ATHENS, GA – Redirecting from Creative Writing to Journalism as a First generation college student.

“My senior year of high school, it was their first year having a creative writing class,” said Heaven Jobe, Assistant of the University of Georgia’s Journalism Camp, addressing high school journalist prospects. “I really just liked being able to be free and have no rules, and write whatever I wanted to.”

Held on June 14 at the Grady College School of Communication in Athens, Ga., Jobe, opened up a discussion for the students to ask her anything ranging from how she began her studies in journalism to how she is continuing to evolve in her courses. She and Camp Director, Dr. Joe Dennis has taken the responsibility to teach the future generation of aspiring journalists. Students checked into their dorms on Sunday afternoon to move-in and began instruction the following day. 

Jobe explained that she earned her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University with a major in Literature and Theater Arts and a minor in Communication. That was her original career path but she decided to move to journalism when she decided to take her fathers health into consideration. 

“With my dad being older, compared to most of my friends, like he’s older than their friends, it was important for me to kinda learn more about African Americans in health.”

Jobe was open and candid with the students as to why she found journalism as a better opportunity to stay in school and find what she is truly passionate about. She talked about her passion for health with athletes and minorities. The 1st year grad says “The opportunity was brought to me and I took the opportunity because it’s something that applies to everyone.” She is a big advocate for mental health and focuses her stories about the struggles people go through. One of the most important things she likes to talk about in her stories is Hepatitis. She is adamant on informing her audience about what it is, the risks, and the people that live with it now.  

“Don’t be afraid to get told that you’re doing something wrong.”

Hey y’all! My name is Jackye Jiotsop and I am from Alpharetta, Georgia. I am 16 years old and I was born in Kansas City, Kansas. I guess you could relate me to Dorthy, though I’ve never been stuck in a tornado before.

My favorite sports team is the Kansas City Chiefs. Even though they choked during the 2021 playoff game for the Super Bowl, I still have to represent my team. When you first meet me, I can come off as a shy person, but once you get to know me, I have a really good personality. I have never been on an airplane before. My favorite color is sage green, or baby pink. I have a really deep obsession with Beyonce. She is probably my favorite person on this earth besides my mom. I know every single song, every music video, dance move, concert, tour, family member, friend, and background dancer associated with Beyonce. Not personally, but since I know everything about her, it makes me feel like we’re best friends.

I am a current dancer at my school. I love dancing in all areas but specifically hip-hop and jazz. I am also an aspiring journalist and decided to participate in the University of Georgia’s Journalism camp. I hope that I will learn about Journalism and also have a stronger writing style. I will be a rising junior, which means I have to start thinking about college. That doesn’t really excite me but I know most kids have to go through with it also, so I know I’m not alone. My dream college is Northwestern University. It’s a really hard school to get into, but I believe if I work my butt off this year, that I can get into the school. It’s amazing because it’s so close to Chicago, but still far enough to have its own college town space.

.Some random facts about myself are that I am a master “Just Dance” player. If someone is going to challenge me, they have to be mentally and physically prepared of what they are getting themselves into. I can count on my fingers how many times I’ve lost at Just Dance. Speaking of my fingers, I am actually double jointed in my fingers. I can move them back really far to the point people think they are going to fall off. I always get that stare like, “That’s so gross”. But it does make a really cool party trick!