Author: Sandra L. McGill

My name is Sandra L. McGill; I am a second-year terminal master's student studying Health and Medical Journalism at the University of Georgia in Athens. My biology career spanned fifteen years before I decided in 2012 that it was time to make a change. I have been writing and editing—works of science, works for the community, works of humor, and a lot of other works—since 2008 and shooting photography on a quasi-professional basis since 2011. Art—of the penciled, painted, and vocal variety—has been a lifelong passion. When I’m not engaged in the above pursuits, my favorite pastime is bugging the crap out of my twin sister, Sabrina. Don’t worry about confusing us: from our appearances to our personalities, we’re as fraternal as they come. Despite this, we are very close. Which is good, because my short arms don’t reach very far and I enjoy poking her a lot! Finally, I have a continuing love of the martial arts and am fascinated by just about every facet of them. I have trained formally or informally in seven styles ranging from Shotokan to Kung Fu. I hold a second-degree Black Belt in Korean Tang Soo Do and a first-degree Black Belt in American Kenpo, and I am currently affiliated with the Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation. Tang soo!

Organizations: Health and Fitness Charity Events

Here are five organizations useful for and/or relevant to my beat, the charity side of health and fitness.

  1. Great Nonprofits

  2. The Color Run
    • Found at: The Color Run – Charity
    • Why: The Color Run is not a charitable race event itself, but in most of the cities in which it holds runs, it works with local organizations to increase cause awareness for those organizations.

  3. Outside Online
    • Found at: “Yes, Charity Races Are Losing Money. No, They’re Not Going Extinct.”
    • Why: Although this article is a little outdated (written in January 2015 and referencing stats from 2013 because 2014’s numbers weren’t in yet), this article makes the good argument that races are going away from three-day-long epic events by big companies (like the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life or Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Race for the Cure) and toward shorter, themed races like mud runs, obstacle courses, and glow runs, many of which raise money for charities.

  4. Runner’s World
    • Found at: “Run for All”
    • Why: This is an authoritative source on running commenting on the reason many people run: to raise money for charity.

  5. Race Entry
    • Found at: “How to Organize a 5K”
    • Why: While this article encompasses all dimensions of planning a race, it has a specific section dedicated to planning fun runs or charity races.

Social Media: Health and Fitness Charity Events

Here are the profiles of 10 sources (individuals, local experts, national experts, etc.) on social media involved with my beat (the charity side of health and fitness).

  1. Allison Gauss

  2. Terri Harel

  3. Laurie Pani

  4. Danny Brown

  5. Deanna deBara

  6. Benjamin Roodman

  7. Aline Selyukh

  8. Anita Gerhardter

  9. Gary Lineker

  10. Molly Barker

Old Stories

Story 1: Race for a Cause: Charity Fitness Events

  • Link: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/charity-races
  • Date Published: June 20, 2012
  • Summary: This “article” was actually a little disappointing: it’s merely a list of charity races (some themed) and how much they cost for participants. (I thought it would tell a story.) Races include the Color Run, the Denver Gorilla Run, and the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series, among others.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Marginally. I don’t know that all of these races are still taking place. I know some of them, like the Color Run, are.

 

Story 2: Bannatyne’s Helps Member Train for Charity Iron Man Triathlon

  • Link: http://www.recognitionpr.co.uk/clients/id/8573
  • Date Published: February 8, 2012
  • Summary: This article was better because it actually was a story. This is a story out of Britain describing how a fitness facility, Bannatyne’s Health Club, helped a 55-year-old man, Ian Donaldson, train to race in the Ironman (they misspelled it in their article: it’s one word, not two) to raise funds for Clic Sargent, a charity that helps children with cancer. Donaldson had participated in charitable races before, but never the Ironman triathlon, which is very rigorous and lasts between 12 and 14 hours. The article also included a link at the end whereby readers could donate to Donaldson’s cause.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Not necessarily. It’s a nice human-interest story, but nothing more.

 

Story 3: Charity Races Mix Fitness and Fundraising

  • Link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1181
  • Date Published: September 10, 2008
  • Summary: This article was the best of all. Instead of being just a list of charity races (Article 1) or one racer’s specific story (Article 2), this article talked about charity races in general (many themed) and told readers how to get involved in one. It’s a little sad that the oldest article I chose is actually the most relevant.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Definitely. It holds timeless tips that are still applicable today.

