Brainstorming - Nikki Welch

1. Traditionally black fraternities and sororities on campus - when were they formed and did they have any special founding anniversaries this year.
2. SGA President Josh Delany - to be black and in office during the 50th anniversary.
3. ALL the buildings named after African-American students who came through UGA and why the buildings are named after them.
4. Did it snow that year, too? This could be a good humor story about snow and significant things that have happened on snow years.
5. What happened on the 1st and 2nd anniversary of desegregation? We all know about Hunter and Holmes, but did any other African-American students join them the next year?
6. The ratio of black students who are athletes on campus and how many of them are scholarship students.
7. ASF of the admissions ratio for African-American students admitted in 2010.
8. Efforts of UGA to promote multiculturalism with multicultural classes, events, etc.
9. Did the first students finish their degree and what's the ratio of multi-cultural students who are admitted, but choose to finish their degree elsewhere? - Find out why.
10. First black athlete at UGA? First black SGA President, etc. Find out the firsts and get some background info.
11. Black faculty members, community members who are employed by UGA, the Athens area and how it contributes to the multiculturalism of UGA.
12. Did we really desegregate? Do black and white students on campus co-mingle? What schools and degrees to black students typically study toward vs. white students? Is there an overlap of black and white students within many organizations, or does everyone continue to magnetize toward their own race? Why?

brainstorming by holly

1) A story on Mary Frances Early, the first African American to recieve a degree from UGA.
2)Hamilton Holmes, the first African American male to study at UGA.
3)Charlayne Hunter, a very successful journalism graduate.
4) A story of all three people above and how they overcame the difficulties while here at UGA.
5)A story on how the desegregation movement started, how it launched and then was successful.
6) The first black athletes on campus and how they changed the college sports arena.
7) The formation of black sororities and fraternities. How they recruited new members, how many did they start with, what did they do together, ect.
8) What were dining areas like for these first African American students? What are some stories they can share about desegregation during its first moments?
9) How did the desegregation movement of UGA affect other universities in Georgia and around the country? Did it start a movement among high school as well?
10) When UGA started its desegregation movement, what was the rest of Georgia doing economically, socially, commercially, ect?
11) What has been the progression of black students here at UGA since the 1960s? (in percentages and numbers per year)
12) Some of the major accomplishments for UGA can be accredited to African Americans, what are those and how did they change UGA for the better?

Brainstorming

1. Talk to alumni who were students when desegregation began and find out what they thought about desegregation then vs. now
2. Research the development of African American Greek life on campus since desegregation
3. Compare how desegregated UGA is now to other schools
4. Look at all of the ways the university administration tried to stop desegregation at the time
5. A timeline of the desegregation events
6. Ask students simple questions about the main characters of desegregation and find out how much they know
7. Look at major impacts African American alumni have made
8. Talk to UGA faculty members at the time and find out how they reacted to desegregation
9. Talk to African American alumni who attended UGA 5, 10, and 15 years after the initial desegregation and find out how their experiences differed
10. Compare how behind UGA was in desegregation in relation to surrounding schools
11. Find out how long it took for students to accept the desegregation- within class rooms, dorms, and especially student-run organizations
12. Legal aspect- how the lawyers of the first African American students managed to find loop holes in the administration's schemes to block their admission

holly s. hess autobiography

Well, in the midst of all these brainstorming ideas, here's my autobiography. I am a true southerner, born and raised in Augusta, Ga., the home of the Masters. And let me just go ahead and say, only a very small percentage of Augusta is as pretty as the Masters golf course. Anyways, at home, I lived with my brother, Drew, who is 25 and a blade engineer at Sikorksy (the company that makes the black hawk helicopter.) He's an awesome role model and we're really good friends that share many of the same passions. I also lived with my mom, a dental hygienist, and my dad, a medically retired engineer turned carpenter. Also with us, was a cat named Mooney, who has now passed, and a wonderful border collie named Lucky. She is brilliant, almost too brilliant.

Ok, so in high school I was a busy body, probably similar to most of my peers in this class- NHS, yearbook staffer, AP class taker, yada yada. I loved my high school days most because they were filled with sports and good friends. I ran cross-country, swam, and played soccer and tennis all four years while in high school. I was yearbook editor my senior year, but it was just more for fun than my love of journalism.

I came to UGA in 2007, before the massive student center was called the MLC, before Tate 2 existed, before we got new buses, before the economy sucked and before iphones and androids were popular. Yes, I feel old now.

I came to UGA thinking I'd like to study medicine, and went with that for a while. That thought stemmed from various medical mission trips to Spanish speaking countries, but turned out I liked the Spanish side of things more than the medicine. I struggled through my first semester in many ways. One positive thing I discovered during my first fall away from home, was my absolute love of photography. I started shooting macro (close-up) photos on a hiking trip to Panther Creek over fall break, and I was kind of good at it. From there, I started pursuing a career to do with photography. I weaseled my way into a film photography class in the art school and absolutely loved it.

At this point, I was pursuing a Spanish minor and an undecided major, which I stuck with until the Spring of my sophomore year. Then, really out of nowhere, I felt as if I was being led to get a degree in journalism, photojournalism specifically. Well, Grady doesn't offer that major, so I settled for a possible emphasis in photojournalism, applied to Grady, got in and started journalism classes the next fall. That summer though, I headed down to Argentina for two months to finish up my Spanish minor. I studied at the Universidad de Palermo en Buenos Aires for four week, three of which I was sick with the swine flu. Our classes got cut a week short and we were advised to return to the U.S. due to the swine flu outbreak. However, I had already planned to stay down there two extra weeks to tour the country with a friend. We made it three weeks and called it even. My adventures down there were absolutely amazing. If you want to hear some cool stories/see some neat pictures, just ask me.

