Campus to corporate

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  • The Power of Service and Community: How to Create Lasting Impact

    The Power of Service and Community: How to Create Lasting Impact

    We are BEYOND excited to introduce our next guest writer: Kate Hall! Kate graduated from UGA this May with a degree in Public Relations, and she was the 2025 Commencement Speaker. Kate is extremely involved and has made a name for herself on campus. Most importantly, she is a genuine and loving friend. Dawson met Kate freshman year through SGA, and they have been close friends ever since. Saanvikha met Kate through Tate Society the spring of their freshman year but bonded a lot more through UGA at Oxford last fall. From afternoon tea, botanical garden tours, to Tate banquets, we’ve really gotten to know each other well. In this post, Kate dives into her experiences with service and community during her time at UGA, so join us in reading her beautiful story!

    Dear Reader,

    Hi! My name is Kate Hall. I just graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations. Currently, I’m wrapping up my time as the communications intern at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, looking to move to Washington, D.C. later in the summer to pursue public affairs communications. 

    While it was a journey finding my place at UGA, as it was for so many people beginning college, I am so thankful for every bit of it. I’m honored to get to speak on my experience with two of my dearest collegiate involvements: First Year-Forum and the State Botanical Garden. Through both of these organizations, I experienced the transformative power of service and community in helping you find your passions and grow into a leader. 

    Servant leadership.

    I remember hearing this phrase repeated over and over again as I sat in my first Forum meeting, an intimidated freshman who just wanted to find a place where she could belong, a place where she could really impact her school. My directors may have explained the dictionary definition of the phrase “servant leadership” at that very first meeting, but I learned what it meant to me– and got to see it in practice– throughout my first year in the Forum. 

    Servant leadership is serving others first, prioritizing the well-being and growth of your community. First-Year Forum, a branch of UGA’s Student Government Association created specifically to develop freshman students into community leaders, is the epitome of this phrase. The directors of the program assemble the freshmen (usually around 40-60 students) into small groups, all led by two Peer Leaders. Together, the small groups and their PLs partner with a community organization and serve with them every other week for the rest of the school year. My group was assigned to a local rehabilitation center for women who have been victims of trafficking or are recovering from addiction. I’m not going to lie to you, that first orientation was really hard for all of us. Sitting down in a cozy living room meant to make you feel right at home, while listening to the vivacious woman who greeted you at the door nearly break down while telling you the story of how her child got trafficked…it was heart wrenching. But, at the same time, it was such an important moment. It was one of those moments that stirs something inside your heart. One of those moments where you leave knowing you will never look at the world the same way again.

    I walked out of that house and I knew I had found the right place and the right purpose in college. Forum quickly became my home– a foundation for growth, connections, service, and so much joy. After my first year wrapped up, I went on to be a PL in my sophomore year, and had the honor of being one of the three co-directors in my junior year. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, one that was so challenging yet so fulfilling. I grew in ways I never even imagined, and each one of my three roles taught me lessons I’ll always hold close, and gave me friends I’ll care about for a lifetime. Now, I walk into the next chapter of my life, knowing that I have the tools to seek out underserved issues, have the conversations needed to bring light on these topics, and fight the good fight to make the community better. The world isn’t just going to fix itself, and I am so thankful that my circumstances led me to acknowledge this and yearn to do something about it. If I hadn’t applied for that “random” SGA club, if I hadn’t circled Forum as my top choice for freshman programs before my interview, if I hadn’t returned to be a PL or director…who knows? I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I’m so thankful that my college journey led me to Forum. I found a family, a second home for a little while, and I found a passion. The reason I have my sights set on DC is because I want to be a part of telling stories that matter; stories that can change the world for the people they impact. I want to do whatever I can to use the technical communications skills I learned in my undergraduate schooling to make the world a better place. Sounds cheesy, but I mean it. I am so thankful for the impact service had on my college experience, and it’s a value I will always prioritize and recommend to others. 

    I didn’t achieve all of this personal growth throughout college on my own, however. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the communities I have been a part of. From SGA to the Dean William Tate Honor Society to my Public Relations cohort to my UGA at Oxford friends, I have been lucky enough to be in rooms with some of the most brilliant, creative, inspiring people on campus. My peers have encouraged me and made my college experience so much better. That’s one thing I’ll miss about being in school: how easy it is to plug yourself into organizations and find new friends! To anyone who is still in school, or has yet to begin: don’t let this gift go to waste! Join that club you’ve been thinking about, try out for that team, try to make genuine connections with the people in your group project. You never know where it could lead. 

    One of my favorite communities during my undergraduate experience has been the State Botanical Garden. I began working as the communications intern during my junior year of school, and two years later, I’m wrapping up my time at the garden. I genuinely could not have asked for a better college job experience. From photographing events, to working two garden balls, to designing Georgia Pollinator Plant of the Year materials, to directing a photoshoot of Hairy Dawg at the Winter WonderLights show, to writing my first published article, I have had the most wonderful, developmental two years. I would not have been able to do any of it without the mentorship, trust, and guidance of my supervisor, and the encouragement and help of the entire garden staff. From the very beginning, they welcomed me into their community, and I got to experience what it feels like to have a working environment where everyone genuinely cares about each other and supports each other. Even though the garden is separated into different branches (Communications, Education, Horticulture, etc.), it takes everyone working together to be successful in creating a beautiful public garden for people to enjoy and visit time and time again. I am so thankful to have gotten to be a part of this community for a couple years, and for all of the personal and professional development that bloomed from my experience. Once again, I urge you: try to plug yourself into a community, whether it be an organization or just trying to get to know your coworkers better. It could bring you so many new relationships and connections. 