Transcript: Marathon Runner Talia Levine

Sandra McGill: If you would, please tell me your name and your title.

Talia Levine: Talia Levine, and I am a graduate assistant at the National Park Service. Is that the title you wanted?

SM: Sure! That’s fine.

TL: Okay.

SM: And you’re a second-year master’s student?

TL: I’m a first-year master’s student at the Odum School of Ecology.

SM: Okay. And how do I spell your name?

TL: T-A-L-I-A, and last name is Levine: L-E-V-I-N-E.

SM: Excellent. And you are running a marathon. Would you tell me about that?

TL: Yes. I am running the New York Marathon on November 6, and I’ve never run a marathon before. I’ve done half-marathons. I’m actually doing this one because my mother passed away just under two years ago, and had a very sudden heart attack. She was very healthy, and [this was] unexpected. So I am running with the American Heart Association team and fund raising for them, so that’s why I decided to run it.

SM: Excellent. And did you run half-marathons at all before she passed away?

TL: Yes. So I’ve been running—I’ve been doing races for the last 10 years. I did my first half-marathon 10 years ago. So I’ve done—I guess I’ve run about five or six half-marathons, but never a full.

SM: Okay. And what inspired you to initially start running?

TL: Um … that’s a good question. I think part—well, I think I started, you know, for weight loss and probably to get in shape—a lot of what initially motivates people. But I think I have kept doing it because it’s good for one’s sanity. (laughs)

SM: So first for weight; now for sanity.

TL: Yes. (laughs)

SM: Wow; neat. Tell me your training schedule.

TL: So right now I run three kind of shorter to moderate runs throughout the week, and then a long run on the weekend. And it kind of ramps up each week, so this past weekend I ran 10 on Saturday, and this upcoming weekend I’ll have to run 12.

SM: Miles or kilometers?

TL: Miles.

SM: Okay.

TL: And I’m trying to remember—I think—well, nevermind: I’m not going to say that because I don’t know if it’s accurate. But that’s about what the schedule is. And then you have another day or two where you can throw in some cross-training, if you want to do walking or swimming or biking or something, if you’re not exhausted, which generally I am. (laughs)

SM: And how long are your short runs, generally?

TL: Right now they are five and six miles.

SM: And at what time of day do you run those?

TL: It depends on my schedule with school, but anywhere from—um—sometimes, you know, seven in the morning; five in the morning, sometimes nine or 10 at night—it just depends on when I can get it in. So I don’t have a very patterned schedule! (laughs)

SM: Cool beans. What inspired you to run a full marathon this time?

TL: I think it’s been on my bucket list; I just wanted to see if I could do it. When I first started running halfs, I didn’t think that I could run a half. I just learned that, like anything else, you just have to work at it and train, and if you dedicate yourself to it, you can accomplish it. So I’ve wanted to kind of test myself with the full to see if I can do that without dying! (laughs) That’s my main goal.

SM: What do you expect?

TL: Uh, potentially to die! (laughs) I expect I’m going to—I’m prepared to walk/run, so I don’t think—it’s been a while since I’ve run. So this is really just to kind of get back into it. So I hope to finish: that is my goal, just to finish and try to enjoy [it]. [I’ll] get to run through the five villas of New York, so I’ll try to enjoy the experience and not be too hard on myself. So that is my expectation: just to walk across that finish line, or run. I guess run would be better. (laughs)

SM: And why did you choose one so far away?

TL: Um, I think just because it’s an iconic race. And I wanted something I would be excited about to motivate me to train for it and do it.

SM: Awesome. Tell me about the American Heart Association. Why are you specifically running for them?

TL: So I have lost two family members to heart-related conditions: my grandmother died when she was—when I was a baby—from a stroke, very suddenly, and then my mom of a heart attack. So, um, just kind of seeing how people’s lives can change somewhat dramatically: even when you think someone’s healthy and, you know, skinny and exercises and eats right, there are still underlying conditions that people can have. So I wanted to support their research and their health outreach programs to hopefully prevent that from happening in other people’s lives.

SM: And how have you found running and training is fitting in with your own health?

TL: I think it’s been really good. I think, you know—I’m sure you can relate: having started grad school, I probably would not be exercising right now if I were not, you know, afraid that I would be embarrassed (laughs) in three months’ time by not being able to finish the race. So I think it’s been a good motivator for me, and I find that when I have a schedule like that, that I’m a lot more likely to stick to it than when left to my own devices.