SIDE NOTE: For most of freshman year, I dated a cute, witty and smart boy named Jim Gernatt. Then sophomore year, we took “a break.” When I came back from my summer in Argentina, I felt led to try dating Jim again (because we had both realized some important things while apart). This turned out to be a wonderful choice. We are still together today and have hopes of making things more permanent in the future. His is recent Terry alum, and is working in Vail, CO at Beaver Creek Resorts until April.

Ok, so back to fall of junior year: Grady classes started to enter my life and I liked it. I took an intro to horticulture class and liked it so much, I signed up for two more classes for the spring. I got way in over my head and loved it. Thus, my horticulture minor was born. Basically, I love plants, I love growing them and I love sharing them. I was so interested in being in the industry that I inquired about working at Trial Gardens on campus (behind Snelling). I was hired soon after and have been working there ever since.

This past summer, I spent my days laboring in the Trial Gardens over the perennials (plants that live on and on). It was a wonderful summer, hot, but great. This fall, I took over the Director of Marketing and Social Media position, which I wasn’t sure I could handle at first, but now I love it.

So here I am, in my final semester. Not exactly sure what I want to do with my life, but I know I want to “do what you like and like what you do,”-thank you Life is Good slogan. Here are a few vague thoughts though: I want to be a travel writer, photographer, farm/nursery/greenhouse owner, frequent surfer, and coffee connoisseur. Until the time comes to graduate and find a real job, I’ll keep doing what I do: thrift store shop, volunteer with YoungLife, train for triathlons, be outside as much as possible, and enjoy the small things in life. If you want to keep up with my journalism work, try reading my blog- hollyshess.wordpress.com. Or check out my new website, which is still under construction: www.hollyhessphotography.com.

Brainstorming: Desegregation

1) Feature on Wayne Norton, Georgia’s track coach and only black head coach at the University — has an interesting story.

2) With each new class accepted to the University, we get farther away from desegregation and the Civil Rights movement. Interesting to see if even applicant’s parents remember the times.

3) Talk with Billy Hawkins, author of The New Plantation and a University professor. Get his take on desegregation and the differences now, if any.

4) Look at the University statistics of students and the demographics. See if there is as much diversity as one would assume after desegregation. (Doubt it.)

5) Look at the Greek life on campus and the diversity of fraternities and sororities.

6) Track down any white faculty members at the time, get their take on the atmosphere and tensions of the time.

7) Still a very small Hispanic population on campus, study and find out why. Interview Hispanic students and faculty.

8) Interview Jaunita Cousins, first female African-American editor-and-chief, and her take on the role of the collegiate media in promoting diversity.

9) Ask students and faculty what they believe is a social problem they would have the courage to stand up to, much like the leaders of the Civil Rights movement or those of the desegregation movement at the University.

10) Feature graphic on the Civil Rights movement on college campuses in the state of Georgia. Plot Georgia’s desegregation, other movements on other campuses, etc.

11) Look if there are any lingering racial sentiments on campus. How much have things really changed? How much racism still lingers?

12) Feature on an African-American student group, and what they do to promote diversity, commemorate the 50th anniversary.

Brainstorming

1. A profile of an important person in the process of desegregation at UGA

2. A summary of the events that have taken place in celebration of the 50th anniversary

3. Telling events to come in the celebration

4. A story looking back 50 years at what happened in the process of desegregation at UGA

5. A profile of a person who attended UGA before desegregation and what it was like

6. A comparison of UGAs desegregation in comparison to other SEC schools

7. How students are celebrating desegregation

8. Accomplishments due to/after UGAs desegregation

9. Reasons to still celebrate

10. A profile of some of the best African American professors at UGA

11. Feature about accomplishments of African American alumnae

12. Feature about athletic scholarships and their benefits to African American athletes since desegregation

What happened when I brainstormed...

Desegregation Story Ideas:

1) Feature profile on Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault the first male and female African American students at UGA.

2) History of how UGA became desegregated timeline

3) How desegregation of UGA affected Athens/ Georgia as a whole

4) Coverage of Glory Bound: A Voyage Through the Underground Railroad on February 22, and make it so that the readers get the same visual of the experiences in the underground railroad.

5) Reviews of "Ruined" (a play) performed on February 15, "The Search for Quality Education: Busing” (Peabody film) shown on February 16, and any other songs, plays, movies, etc being held for UGA's 50th Desegregation Anniversary.

6)Compare the different classes (Freshman, Sophmores, etc) and their diversity with statistics

7) A look at how diverse UGA in comparison to its aspiration schools

8) A pop culture look at 1961 vs 2011. What's different? What's similar? How does desegregation play a role in this? A then and now piece

9) A feature on what Athens was like 50 years ago. Where could blacks go/ not go? Where were they treated equally? Where did they hang out?

10) Famous African Americans who graduated from UGA

11) The media's role in UGA's desegregation

12) Sites around campus that have been built/made to commemorate the desegregation of UGA, for example, Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies Collection in the Russel library

Desegregation ideas- Brittney

1. "Two-four-six-eight! We don’t want to integrate!"  Take a survey and interview current students if they would have had the courage to stand up against the norm, and fight for equality.  
2.  Write a recap of the first days at school, the riot that happened on North campus, how the president sent the students back to Atlanta (for their safety), but then later after a petition by the faculty the students were brought back to school.  Write a recap of what happened but with a fresh twist and look on what happened.  (Kind of like a walk-through history lesson, just without the dryness)  
3.  Feature on the location: south-east.  Which schools had been integrated already in the US.  Cross compare it with international countries.  US--> innovative, and ahead of the rest of the world.  
4.  Inspiring feature to show how far we've come since then.  All of the technological advancements, and social improvements since then.
5.  Editorial on talent... in the Olympics.  Create a sense of unity.  See beyond outside color differences to the part where we all have something useful to offer.  An example would be all the athletes in the Olympics (of all different races).  I mean, we wouldn't be too good if it wasn't for some influential African American athletes.  
6.  An image or a color coded map that showed which states and schools had been desegregated by the late '60's.  
7.  Change is scary.  Remember the millennium.  People were so comfortable in the first thousand years that they thought the world was going to end.  A feature recapping how change is scary but not always bad.  
8.  A table showing diversity on population of UGA compared to 10, 20, 50 years ago.  
9.  A day in the life of: an African American professor (feelings on desegregation now, and any memories of growing up... stories from parents or anything) 
10.  A day in the life of: an African American fraternity and sorority
11. A day in the life of: an African American athlete
12. An editorial on biracial babies (students born with parents of different ethnic decent) 

Brainsssssss.

