GSPA welcomes new staff member, Kimberlee Smith

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Hello!  My name is Kimberlee Smith, and I am currently a second-year Graduate Student at the University of Georgia, hoping to obtain my master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication by 2023. I’m currently assisting GSPA for the 2022-23 year. Last summer, I worked for UGA Summer Academy as an assistant instructor for the Entertainment and Media Studies camp, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

In 2016, I was the head editor and photographer on my yearbook committee. In 2021, I achieved a BA in Communications and Media Studies at Reinhardt University. During my undergraduate degree, I also achieved multiple minors, including Digital Media Arts, Global Communications, Media Writing, Creative Writing and International Relations. I was also editor-in-chief of my university’s news blog, which was run by the Communications Department, for two years. During my time in the Communications Department, I was the only black female junior and senior-level Communication major at my university and one of the first black female editor-in-chiefs of my school’s newspaper. During my time in undergraduate school, I became proficient in audio and video editing, social media, script and television writing, fiction writing and digital storytelling.

I have many aspirations, but I would like to pursue investigative journalism in the future, and I would be open to other fields of journalism. The beats I am interested in are international, cultural, and political. I would like to work in different forms of journalism such as magazines and online news companies like The New York Times and The Washington Post. The particular topics that I would like to focus on are East Asian and African American culture and North American and International politics. I would also like to study abroad in East Asia and obtain a bachelor’s, master’s degree, or certificate in culture and languages to broaden my understanding of culture when I write journalistic pieces.

3 Fun facts about me:

  1. I can say the alphabet backwards.

  2. I have a near photographic memory.

  3. I can speak beginner Mandarin and Korean.

I hope I explained who I am to the best of my ability because I am still figuring that out myself. I’m looking forward to what this position will bring and learning from you all!