SM: Did you run for any charitable causes before your mom passed?

TL: This is—no. I mean, I think I’ve done races in the past that have supported charitable causes, but this is the first time I’ve kind of taken on fundraising as part of a racing experience.

SM: And I know your mom passed away two years ago, you said. Why wait until now?

TL: I was going to—so, it happened in December of 2014. I was actually supposed to run last year, [but] I hurt myself and couldn’t do it. So I deferred until this year, and I’m running with a team this year. So I’ve actually kind of been fundraising for two years! (laughs)

SM: Tell me about the fundraising aspect.

TL: So you have to raise $3,500 to run, and last year I raised $6,500! This year has not been as profitable, because I think most people donated last year. But luckily I don’t have a level I have to achieve this year; they’re letting me run because I already did my fundraising. But I’m still trying, and techniques I’m using—aside from peer pressure—are I have a dog who likes to sing. So every time someone donates, she and I sing a song together and post it to the person’s Facebook wall. (laughs) And I’ve even thought about trying to record something to send to Ellen DeGeneres, to see if she would feature it and maybe some. So that is in the works in the next couple of months. (laughs)

SM: That’s hilarious. That is very funny!

TL: You gotta get creative, you know?! [There are a lot of] people with a lot of causes. You have to do something to stand out a little.

SM: What are your other techniques for raising funds?

TL: Um, you know, the first time was really easy because there were a lot of people who really loved my mom, so I [reached out] to a lot of her friends and family members. Facebook has—I’m not a huge social-media person, but Facebook was definitely, you know, paramount in helping me to achieve that goal and kind of getting the message out. Honestly, it really was pretty easy last year because of that. This year I’m having more trouble and am needing to get a little more creative. I’m a group fitness instructor, and I’ve taught yoga in the past, so I’ve thought about maybe trying to organize some classes for donation, or things like that toward the end of things. If I’m not kind of at the level where I want to be, to see if I can maybe boost my donations generated a little bit.

SM: Is that because you don’t want to ask the same people again?

TL: Yeah—I mean, you know. People were pretty generous in their donations last year, and I know that people have a lot of things going on. So I’ll probably email some of the people who didn’t donate last year, who maybe, you know, might be interested in doing it this year. But I don’t like pressuring people too much. I want to make them feel like there’s something in it for them.

SM: You mentioned [the race benefits] the American Heart Association. Why that particular vascular association as opposed to another one that also does vascular research?

TL: Hmm; that’s a good question. I think they’re just kind of the primary one that comes to mind. I’ve been CPR certified and AED certified through them for many years. So I think people just kind of respect that organization, and think that they make a huge impact in people’s lives. So I guess they were kind of the first that came to mind, and since they do stroke and heart disease and heart attack, it seemed like it fit my situation well.

SM: Do you happen to know how much of the funds that are raised go toward research and that kind of thing, as opposed to operational expenses?

TL: That’s a good question. They send us emails about how they are going to use the funds, and they did send a communication out recently about (searches her phone for the email)—oh, I’m not going to be able to find it. But they sent something out about how much it takes for certain preventive education [and] things like that. I should have a better answer to that, and I don’t. but I can certainly follow up with you about that later.

SM: If you find that email, would you send it to me?

TL: Sure.

SM: My email address is sandralmcgill@gmail.com. Thank you!

TL: Sure. I’ll try to find that tonight.

SM: How long have you been training for this particular marathon?

TL: This one, I’ve been seriously [training] for about six weeks, and I’ve got about ten weeks to go. So I was kind of running a little bit off and on before that, but my schedule is a 16-week training schedule.

SM: What would you like people to know?

TL: I think that you can never judge a book by its cover, in a lot of different ways. My mom was someone who—she and I did not really resemble one another in body: she was very—she used to always tell me that she could never gain weight. That was her problem growing up, which I’ve never experienced! (laughs) But she also, you know, didn’t really—because of that—didn’t go to the doctor very much. She just always kind of assumed that she was in good health. I think that you can lead a very healthy lifestyle and [bad] things can still happen, so I think it’s good to get checked out and kind of stay on top of that. I think the flip side of that is, you know, I think a lot of people would look at me and probably think, “Oh, you’re going to run 13 miles?” Or “You’re going to run 26 miles?” and probably assume that’s not necessarily something I can do based on my body [type] (she is a bit heavy set), but I think that you kind of never know what people have going on, what kinds of hobbies they’re into, and what types of things they devote themselves to in life. I guess that would be my primary takeaway.