My ideas:

1. Feature on a black student who chose to come to the University this past fall or spring. What was the process like? Did they feel like their race affected the application process?
2. Man-on-the-street piece on how current African-American students feel or don't feel about the celebration of desegregation then and now. Does it feel "special"? Do they stand out?
3. A day-in-the-life of a black frat on campus.
4. A story on the quest to raise the percentage of African-American students: what's the University doing and how do current faculty and staff feel about the overt desire to reach out to more students? Should the process be "color-blind"?
5. What has the University done in 50 years to make the campus, post-desegregation, more welcoming to blacks? What was that change like initially and what new programs or policies have been developed in the decades since?
   
6. Features on black professors: both their jobs now, 50 years after desegregation and any remembrances they may have had around the period the University was being desegregated.
7. A profile of the Morton Theatre, the most prominent African-American vaudeville in Georgia.
   
8. A feature on the "hot spot," or what was typically known as the center of African-American life downtown.
9. A feature on the organization of the anniversary's commemorative events: who plans them every 10 years? How? What do they look for and what sort of messages do they hope to send?
10. A day-in-the-life of African-Americans living and working downtown 50 years ago: where could they go? What could they do?
11. A MOTS from University administration about their thoughts on the commemoration: what strikes them as most important then, now and going forward?
12. Contextualizing the University's struggles to raise its percentage of black students among those struggles of other SEC schools. Who's doing better than us? Who isn't? Why?

Sarah Osbourne

Story ideas for desegregation...

1. A profile on specific historic figures that were influential in the past to the desegregation of UGA.

2. Story on current African American students and how desegregation affects their families, learning experiences at UGA, etc.

3. Study on the current African American organizations on campus and how they came to be with emphasis on how desegregation led to this.

4. Stories on current events happening including guest speakers, videos, lectures, etc.

5. Study or comparison on how the 150th anniversary of desegregation is being celebrated at UGA versus other colleges or universities.

6. How desegregation eventually led to a university focused on the benefit of a diverse student population and how this diverse student population is beneficial to student learning.

7. Classes offered at UGA that are relevant to diversity, African American culture, etc.

8. Study on the year UGA desegregated in comparison to other southern and northern universities at the time.

9. A focus on the years following the official desegregation of the university and the obstacles early African American students faced.

10. Impact of desegregation of a major southern university to the civil rights movement as a whole.

11. Importance for African Americans fighting in the civil rights movement to gain education and further themselves intellectually. How this is relevant in the desegregation of UGA and how allowing African Americans to gain education furthered the movement.

12.Events and/or protests that led up to the desegregation of UGA.

Story Ideas

1. It would be interesting to talk look into the very first group of African-Americans that came to UGA and what they are up to in present day.

2. A story called "What Would Never Would Have Been" that highlights achievements of various African American graduates from UGA that would not have lived up to their full potential if UGA had not been desegregated and they would not have been allowed to attend here.

3. An inside look at who were the actual driving forces who had to work to achieve desegregation. Whether it was an activist group or politicians, it would be interesting to see who was behind it.

4. Coverage of some of the 5oth anniversary events would be necessary to feature in our publication.

5. Horace Ward: The Man That Ignited The Spark. A piece about Horace Ward, who tried to enroll in law school here at UGA a decade before desegregation, initiated the legal battle over desegregation.

6. Talking to various students of different cultures now about how they feel about having a culturally diverse campus is an essential for our publication.

7. We should look at how the desegregation of UGA affected other universities in the South and whether there was a domino effect, causing them to desegregate as well.

8. We also should look at how the desegregation of UGA aided the civiil rights movement that was going on, and what role the desegregation of a state university in the South played in that fight.

9. Not to play the blame game, but an inside look at the powers who were strongly opposed to desegregation might be an intriguing story.

10. A discussion with President Michael Adams about how crucial a culturally diverse campus is to the college experience here at UGA could be effective.

11. It is essential to talk about other things that were going on in 1961, so as to paint a better picture of the world that those three brave students were living in when they set foot on the UGA campus for the first time. Everything involving, pop culture, politics, and other important information.

12. A point of conflict could be effective. Something to the tune of, even 50 years later, are there still racist sentiments on campus that African Americans have to deal with everyday? Desegregation doesn't mean that racism is eliminated.

Story Ideas

1. Profile of first black students and their opinions on how UGA handled their arrival.
2. Profile of a student already attending UGA when the desegregation happened and how it affected their studies.
   
3. What influences pushed Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to make the decision to pursue UGA.
   
4. President Adams feelings about where the University is now compared to 50 years ago, and where he hopes it goes.
5. Profile of the first black graduate and the pros and cons of going to UGA compared to other universities.
   
6. Survey of black students and their feelings about desegregation. Do they still feel segregated at UGA.
   
7. A look into the first black professors and there role at UGA. What departments did they teach.
   
8. People's opinions on the events celebrating the anniversary.
   
9. When did UGA start recruiting black student athletes.
10. How were black students first received in the community.
11. Community growth and its changes after desegregation.
    
