Journalist Averi Caldwell’s childhood dream was to become a novelist. Interestingly, that led her to a career in journalism.

“In the eighth grade, I read this fantasy novel, and the author instantly became my favorite of all time,” Caldwell said of her favorite childhood author Rainbow Rowell. “And I stalked her, of course– I found out she was a journalist, and then she was an author.  And I was like, ‘What is this journalism world?’  So I learned that I like writing and I just kind of wanted to follow in her footsteps.”  

Growing up in Griffin, Georgia, Caldwell developed her love for reading and her interest in journalism.  When it came time for her to go off to college, she chose to attend UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“The community of journalists here genuinely want to help each other out and just be a network,” she said.

Caldwell graduated from UGA with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, with minors in English and Spanish.  She has held positions at UGA’s online newspaper Columns, as well as The Red & Black, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and InfUSion Magazine.  As she began to work as a journalist, she realized that she was able to make a difference, especially using her knowledge of Spanish.

“I was the only one in the office at the time that spoke Spanish and I kept bringing up that we have people in the community who speak Spanish,”she said.

Caldwell  acts as an advocate for Spanish-speaking citizens as a journalist, but she also empathizes with all people.

“It might be naive, but I don’t think people are bad,” she said. “I think all people are good and circumstances in life push people to be mean or make bad decisions.  So, I just think that living with that mindset and working with that mindset and knowing that even if someone’s a little snippy on social media, or if they don’t like a question I’ve asked, they’re just a person maybe having a bad day.”

This mindset has helped Caldwell build a successful journalism career, overcoming her natural introverted character. 

“I just like talking to people,” she said  “I am a little shy, but in one-on-one conversations I love interviewing people.  So, I think maybe that drew me to journalism and makes me a better journalist.”

During a time of isolation and chaos, college student Averi Caldwell found a unique way of connecting with her community. 

“I was on the internet a lot more,” Caldwell said. “I made online friends with people that watched the same shows I watched.”

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and the world stood still. Businesses, restaurants, sports venues and schools shut down forcing people all over the world to quarantine. Caldwell was halfway through her first year when she heard that she had to evacuate campus and return to her hometown of Griffin, Georgia. Alongside 6,000 of her peers, Caldwell missed out on numerous opportunities and experiences her freshman year due to COVID. 

“Those are two years of network building and community that I missed out on,” she said. 

Students, teachers and parents across the globe had to adapt to school on a screen. This led to many complications such as internet crashes, absences in class, and a lack of learning. For Caldwell, online school didn’t present a major challenge as she managed to maintain good grades and motivation to keep learning, but certain subjects like Spanish presented obvious challenges. 

“In my Spanish class, virtually, I don’t think I got the most out of that just because it’s hard to learn a language you don’t know on a computer,” Caldwell said. 

Although it was prohibited to see others outside of one’s immediate circle, people found creative new ways to connect with friends. Caldwell discovered that her love for movies and TV was a good way to interact with people online, and formed friendships through their shared interests. These interactions helped Caldwell break out of her shell during the pandemic, which was important for her future as a journalist as she’s required to interact with people for interviews.

“When meeting someone, I’m a little shy,” Caldwell said. “But then, I just got to cook.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, college campuses were empty and lonely.  This is the environment in which Averi Caldwell started her journey as a journalist, making it difficult as interactions with people were limited. But that didn’t stop her from pursuing her passion.

“Don’t be afraid of hearing no, whether it’s asking for an interview or applying for something,”  Caldwell said.“If they tell you no, at least you tried, that’s the worst that will happen. Sometimes I will even go back and ask again.”

Now Caldwell is a very accomplished journalist with many pieces published in The Red and Black as well as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She grew up south of Athens in a small town called Griffin and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2023 receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in English and Spanish. Now she is working towards a master’s in journalism and mass communication also from the University of Georgia. In the future she hopes to become an author.  

Despite Caldwell being more of an introvert, that doesn’t stop her from going out to get the information she needs to write. The setback with the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult, but Caldwell said. The Grady College  of Journalism and Mass Communications helped her stay connected. Having a sense of community during a time of loneliness was very important. 

“I didn’t really leave my apartment much,” she said. “But looking back, I probably would have gone out a little more on and tried to break into the industry a little earlier.”

Caldwell followed in the footsteps of her favorite author Rainbow Rowell, a Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fiction writer. She loves to read and growing up always wanted to be a CIA agent. In eighth grade she read many mystery books. Her favorite was a book by Rowell, “Carry On.” After learning that Rowell graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in journalism, Caldwell was intrigued to explore the journalism field. 

 With the tool of being bilingual, Caldwell  can translate for people who do not speak English. She worked for The Red and Black for eight months, serving as the Social Media Director during the 2022 election.. She was the only one in the office who spoke Spanish, and believed that it was very important that people were educated on what was happening in the election. Journalists often face criticism during elections, with partisanship being high during recent election cycles. Being social media director, Caldwell witnessed this firsthand, but it didn’t impact her view of humanity.

“It might be naive, but I don’t think people are bad,” Caldwell said. “I think all people are good and circumstances in life, push people to be a little mean, or make bad decisions.”