SM: What would you like people to do?

TL: I guess maybe two things. One would be to find something that you’re passionate about and support it in the way that you can, in the way that feels authentic to you, I guess. And then I think one really powerful lesson—a kind of takeaway for me from running—has been that, I don’t know that it’s true that you can do anything you set your mind to, because I know that there are places where you’ll have more natural skill. But I think that running is a good example of something where just showing up and being consistent, you notice that you get better. So I think that’s kind of 99 percent of life, they say, is showing up and trying. So if there’s something that you want to do and you want to try, try it, and even if it doesn’t go well the first time, continuing to show up and continuing to do it and looking at it six weeks, six months down the line, and kind of seeing where you are. And then if you’re terrible at it, you can quit! (laughs) But at least try it for about six months to a year before quitting. That’s my message! (laughs)

SM: What other health benefits have you noticed as a runner?

TL: I think, just, definitely reduced stress. I think it helps to manage times in your life where you know, you’re busy; you have emotional things going on; or whatever the case may be. I think it’s kind of cheap therapy. I think just feeling like I can keep up with my two-year-old nephew better when I’m running after him, and I think I just have a better quality of life when I’m running because I feel more energetic. I feel like I can go out and do things and have better energy when I’m doing it.

SM: What have I not asked that you’d like people to know?

TL: Well, I’d like them to know that if they’d like to donate to my campaign (laughs), I am happy to provide that information! (laughs) If you’d like to advertise that to UGA!

SM: Thanks so much! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

TL: No. Thank you for the interview; I appreciate it!

SM: You’re welcome!

Vertical

In the evenings when I’m unwinding, I like to find things that make me laugh and things that make me think. Although I haven’t visited their website before tonight while composing this post, I usually keep an eye out for BuzzFeed videos on Facebook. Sometimes they post funny ones, like “Things Cats Do That’d Be Creepy If You Did Them” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUANIvNmYzQ), and sometimes they’re thought-provoking or status quo-busting, like “30 Days Without Shaving” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWTin-X4GrM) in which they followed several women at different time periods over a month in which they did not shave their armpit hair. Overall, these videos are enjoyable and entertaining. And seriously, if you need a laugh, check out that “Things Cats Do” video.

Vertical

I came across The Huffington Post’s “Health and Fitness Healthy Living” page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/health-fitness/). It’s got a little bit on health (including mental health), a little bit on fitness, and occasionally the two together. One of the more humorous featured blog posts I found on August 24 was antisocial Nicholas Miriello’s “No, I Don’t Want to Work Out with You” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-miriello/work-out-alone_b_4282236.html?utm_hp_ref=health-and-fitness&ir=Health%20and%20Fitness). However, they also included some material I thought was poorly placed, such as “This Bengaluru Engineer Decided to Drive a Car Without a Horn. Best Decision Ever” by Rituparna Chatterjee (http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/07/05/mansoor-ali-sharif-car-ho_n_10811096.html?utm_hp_ref=health-fitness&ir=Health+and+Fitness). The article touted better mental health (which is health-related) and better time management (which is not), but I still think it would go better in a different section of the paper.

Where I’m At

My beat is Health and Fitness. With a solid background in biology and firm interest in health and medicine, I thankfully know a good little bit about this subject. I find myself attracted to health magazines like WebMD when I sit in doctors’ offices, and I like to know how I can improve my health.

Fitness is a bit different, however. Although I practiced martial arts for eleven years and hold Black Belts in two styles (a first degree in American Kenpo and a second degree in Korean Tang Soo Do), I don’t have the time or money to practice currently, and consequently, I have gained weight. I tried running for a while, training for an obstacle-course 5K race, and although I loved how it made me feel, it’s hard to keep up with because I don’t enjoy the running process itself. I had hoped to become more involved in sports here at UGA, but I’ve generally had too many demands on my time and energy keeping up with classes and my graduate assistantships. I know what it takes to be healthy, and I’m capable of conveying that knowledge to an audience, but the practice itself is difficult.