12. Violence seen during desegregation and how it shaped new students.
    

Brainstorming Ideas - Desegregation

My ideas:

1. Where are they now? A look at students who were at UGA 50 years ago and what they are up to now. Also, get their thoughts on how the desegregation of the school affected their experience and the rest of their lives.

2. The process of desegregation at UGA. Going back through the history and key players that made the major changes at UGA.

3. Admissions- looking into UGA and other Georgia and or Southern schools admissions and the racial ratios.

4. A time line of UGA since desegregation; how different is it 50 years later.

5. A day in the life of: going through the day of the average UGA student 50 years ago. Covering everything from textbook prices, class sizes, to fashion.

6. Asking students and teachers their opinions of race relations at UGA, are there still issues 50 years later?

7. Because of the snowpocalypse it would be nice to go over the events that already happened- a recap of the celebrations.

8. What are our goals for the next 50 years? Speak to not only students but department heads about what they feel UGA should strive towards over the next 50 years.

9. More in depth book reviews of the "books in print" section on the UGA desegregation website.

10. Highlighting clubs and organizations on UGA's campus that work to spread diversity and continue the positive changes post desegregation. Examples: NABJ, pamoja dance company....

11. It is not only the 50th anniversary of desegregation, but it is also UGA's 226th birthday. It would be interesting to go over what the school was like 226 years ago and compare it to 50 years ago and today.

12. What can you do to contribute to furthering UGA and your community's diversity?

Desegregation

1. Black population at UGA. How has it grown and changed since desegregation?

2. Profile amazing black students. Where would UGA be athletically and academically without them?

3. Profile amazing black faculty/staff/coaches.

4. How did desegregation at UGA affect the rest of the Athens community?

5. How did desegregation at UGA affect other Southern/Southeastern universities?

6. How did students of different races first interact after desegregation?

7. How do students of different races interact today?

8. The importance of a uniform community of students.

9. The importance of the different cultures that make up the UGA community.

10. What different activities/clubs/movements resulted from desegregation?

11. Famous blacks who have graduated from UGA since desegregation.

12. How did desegregation of UGA affect the general well-being of blacks? Better educated? Better post-graduate jobs? More respected?

Jordan's ideas

1. How long it took UGA to desegregate compared to other schools
2. Profile on Charlayne Hunter-Gault
3. Profile on Sara Loruuso, a faculty member who was in school here right after Charlayne graduated
4. How did students and faculty respond to desegregation
5. How has it changed the face of this university
6. How did the media play a role in the movement
7. What groups have been created or influenced by it
8. How have those groups responded to it and promoted things on campus
9. What promoted the desegregation on campus
10. How did this effect the students already on campus and those in the future.
11. Cover the Black History Kick-off event with speaker Bill Robbie, the first graduate of the College of Pharmacy
12. How did allowing African American's on campus help change their social, political and economical status in society

Sophie Cox's Story Ideas

1. In His Memory: Honoring Hamilton Holmes

• This program will honor Dr. Hamilton Holmes Sr. and his son, Hamilton Holmes Jr., will deliver a keynote address. We could write a profile on Holmes Jr. and his family.
  

2. Black fraternities and sororities at the University of Georgia

• Why these organizations are important and the history of such organizations on our campus

3. Segregation within the Greek Community

• Why most fraternities and sororities are predominately white
  
• Does the Greek Community plan on changing this?

4. National Association of Black Journalists

• The importance and history of NABJ
• Profile a number of students and faculty involved

5. The HOPE Scholarship and Desegregation

• Who is actually helped by the HOPE Scholarship?
  

6. Are we living in a post-racial society?

• Poll students on their opinions about UGA's progress

7. Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement: Women’s Lived Experiences

• How women fit into the mold

8. That's racist!

• Defining racism and prejudice and working to help students understand the difference

9. The Georgia Bulldogs post desegregation

• Maybe find one of the first black football players and interview him about his experiences on the team

10. What's in a name?

• Highlight some of these leaders
• Many students will recognize their names from around campus, but who were they and why did UGA name a building after them?

11. It's not just black and white

• Profile on other minority groups at UGA, asking whether or not they feel included in the celebration.

12. Multiracial students at UGA

• How their lives differ from other students
• Struggle to find identity?
  

Drew Davis's Story Ideas

Theme: How is desegregation projected in modern society?

1) Greek life - what do the segregated greek organizations say about desegregation as a whole? Maybe interview the small percentage of black students involved in the Panhellenic and IFC Greek organizations.

2) Do organizations that are completely segregated perpetuate the isolation of racial groups from one another? (ex: NABJ)

3) What does the one multi-cultural class credit requirement say about UGA's prioritization of student's understanding of different backgrounds?

4) Is UGA's coverage of the 50th anniversary of desegregation thorough? Is the university over-glorifying the end of something that might still exist?

5) Do people from different backgrounds mix outside of the classroom? Maybe evaluate downtown and the proportions of black students and white students present compared to the proportion of black students and white students at the university as a whole.

6) What does this anniversary mean for the student body as a whole? Will it serve as a reminder to increase cultural tolerance and awareness?

7) Look at the attendance at the desegregation anniversary events. Are the students mainly black, white, both? Why?

8) Conduct a survey on how many students are actually aware about the events going on and who actually plans to attend them? Separate the students in terms of age, race, gender, etc.

9) Does the emphasis on the status of the relationship between black students and white students place other important ethnic minority groups on the back-burner?

10) Write a general opinion piece/editorial on whether or not the university is really "desegregated."

11) Do a study of the number of black students attending the university since desegregation. Has the number increased, decreased, stayed the same? Why or why not?

12) Write a basic coverage piece of one of the discussion panels being held to gain a sense of opinion from professionals in the field.

W1 Blog Recap

Thanks for your autobiographies. I enjoyed reading them and posted comments.

