As a former Hi’s Eye Sports editor-in-chief, 2024 WHS graduate Adrian Fleming has brought her enthusiasm for journalism into her college life. Currently a sophomore at the University of Georgia, Fleming is majoring in accounting, but her participation in the sports journalism realm has allowed her passion for journalism to continue.
During her time at WHS, Fleming’s EIC role in the journalism program allowed her creativity to grow. “I definitely miss being EIC. I loved feeling like I was making a difference in the posts and everything, and I liked how I got to oversee [the publication] and choose the cover letters and make it our own,” Fleming said.
Fleming also highlighted how the journalism program has helped her outside of being a writer. Being EIC and working on a tight deadline helped her learn how to manage her time, which is a skill that has benefited her in college.
The support from WHS journalism teacher Shawn McDonald also helped boost Fleming’s confidence as a young journalist. “I remember I would be so stressed out, and she would really help me get on top of everything I needed to do. It was nice having her in the high school as a teacher to talk to. She would always make you feel a lot more at ease, which I appreciated, and she understands you as a writer, too,” Fleming said.
When Fleming applied for the sports journalism program at UGA, she was a first-semester freshman attempting to join a program with a 50 percent acceptance rate. “I feel like the journalism program at WHS sets you up for success. They tell you that you can’t really apply until your second semester, but I did it anyway, and I somehow got let in. They saw my experience in sports journalism, and they know how impressive it is. So when you go to college, it is such a cool thing to have under your belt,” Fleming said.
Being part of the UGA sports journalism certificate has awarded Fleming with a lot of amazing opportunities. As a sports journalist, she was able to attend a number of Georgia’s basketball games as well as football games. Fleming said, “My favorite thing that we did was that we reported on the Georgia G-day football game. We got to go to the press box at the Georgia Football Stadium, which is huge, and it was awesome. It felt so high-pressure too, because it was a deadline game, so you had to submit the article before the last second on the clock. And then after, you wrote a more in-depth feature, but it was just high pressure, and it really felt real.”
After the game, Fleming was able to attend a press conference with head coach Kirby Smart as well as a couple of players, where she and others were able to contribute. Fleming said, “The experience through already knowing how to write interview questions, how to approach people and how to reach out and not be afraid of the response made me feel a lot more prepared. And even formatting things, I felt a lot more prepared than a lot of the other students who were taking the course, and it was their first time doing anything like that. It helped when going into an environment that is a lot more professional.”
Not only is Fleming working in sports journalism at UGA, but she is also taking her passion further. Over the summer, Fleming had an internship at the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association, where she worked in content and marketing and also attended a number of tournaments. “Each week, I met with a marketing professional, and we planned out a content calendar. I created posts through Canva and through our photography that someone takes. And, I plan posts, schedule them and make sure everything aligns with our missions and our goals. We’re a growing organization for women’s golf, so we’re trying to get more people to join, especially through the creative moves in social media,” Fleming said.
Fleming felt the experience of her internship was valuable because it was one of the first times she got to experience journalism more independently. “I got to go to a lot of tournaments. They threw me a camera, and I got to take pictures of people. It felt like it was a life experience in sports journalism outside of the classroom, which was also cool because I was kind of more on my own doing everything. I’ve learned so much about Canva and how to work in a content calendar, and since I’m not in marketing or anything, it already feels like I’ve done a marketing course.”
Fleming has a lot of journalism experience under her belt from high school and her time in college so far. She is ready to continue the opportunities she has gained at UGA throughout the rest of her college career, and once she graduates, she hopes to work in business and sports. Fleming wants to take her passion for journalism that started at WHS and carry it with her into her future career and life.
