UGA’s Development and Alumni Relations focuses on working with UGA students, faculty and alumni to turn their love for the university into meaningful impact. I am currently working as a communications intern for this team, focusing on drafting different types of written products, including newsletters, impact stories, blog posts and social media content to align with UGA’s voice and branding standards. I also conduct background research and interview individuals to highlight student scholarship recipients and alumni achievements for three different websites. Below is the published content that I have created throughout my time in this role.
These two pieces focused on highlighting two UGA alumni chapters: London and Atlanta. Putting these stories together involved reaching out to the chapter leaders and board members to interview them about their experience and the chapter as a whole. I then had to find an angle for each chapter and determine the best way to show why they are an integral part of the UGA alumni experience.
This series was created to feature different recipes from UGA alumni as part of the 2025 college football season. These pieces were more casual content, focused on being a simple read for all audiences.
The Georgia First Amendment Foundation (GFAF) is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting free speech and open government. I am currently working as a communications fellow for this organization, focusing on highlighting individuals advancing GFAF’s mission in their work, through written pieces and creation of digital content for a variety of social media platforms. This experience allowed me to explore my interest in the intersection of journalism and law by sharing important information and advocating for the protection of journalist and citizen’s First Amendment Rights to free speech.
This story allowed me to take the different multimedia elements of storytelling that I learned throughout my time as a journalism student and use it to tell the story of an individual who has made an impact on the Athens community. It included newsworthy elements of analyzing how the current political climate has impacted this individual and his journey to becoming a small business owner, and I, along with three other journalism students, sought to tell his story.
This story allowed me to take the different multimedia elements of storytelling that I learned throughout my time as a journalism student and use it to tell the story of an individual who has made an impact on UGA’s campus and students around her. It included newsworthy elements of analyzing how the current political climate has impacted her research and well-being, and I sought to tell her story and explain the effect she has made on the people around her.
This story allowed me to take the different multimedia elements of storytelling that I learned throughout my time as a journalism student and use it to tell the story of a marginalized community. It included newsworthy elements of analyzing how the current political climate has impacted individuals, and I sought to amplify these voices and explain their different perspectives. Speaking to students of different ages allowed me to understand different viewpoints of what they thought about this administration’s impact on society, based on each individual’s personal experience. I am grateful to have my first individual story published on Grady Newsource, and I look forward to continuing to use my writing to amplify the voices of different individuals in the communities around me.
I strongly believe in using my access to resources, skills and past experiences to challenge systemic inequalities and promote equity across all communities. My commitment to social justice is rooted in inclusion and empowerment. Through my storytelling, I seek to amplify the voices of those who are not able to advocate for themselves and drive meaningful change. Most importantly, I recognize that true change requires actively listening and having conversations to understand different perspectives and learn how I can uplift all voices.
I am interested in combining my journalism skills with my interest in politics. I am currently pursuing a certificate in public affairs communications, which has allowed me to gain skills aimed at educating and shaping public opinions on policy issues.
Through this certificate, I had the opportunity to participate in the GradyDC study away program in Washington D.C. During this time, I interned at the DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a non-profit organization that seeks to influence DC specific policy issues through advocacy, research and litigation.
Letter-to-Editor
This letter-to-editor is written from the perspective of a hypothetical public figure on an important policy issue. It is meant to address the op-ed that the author Michael Bloomberg wrote in terms of addressing the immigration crisis in the United States.
This key messages document is an example document building up to the final campaign. This document focuses on why abortion should be legalized across the nation included main ideas supported by statistics and data.
This advertising script is another example document building up to the final campaign plan. This document creates a hypothetical advertisement based on a public policy issue using visuals and emotions to connect with the audience.
An op-ed, or opinion editorial, is based on a specific policy issue. The author writes the issue based on a strong and informed opinion backed by data. The opinion of the author doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of a publication, rather it gives the author a chance to express their ideas about a specific issue. The first op-ed focused on human trafficking, and how it needs to be more heavily addressed on the national level. The second op-ed was another part of the building blocks to the final campaign plan. This piece focused on legalizing abortion across the nation, addressing the maternal healthcare crisis.
An infographic is used to factually and visually display information based on a public policy issue. This was the final assignment in the Advanced Public Affairs Communications course used to once again, highlight an important public policy issue in a visually appealing manner.
Final Campaign Plan
The final campaign plan was a culmination of all the tools and elements learned throughout the Advanced Public Affairs Communications course. As described earlier, this project focuses on creating a hypothetical public policy campaign, incorporating previous assignments that were used as building blocks for this final project.
I had the opportunity to work with the AJC to do live coverage on Election Day 2024 in Athens-Clarke County. I interviewed voters before polls opened at 7 a.m. and continued to have conversations until 2 p.m. at five different polling locations across the county. This opportunity allowed me to gain experience talking to a variety of people and writing quick stories with tight deadlines. This was one of my favorite experiences because I was able to take the skills that I learned from each of my Grady classes and apply it to a real-world experience and report on a newsworthy event that was highly important across the nation.