If you haven't already done so, please put the following tags (in addition to other tags) on your first post:
-Your name
-autobiography

Also, some general editing observations:
-Use AP style for state names
-Punctuation goes outside parenthesis and inside quotes
-Majors/subjects (like magazines) are lower-case

holly s. hess

hey new friends,

I'm just gonna go ahead and give you a heads up, this is not my auto-biography. That will come tomorrow when I can think clearly. This weekend I was lucky enough to go to NC, but for an unfortunate reason- my boyfriends grandfathers funeral. I was pumped to see my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years, as he recently graduated and moved out to Vail, Co, but was sad for the reason of our reunion. As you can imagine, I haven't been able to give school a thought since Thursday. I was really just a supporter this weekend and it was actually more of a celebration than a grieving time. Praise the Lord for that! I do want to fill yall in on me and my life though, just not tonight -- tomorrow (thanks Joe), which actually means "on the day after the present."

ok, buenas noches y hasta manana

Lindsay Durand

I'm Lindsay Durand. I'm a Magazines major with a Spanish minor. I lived in Seville, Spain this summer and traveled through Spain and Portugal. My favorite place in the world is Barcelona. Now I live downtown with my two best friends and another girl with a mean cat named Stephen. She chose the name.

I have many nicknames including but not limited to LD, Linda, Linty, Linds, and the ever popular DJ L. Dangerous.

Writing this bio is almost impossible with the pup distracting me.

This is Kaya, my boyfriend's black lab/pitt mix he rescued last year, a.k.a. my soul mate. The only thing she can't do is talk, which we're working on.

My mom is my inspiration. I see her as a cross between Mother Teresa and Martha Stewart. I would most likely put ketchup on literally anything I was served. I like to think of a name for my style every season. This spring it was "tiny vintage florals", but I think this season it's "shiny gold 80's". I have a brother that I love very much except for the fact that he is better looking than me. I love all things Alice in Wonderland, but I have black hair so I changed my goal in life to being Snow White. I like to pretend I'm taking pictures of a group of people and then at the last minute, flip the camera around and take a picture of myself. I like electronic music, especially Pretty Lights, but I'll listen to anything really.

I spelled my name wrong on the SATs in high school. I know this because my college mail was addressed to Ms. Linds M. Durand. I guess I just felt rushed. I did not lose 200 points, in case you were wondering.

And I’m Zach Dillard

If procrastination is a sign of ingenuity, then I might just have a chance in this world — perhaps as the next Ring Lardner. For those who don’t know Ring Lardner, do not fret, I just Googled it. The hope was that if I put this autobiography off long enough, that Joe would give me a call and tell me not to worry about it, either for fear of exposing a dark, criminal past or my blatant lack of a readable tale about my life.

And yet, no call came.

So here I am writing on a Friday afternoon as the sun tries its best to warm the air past 50 degrees and my roommates call me a loser for putting off playing basketball up at Ramsey for another 15 minutes. Yes, the athletic glories on the courts of Ramsey, where 3-pointers a

re miraculously worth the same amount of points as layups, are on hold at the moment.

But athletic glories have always been put on hold for myself, so the feeling is a usual one.

I was born and raised in the Carolinas, although I only officially latch onto North Carolina as my home state. A transfer brought my father, as well as the rest of our five-person family unit, down to Lawrenceville, Ga., just as the Olympics were slowly drifting away and Richard Jewell was still known as the Olympic bomber. Eric Rudolph was a no-name

in those days.

Yes, 1996 brought me to Atlanta along with the rest of the world. The only difference being that once Bob Costas and NBC packed up their equipment and left, I still had to stay. But I have always stayed true to my roots, clinging to the North Carolina Tar Heels, basketball and everything else that defines someone from North Carolina outside of inbreeding (which only takes place up in the mountains anyways).

I grew up a sports fanatic in a loving home, playing everything I could from the time I could walk with biased encouragement from my parents. I ended up graduating from Central Gwinnett High School with a few soccer scholarships, a lack of motivation, a shady academic track record and no real goal for what I wanted out of life.

Eventually, that surpassed — at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

After a brief stint at Georgia Southern where I got my grades and act together (who goes there to do that anymore?), I ended up here at Georgia, lost and confused on a huge campus, surrounded by good-looking girls who were much smarter than me and, most importantly, a hole in my wallet where a fake ID should rest. So I focused on my grades, got involved writing sports for The Red & Black and freelancing for other sports publications.

But honestly, I am just counting down the days to when I can write a book on the life and times of Kenny Mayne.

Big dreams.

After graduation, with that framed degree tucked under my arm stating my dominance over the world of undergraduate collegiate professors, the goal is to find a newspaper or magazine who could use a rambling sports writer without too much dedication to the serious side of life. Writing features would be a good plan if I were to discover a better writing acumen (see, that word doesn’t even go there), and writing about the business side of sports would work out if I actually knew anything about business.

But am I lost? No.

Someone out there is dumb enough to hire me after college. It’s all about finding the most gullible cookie in the jar. Until then, I’m just biding my time.

Sophie Cox

It's snobby to start with this, but I'm gonna do it anyways. I'm from Atlanta and I mean really from Atlanta. I grew up in Little Five Points and yeah, I didn't know a single Republican under the age of 70 until coming to the University of Georgia. I attended Henry W. Grady High School. Yep, it's named after the same racist, white dude.

My dad was born and raised in France and my mother was born in Virginia and raised in California. My parents grew up in the 60s and smoked a lot of pot and did a little bit of acid, but they made it out fine. I think the only reason I'm worth anything today is because of their awesome parenting skills. I also have a really beautiful, talented sister, who is having a baby boy in March and getting married in May. I like her style!

I've been in a relationship for almost four years now. My boyfriend goes to Brown University (yeah he's smart...and rich...), but right now he's studying in Madrid. It's been pretty hard so far---we're taking long distance to new extremes. I don't know if we'll get married or what, mainly because I'm not even sure I'm interested in marriage. Or let's just say, I'm really not interested in getting a divorce.