Sandra McGill

Sandra McGill: Achieving Success Despite Setbacks

By THE CLASS

Sandra McGill, 35, grew up all over the country, but primarily in Stockbridge, Georgia. As a child, her family moved around a lot. Although she and her twin sister, Sabrina, were born in Decatur, Georgia, they lived in Duncanville, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), Alexandria, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, D.C.), and Dublin, California (a suburb of San Francisco) from ages two to seven. She hated moving around and leaving her friends every few months or years. Just before the twins turned eight, their family returned to Georgia, eventually settling in northern Stockbridge about 20 miles south of Atlanta. Sandra watched it grow from a small suburb to a rather large city, as Henry County, in which the city resides, was one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation throughout most of her childhood. She still considers Stockbridge home (mostly because her parents still live there), but it experienced a downturn in economics after many urban residents of neighboring Clayton County flooded the city when Clayton County schools lost their accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2008. It’s much different from the town she grew up in, but she fondly remembers playing baseball, riding bikes, and playing other games on the street with other children in her neighborhood until high school, when too much homework got in the way.

She decided to attend the University of Georgia because it offered a unique master’s degree program in the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Health and Medical Journalism program, a relatively new graduate program offered by the university starting in 2010, is one of a very small handful like it in the country.

Sandra, a second-year master’s student, has a 15-year background in the field of biology. When she was working in labs as a research technician, she realized that she much preferred editing her coworkers’ manuscripts to managing transgenic mouse colonies and running polymerase chain reactions. She came to the Grady master’s program because she would like to learn how to write and edit health science articles on a professional level. “My career goals are on track,” she said. She would like to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a health communications officer or write and/or edit in the field of medical journalism.

She prefers to use a recorder while interviewing. Sandra writes somewhat slowly but very legibly, and finds that her writing becomes too “messy and disorganized” when attempting to write quickly. She also appreciates that using a recorder frees her from feeling pressure to transcribe every word, and allows her to fact-check for accuracy.

Sandra’s favorite written works to date were several pieces that she wrote during her time as a contributing freelance writer to Student Health 101, a digital health magazine based in Massachusetts with a readership of some three million students in the U.S. and Canada. Writing for a college audience often allowed her to infuse her somewhat goofy personality into her articles. These are some of her favorite pieces because she was able to be sarcastic, have fun, and play with words during the writing process.

Her favorite book, or series rather, is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Sandra loves these books because they grew with their audience in terms of tone and mature themes. In a sense, Rowling was able to appeal to an ageless audience, and the tone of her books matured in unison with her characters and audience.

Not surprisingly, J.K. Rowling is Sandra’s favorite author. In the Harry Potter books, Rowling’s writing style changes as the characters aged: the first book was written for an 11-year-old and her last for a young adult. The themes got more mature. As someone who has written her own children’s novel (unpublished), Sandra finds Rowling’s skill admirable. The author inputted subtle details in the early books and didn’t reveal their explanations until later ones, and it made the series influential for so many around the world.

The most meaningful advice Sandra has gotten she actually learned from her own experiences in adversity. Sandra was diagnosed with a neurological disease in 2008. It troubles her a lot and, while not degenerative, it is unfortunately not curable. Because of it, she had to give up pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and return home to Atlanta, to learn to manage a new life with the support of her family close by. She has heard the adage “things happen for a reason,” but she doesn’t agree with it. What she firmly believes instead is that every storm cloud has a silver lining, meaning good things can come out of any bad situation. For her, the neurological disease is the bad thing. Although she doesn’t know what good things will happen, she has learned positive lessons from it. Now, when she meets someone in trouble, she doesn’t say “it’s going to be all right”; instead, she asks what she can do to help.

In five years, Sandra sees herself as either a health communicator for the CDC or writing health-based local journalism pieces. Sandra said she has yet to decide whether she wants to stay in Atlanta with her family or move away to find work. She initially came to UGA’s Grady College to become a health communicator for the CDC. However, last spring, she traveled to South Georgia with her class and wrote a story on the Easter Seals branch located in Albany. “I fell in love with the people,” Sandra said. This particular experience with her class and writing about the people in South Georgia opened up the option of writing as a journalist about local news.

When Sandra moves back to Atlanta after graduating from UGA, she will miss being in a small, easily drivable town. The sprawl of Atlanta is hard to navigate on a good day, and the traffic is a nightmare!