgia College students who traveled to Denmark in May. They met various government personalities and engaged with Danish journalists. This enabled them to compare Denmark’s public broadcasting network and Danish methods of persuasion to media content in the U.S. “It renewed a bit of my faith in journalism, which has...
A graduating mass communication major is the first Georgia College student to be awarded a competitive young fellowship award through the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Senior Jenna Byrd of Alpharetta was named a fellow for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program for Young Professionals. She will join a cohort of 75 other young graduates of all majors and disciplines from around the United States for a yearlong learning and working...
Name: Isabella Bruen Milton, GA Major: Mass Communication with a concentration in Digital Media Productions What is lead you to pursue your major? I love creating videos that elicit emotion. In videos and all things in life, sentimental moments are what stay with people – feelings are what people remember. What was it about Georgia College that made you want to attend? I chose Georgia College because I wanted to study abroad and connect with a diverse community. What has been your...
Garrett Lee Scroggs From: Monticello, Georgia Major: I love connecting to people through talking. Mass Communications allows you to have experience with public speaking and marketing. It allows me to create a relationship with customers and gives me a better understanding of how to advertise myself as an asset. Research/Internship: WGUR had me in advertisement sales, which really helped me in my personal job and allowed me to gain an understanding of how the public responds to certain...
Catherine Barr fell in love with Georgia College the moment she took a campus tour. The Henry County, GA native transferred to GC her sophomore year and has taken advantage of everything the university has to offer. “I was looking for a school with community and opportunities,” she explained. “I had heard great things about GC and the mass comm program from friends.” Originally a marketing major, Barr soon switched to mass comm after transferring. “It is broad, which opens a lot of...
Ava Leone Where are you from? I was born and raised in Augusta, GA where I attended Davidson Fine Arts Magnet school. Growing up here shaped my love for culture and the arts. Dr. Brian Newsome, head of the Honors College, also attended DFA, and Dr. Harold Mock, head of Leadership Programs, is from Augusta. They are wonderful people and worth getting to know. Do you have a minor? I have an English minor and apply many of the storytelling techniques I have learned in my English classes...
When he was little, Jonathan O’Brien wasn’t afraid of a monster under the bed.From early on, he loved watching the nightly news and knew how bad real people and circumstances could be. By Kindergarten, he was scaring all the other kids with tales of Hurricane Katrina, and his teachers had to tell him to stop. Now, he wins awards for telling the news.O'Brien took 2nd place for Best Audio Newscast at CBI (College Broadcasters, Inc.), a huge feat as many of his national competitors were...
Watching movies was something Shelly “Starr” Jarrard, ’12, grew up doing. Yet, she always wondered what it would be like to work behind the scenes. She had a passion for filmmaking. This past spring, after working long hours before and after work, she finished directing her first documentary, “The Flaws of Copyright Infringement Laws,” which placed as a semi-finalist in the Festigious Los Angeles Film Festival. It’s also been featured on the Independent Film Channel (L.A.) and accepted...