Let's see... I really like sports, especially football and baseball. I love the Braves and Falcons, of course. I also like my Georgia Bulldogs, but unfortunately, my heart belongs to Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

This is my wonderful puppy, Bear.

I've got some great friends back home, and I'm meeting some awesome folks in Athens. Especially where I work. I miss Atlanta, though. Lord, sometimes Athens could stand a little diversity. I've never seen so many white, extremely privileged people in my life. If you don't know what I mean by privileged, do yourself and our society a favor and sign-up for a Women's Studies course. You won't regret it.

Cory Jasin's Story

My name is Cory Jasin. I was born and raised in a town outside of Indianapolis called Carmel, Indiana. I moved down to Georgia when I was 12. It was quite a culture shock and I cried a lot at first (I was kind of soft in my youth), but I have come to appreciate the South and all it has to offer. I have two brothers. Patrick, 26, lives in New York and is a graphic designer at Bergdorf Goodman, and Blair, 24, who lives in Atlanta and is a working actor. My parents, Mark and Karen, live just north of Atlanta in Forsyth County and have coped with the departure of their three sons by replacing us, one by one, with our Cat, Gordon, and two dogs, Sampson and Bunnie.

I got my start in Journalism in High School when I served as Opinion Editor and later Editor-In-Chief of my high school’s newspaper. I am really attracted to Journalism because of my love of all things music and pop culture. I spend a lot of time studying Billboard charts and reading Rolling Stone and Spin. My love of pop culture stems from my mother’s subscription to People Magazine, which, I must admit, I read quite often. I like journalism that isn’t too serious. I hate politics, and current events become boring to me after the front page, so pop culture/music journalism is the field I am most interested in.

Without trying to sound like a total douche, I am, in fact, in a band called The Desarios and it has been a big part of my life ever since we started out in high school. We play around Atlanta and Athens a lot and just recently went out to L.A. to record a few songs. That is my plan A right now, but if it doesn’t work out, I would be very content being a music journalist. Cheers.

Emily Welker

I guess the only place to start an autobiography is from the beginning. I was born and raised in Marietta, GA (along with what seems like half of the UGA student body). My dad is a good 'ol southern boy from Kentucky, and my mom is from Pennsylvania. I've been raised in a very southern household, considering my father has always told me he had the "yankee blood" removed at the hospital before they brought me home. My dad said he knew I would be a strong, southern woman, a steel magnolia.

I have two older brothers, which made being girly somewhat difficult growing up. I wanted to wear tu-tus; they made me wear Umbros. I wanted to wear makeup; they made me wear pony tails. I wanted to be a dancer; I ended up a soccer player. You can see in the picture that I tried to wear a skirt but still ended up playing with swords. Now, thanks to them, I am extremely competitive and what most would call a sore loser. You have to be tough when you are smaller than the boys you fight with over who controls the remote control.


Eventually, I grew up and experienced what I like to call my "awkward stage" in middle school. When my frizzy hair and long limbs became too much for her to handle, my mom stepped in. (Thanks Mom!) With the help of my mother, I began to discover my love for fashion. I still played sports and considered myself tough, but I realized I could love both. Now, I am a fashion merchandising and magazines double major. I lived in London last summer and worked and lived in one of the fashion capitals of the world, discovering that my competitiveness will help me get ahead, my southern upbringing will keep me level-headed, and my style will show my individuality.

So now you all know about me and how I became me!

Today, I am just living in Athens enjoying my Junior year of college. I am a member of Kappa Delta, work at Private Gallery, and intern for the Athens Wedding Professionals.

Hey Y'all!

I'm Jordan Beaman and I'm a magazines major with an emphasis on photojournalism.

I was born in Milwaukee, WI but I was raised in the suburbs of Dallas, TX.

I have an amazing family that is slowly following me to Georgia. I have two older siblings who I look up to in every way. My dad is the foundation of our family and he takes care of me more than I could every imagine. I had the most amazing momma. Unfortunately, she passed away two years ago. She was in a para-sailing accident when I was a freshman and it has turned my world upside down. But I am proudly the spitting image of her.




I also have two dogs that are my babies and I absolutely adore them. I wish that I could keep them here in Athens but they would go insane in my apartment.

I work at the Office of Special Events on north campus. Basically, we plan all the events for the president of the University. Its a great job and it has made me more interested in event planning. I am also the secretary of Alpha Omega, the on campus organization for my campus ministry.

My greatest love in life is photography. I am absolutely obsessed and my friends make fun of me all the time for how many albums on facebook I have. They have all actually stopped taking their cameras anywhere. I also have a blog to display my photography, which you can check out if you feel so inclined.

Some other things I'm interested in are baking, football and movies. Here's why. If this whole journalism thing doesn't work out for me, I will most likely open up a bakery with my sister. Growing up in Texas, every one was obsessed with football, high school, college or pro. I can't remember a fall weekend that we didn't watch football. College football is my favorite to watch and I have been cheering on the Dawgs since I was born. Most of the conversations that we have in my family are consumed with movie quotes.

I had an amazing opportunity this summer to study abroad in Italy for ten weeks with the Lamar Dodd program in Cortona. I was able to take two photography classes. Here's my blog from my summer where you can read about my whole experience.

Arrivederci!

Hi, I'm Sarah

Hi, I'm Sarah Wormser and I am a junior from Tampa, Fla. My birthday is next week (the 27th) and I will treat it like a national holiday (feel free to observe it as well).

I am a magazines major and love nothing more than getting a new magazine, whether I get it in the mail or buy it with my groceries. I read every magazine the same way: front to back, back to front, then back again. I don't even think about this process any more, it just happens.