One of the most important skills taught throughout my time as a journalism student that I was able to use, was making sure to obtain a source’s contact information in order to be able to follow up with them. Because I was able to do this, I was able to verify details from my story and ensure that the information I published was factually accurate- my main goal with journalism. It was important for me to receive this feedback from multiple professionals in the field to help me recognize the importance of the work I was doing.
Celebrating International Education Month with International Student Life at UGA
International Education Month is more than just three weeks in November. For the University of Georgia’s campus, it’s about internationalizing the student experience and celebrating a variety of cultures throughout the year.
“A large part of International Education Month is showing everyone that international education doesn’t just happen in a vacuum, it doesn’t just happen here in ISL or immigration services and OGE,” said Natalie Kenny-Hall, Senior Programming Coordinator for International Student Life at UGA. “Literally every department has some kind of international education going on.”
International Education Month is dedicated to providing international education to all UGA students. It’s based on the federal initiative of International Education Week, which is the third week of November.
“We recognized that so much international education was being done at UGA that we needed to expand that to cover the entire month,” she said.
It kicked off with the Parade of Flags on Monday, Nov. 4, where students requested their countries’ flag from the International Student Life office. Each student carried their country’s flag from the Arch to Tate Student Center.
“I was carrying the Brazilian flag. It’s my first semester here, and I just came from Brazil, and it was an honor to bring the Brazilian flag with me,” said Majorie Baio, Graduate Assistant for ISL.
Following the Parade of Flags was WorldFest, an event held in Tate Plaza where several UGA ISL organizations had a table displaying their own cultures.
This was a chance for both international and domestic students to interact with international cultures and student organizations from all around campus.
“The ability for our international students to be able to speak about their culture to their peers is really lovely to see that happen in real time,” said Natalie Kenny-Hall.
A variety of departments across campus put on events to continue supporting ISL’s initiative to expand international education across campus throughout the month.
At UGA’s Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, the Dancing with Devils: Latin American Masks Traditions exhibit is dedicated to celebrating a small portion of Latin American culture. It’s available for all UGA students to take time to engage with a particular international culture and learn about celebrations and traditions.
“I think international students just love to see a focus of things that are not American and see that celebrated, not just a quick hat-tip of ‘Oh we’re doing this, isn’t that nice?’,” said Natalie Kenny-Hall. “It’s real in depth, a whole month of celebrating on campus that helps them feel more included and it opens up more opportunities for them as well.”
Skills I Used
I liked being able to create another story based on International Student Life. I enjoyed being able to talk about such a broad topic because I think it gave me the opportunity to film different angles to provide a clear picture of International Education Month. This was also my first time using video for a journalistic purpose, and I feel like I learned a lot about filming and editing techniques, which helped me create this product.
Internationalizing the Student Experience: Natalie Kenny-Hall Creates a Safe Space for International Students on UGA’s Campus
Natalie Kenny-Hall has one main goal with her work: internationalizing the student experience at UGA.
“It’s not just about working with international students and helping them here on campus, but it’s also allowing students from the US to experience international culture as well,” she said.
The Senior Programming Coordinator for International Student Life at UGA seeks to create a stronger community among students through her work. She is involved in planning and programming events like International Coffee Hour.
At this event, students can be found talking about different cultures and sharing their experiences at UGA.
“Lots of research shows that when students feel like they belong, they do better academically.”
It’s not something she just tells international students; it’s something she has experienced herself.
Natalie grew up in England and pursued her undergraduate degree there. She thought that moving to another “similar” country would be simple.
“Moving to an English speaking country, I thought the transition would be very, very easy,” she said.
Her empathy to understand the mixed emotions that these students might feel as they start college across the world allows her to connect with a variety of students.
“Natalie has helped me find my community at UGA by teaching us all that we need to be able to gain intercultural competency. Her trainings allowed us to understand how to communicate with people from different backgrounds and cultures,” said Sowmya Gangyshetty, a third-year law student from India.
In the 53 years that this event has taken place, Natalie has seen the firsthand impact that these interactions can have on a student’s sense of belonging and finding friendship.
“I see (students) sitting down and talking to each other the first week, maybe the second week, and then by the end of term, they’re best friends and they’ve got a group of people,” she said. “That’s just wonderful to see that kind of organic friendship happen due to them coming to one of our events.”
Natalie is also an advisor for five international student organizations at UGA- Bangladeshi Student Organization, Korean Undergraduate Student Organization, Indian Student Association, Nepalese Student Organization, Vietnamese Student Organization.
“It’s a fairly new job for me directly advising student organizations, but they’re all wonderful. I’d like to keep growing those skills to make sure that I can support them as best as possible,” she said.
When talking about how students can make the best of their experience through ISL’s events and organizations, she suggests that they be open to new opportunities, even if it’s scary at first.
The biggest lesson that she hopes all students take from ISL events is that, “there’s more that we have in common than we don’t have in common from around the world,” she said.
Skills I Used:
This story continued on with my idea of continuing to report on International Student Life, but this time I was featuring an individual. I loved being able to do create story because it shows the depth I have with producing different types of journalistic pieces. Most importantly, I think this piece truly showcased how I continued to grow throughout the semester as a journalist by incorporating audio elements combined with a written story.