Along with my magazine major I am an English and Chinese minor. I started taking Chinese junior year of high school when I reached my Spanish limit. I love learning new languages with creative and challenging alphabets. I have been interested since elementary school since I took Hebrew (yay small jewish day school that had less students in the entire pre-k through 8th grade school than my intro to bio class had).

Here at UGA I am a Grady Ambassador, a UGA Tap Dawg, and Managing Editor of Little Red Book. Little Red Book, a student run fashion magazine out of the family and consumer sciences school, takes up the majority of my time. I came across the magazine at my fall freshman year activities fair and they haven't been able to get rid of me since. Working on LRB has solidified the fact that I want to work in magazines for the rest of my life.

I love being in Georgia, where seasons happen unlike Florida where there is a great range of rain, humidity, and sunshine. I also love my dog, Rory. She is a spitz poodle and just the cutest. I prefer having a constant soundtrack to my life, music was a major part of my childhood and just makes everything better. This week is all about Wilco, can't get it out of my head.

Alright, that's all for now.

Megan Graves

My name is Megan Graves and I love Georgia Football. This is my new gameday attire I got for $10. I couldn't pass it up! I grew up in Athens and love this town for the unique places to eat and shop. It is a great place to call home.

I took my first dance class at age three. From that day forward I spent most my time in a dance studio or onstage. I danced in college until a knee injury slowed me down. I have recently been able to start again, and I am currently learning to ballroom dance.

My highschool was brand new when I was a freshman, and my graduating class was the first class to go all four years in the school. It was quite an experience with lots of opportunities, but we didn't have a newspaper or magazine. Not to mention I spent most my time in the dance studio at the school anyway.

I decided on Journalism after reading all the majors the university offered before picking this one. I have always enjoyed writing, and so far I am really enjoying it. I am hoping to get more involved this semester!

One of my favorite things I get to do is spend Sunday mornings with a classroom full of two-year-olds at Sunday school at Watkinsville First Baptist Church. I learn so much from them, and love every minute.

During the week I spend a lot of my nights and afternoons babysitting. This is one of my little boys I have had at church since he was in the crib. Enough said I love kids.

My goal for the semester is to fly to Burbank, California to see the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Nothing brightens my day like an episode of Ellen.

Devin Webb

i'm devin webb. i really hate capitalizing letters. i prefer the computer to capitalize them for me.

i'm from albany, georgia. it's a pretty small place with some pretty amazing people.

i went to a really small private school with a graduating class of 71 people. now i've had college classes with 300. talk about culture shock.

i'm the kind of person who believes in stupid sayings. "everything happens for a reason." "love at first sight." "home is where the heart is."

i'm obsessed with tv. i have way too many "favorite" shows. but my real favorite is top chef. i wish i could cook as well as they all do.

i have a french bulldog. she'll turn 2 this september. her name's darcy. yep, she's named after the pride and prejudice character. not mr. darcy, but his younger sister, georgiana.

i love astrology. i'm a virgo (i don't care if there's a "new" zodiac sign, i'm a virgo for life).

a few months ago i started doing crossfit. i've never worked out harder in my life. i've also never been able to deadlift 225 lbs. i'm obsessed.

obviously i'm a journalism major. but it's crazy to think about it. especially when i consider that my dad's a farmer.

oh, and hopefully my first published articles will appear in this site's magazine soon. ag writing was kind of cool.

that's a big reason why i'm a journalism major--i love to learn. i wanted to do something that would allow me to learn something new every single day.

i really have no problem admitting that i'm a big nerd. i always get excited about a new semester with new classes and new teachers.

i hated the "snowpocalypse."

i'm ready to take 2011 by storm. not snowstorm, my own storm.

Elayna Rose

My name is Elayna Rose, but everyone calls me Laynie. I went to Walton High School in Marietta, which is where my interest in journalism began. I took newspaper my freshman year, not realizing that it was something of an unspoken rule that only upperclassmen take newspaper. I blended relatively well until a junior discovered that I was in her sister's freshman science class. She then found it appropriate to announce to the entire class that I was a freshman. After that, I decided the worst was probably behind me and I might as well stick with it.

Because I suffered through being the awkward freshman in newspaper, I was in line to be editor-in-chief by the end of my sophomore year. That summer, I attended the Georgia Journalism Academy, where I met Joe. Slightly embarrassing pictures from that week are still online (thanks for that, Joe).

I returned to camp last summer as a counselor and ended up working in the GSPA office during the school year. I also write for UGAzine and have been involved with the Forever Young Campaign.

I love running by Lake Herrick, partly because I love the outdoors and partly because, thanks to a torn ACL in high school, I can't run on pavement...or on a treadmill...or on a track...you get the idea. Actually, if I absolutely had to pick a career other than journalism, I would probably pick physical therapy because I spent so much time in physical therapy growing up. You could call me accident prone.

I don't leave Athens very often, but when I do, I love to go home and see my dog, Rosie (a sheltie) and my cat, KC (a kitten who thinks he's a dog).

I'm lucky enough to live in the big white house on the corner of Baxter and Milledge, although having 54 female roommates does come with its fair share of challenges.

They call me Hubbs

 

(I wanted to spare yall from having to look at my awful pix from class)

So, I heard this one time and thought that I might give fair warning before I begin.  

"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a word of what I'm saying" 

...this happens a lot.

Okay well hello!  These biography things are always quite awkward for me because I mean how can you bundle someone up into a few sentences.  I know I for sure am quite too out of the box that it's kind of an impossible task.  So instead I'll introduce some random facts about me because that's pretty much the summary of who I am. rANdOm

I was born in Hollywood.  Which would make me seem like some make-up wearing, glamorous girl who knows all about celebrities and whatnot.  But lets be for real, that's like the exact opposite of me.  Just recently I had to write a fashion editorial for the up-and-coming 2011 spring fads for Southern Distinction, and it had to be the hardest thing I've ever done.  

I have a problem.  It's called "I can't listen to music without dancing" 

(I've been diagnosed)

It's caused quite some embarrassing stories in my time.  I mean who doesn't introduce themselves on national television as the girl who likes to 

"BUST A MOVE" 

(I'm gonna be honest, I didn't have much pre-thought in that decision)

Ha. Ya.  After that there's not much else for me to say.  
I like to write, I don't think I'm particularly good at it.  But figured I didn't want to be stuck doing something for the rest of my life that I would just tolerate.  My dream job is to travel the world, meet people of all different cultures, immerse myself in their life, share the beautiful word of God with them... and all-the-while take pictures and write about it for a magazine back in the states.  I think it's a pretty realistic dream.  Oh, and if I could have a superpower I would want to be able to speak all languages.

The end. 

However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all... 

You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy

 in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, 

but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 

Ecclesiastes 11: 8-9

Sarah Osbourne

My name is Sarah Osbourne and I am from Roswell, GA and went to Centennial High School. Just going to go ahead and say I have two major issues with this class...
A. my mugshot... don't judge.
B. Calling Professor Dennis "Joe". Growing up in the South I think my parents hard wired me to have a problem with this. I may have to ease into it with Mr. Joe? Or maybe make up a cool nickname?
Other than these two things I am so excited for the class which seems very challenging but also very interesting!

My school didn't have any sort of newspaper or magazine, which I found embarrassing after I heard so many schools that did. However, they did have an extensive photography program which I became involved in early on. I chose my major when I heard about the photojournalism program, but I came to enjoy writing as well.

I am also an art history minor which became a passion of mine that in high school. I am a very visual learner so art history comes easily to me. Going along with that if I don't remember your name I apologize ahead of time. For some reason I am terrible with names but will remember everything we talked about and your face so please don't take it personally!

I am involved at UGA with Tri Delta sorority. I am also president of the Magazine club which I would LOVE everyone to come to. We hold meetings biweekly and hear professionals in the field speak about their experience and give advice. It is a great way to introduce yourself and make connections for future internships or jobs! Email me if you want to be added to the Google group at Sarahkoz2@gmail.com.

This semester I am also interning with BLVD. BLVD is a magazine in Athens that discusses culture, fashion, music, events and tons of other cool stuff. I am a photography intern and can't wait to learn more about the video and audio to go along with my photo experience in this class. BLVD put on lots of cool events around Athens so I will let everyone know when those come up, but you can also find out by following BLVD on Facebook and Twitter.

Another random love of mine is animals, especially dogs. I probably have close to 80 pictures in my phone of my family's yellow lab named Belle and my family's 90 lb blue Itlaian mastiff puppy (puppy being the key word) named Steel. Steel will eventually grow to be 150 pounds and I cannot wait since I love big dogs! I also live with my roommate's boxer named Emma who is quite possibly the goofiest dog ever. I have included pictures below and if anyone shares my obsession with dogs or any animals I would be glad to exchange photos anytime! Unfortunately this somehow happens a lot with people I meet at parties or downtown... :/














I also love sports, mainly college football and basketball. I have a blast every fall and attend as many away games as I can and every home game. I have concluded that if we don't beat Florida in football next year I will simply have no other option but to stay and be a fifth year. My parents don't support this.

Those are pretty much the basics but I can't wait to get to know everyone and thanks for reading!

Nicole Welch

First of all, that heinous picture from class doesn't cut it.

My name is Nicole Welch and I go by Nicole on paper for all my published work and all my work records, but everyone calls me Nikki. I am a junior at UGA and am the Sisterhood coordinator in Alpha Gamma Delta.

I work two jobs, one for a quarterly parenting magazine out of Kennesaw, Ga called Little Black Dress/Little Red Wagon. It started as an unpaid summer internship after my sophomore year, but I was brought on as the paid social media intern before I came back to school. You can go to that website and see a ton of my work.

I also work at Southern Distinction Magazine which is a magazine based out of Athens and focuses on State-wide events, businesses and fun feature stories.

I enjoy photography, layout design, event planning, fashion and everything UGA.

I live in the woodlands with two roommates, one being my best friend since elementary school. I bet you know her, she makes a friend wherever she goes.

My identity is strongly rooted (no pun intended) in having red hair. I also have a tumblr blog of my own, which really demonstrates the identity link.

I Am Me.

So. I’m Adam. And this is my autobiography:

I grew up in Hiram—which is a small town southwest of Marietta. A small piece of Remember the Titans was shot there and the town has pretty much never gotten over it.

I also have a twin brother, Sam. The joke is that we look absolutely nothing alike. He's 6'2, short blonde hair and pale; played high school basketball; the whole thing.

The downside is, besides the fact that he goes to GSU, we can't switch clothes and pretend to be each other, a la the Olsens. Which can be a real bummer.

I’ve always been a writer, but I never thought, “Watch out, Katie Couric, I’m coming for you.” (One, because that’s kind of creepy; and two, because journalism has never been my dream.)

I ended up writing on my high school’s yearbook for two years, and when I came to the university, I saw the degree as the only viable way to make money post-graduation. So I stuck with it and here I am, almost three years later: writer extraordinaire. Or something.

Film was—and is—much more my thing, which is why I’m double-majoring in it.

I have two favorite films: Legally Blonde and A History of Violence. I feel like they balance.

(I’m also minoring in Spanish, but it’s absurdly difficult for me so I choose to pretend I’m not.)

I’ve been writing with The Red & Black since my first semester, which has been an experience: there was that time I interviewed a movie star, which was fun. And there was that other time I libeled a collegiate athlete, which was less so.

…And now I’m officially out of things to say about myself, except that the mug shot of me that’s sitting on top of all this is terrible. Just awful.

(And the Ashley Simpson song I stole this title from is worse.)