    If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my story! Service and community are two aspects of life that are so important to me, and the fusion of these two things are so special. All of the words I’ve poured onto this page are a little bit of my heart that I hope you can take something away from. To sum everything up, please consider these takeaways: 

    • If you’re in college: join a service organization. You will never have an easier way to get involved and give back than you will right now. So why not? Give it a try. Make your college community a better place; after all, you may only live there for a few years, but the people who call it home forever will remain. And as an additional benefit, maybe your service community becomes an impactful community in your life! Maybe it brings you friends who will make your life and your college experience so much richer.  
    • If you’re already a working professional or anywhere else in your life where service isn’t as easily accessible: seek out opportunities to serve! Something as simple as a quick online search could turn into a whole community of like-minded individuals who go out and try to make their corner of the world a little bit better. This could be a great way to find friends in the professional world, too! 

    I challenge you all to do one thing in this next week to make someone’s life a little brighter. Random acts of kindness might seem simple, but they are the difference in turning someone’s worst day ever into the day they remembered the joy of life. Be that light in someone’s day. I hope you’ll be so glad you did. 

    With love,

    Kate

  • Consulting to Law School: A Unique Journey

    Consulting to Law School: A Unique Journey

    Alex has become one of our best friends in college and is one of the most hard-working, fun, and dedicated people we know. Dawson met Alex through Corsair Society, an organization that supports top undergrads in pursuing a career in consulting. Saanvikha met Alex through Dawson when we were all working on a national fiscal policy challenge spring semester of junior year. Throughout the last year and a half, we have made so many memories (Wine and Spine book club, Monday night cooking, Chess Dawgs). Alex will be working at McKinsey & Company starting this August (and living with Dawson!) and then attend Harvard Law School in 2-3 years since he was accepted into their Junior Deferral Program. We thought Alex could offer some expert advice on his journey from UGA to consulting to, eventually, HLS. So, we couldn’t think of anyone better to write our second guest post! Enjoy!

    Going to law school has been my dream since freshman year of high school. Working in consulting was a much newer—yet nearly as intense—ambition that emerged during my sophomore year of college. If you had told me back then that I’d be accepted to both my dream law school and the top consulting firm in the world, I would’ve laughed before asking if you were serious. To some extent, it still doesn’t feel real—but I’m lucky enough that it is.

    My name is Alex Womack. I’m graduating from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Economics and a minor in German. You’ll get to know me better through the course of this post, so I’ll save some of the details for later. The highlights: after graduation, I’ll be joining McKinsey & Company before heading to Harvard Law School through their Junior Deferral Program. Outside of academics and career goals, I love music (both playing and listening), exercising, chess, pickleball, and watching Formula 1.

    In this post, I’ll walk through my journey to both law school and consulting and share the key takeaways I’ve learned along the way. I’ll start with my path to law school, then discuss how I got into consulting, and finally talk about how these two goals connect to my long-term plans.

    Alex winning Terry Student of the Year!

    Path to Law School

    As I mentioned earlier, law school has been my goal since high school. Because of that, I approached college with a clear goal and did everything I could to make it happen. I can only speak definitively about what I did, but here are the key things that worked for me:

    1. Focusing on Academics

    Unsurprisingly, law schools care about your grades. Law school is, at the end of the day, an academic undertaking, and a rigorous one at that. As such, they place a heavy emphasis on your academic record to see if you’d be able to handle the law school course load. Here’s what I think is most important:

    • Take rigorous and interesting courses.
    • Build strong relationships with professors (helpful for letters of recommendation and mentorship).
    • Study consistently and work hard in class.

    You typically only go through college once, so take full advantage of the time to learn and push yourself intellectually.

    2. The LSAT

    Though some law schools now accept other tests, I took the LSAT and can speak to that specifically. There’s no getting around it—you have to study. The LSAT tests a different style of thinking, and developing those skills takes time.  While it does seem difficult to stomach paying for preparation materials, every one point increase in your LSAT score can increase your scholarships or salary outcomes from law school by many multiples of that cost. I studied for longer than most and more sporadically, but at least six months before your actual test date is a good time to start, depending on how much time you can dedicate to studying.

    3. Getting Involved

    This was probably the most enjoyable part of my experience at UGA, and one that furthered me more than I thought. A lot of people make the assumption that to get into law school, you have to be involved in the stereotypical law school college organizations – Mock Trial, Law Reviews, Model UN, etc. While sometimes these organizations can help solidify (or dispel) interest in law school, it can also be helpful to find other areas that have to do with the type of law you would want to practice. For me, corporate law was the most appealing, so I joined business organizations. For me, having a confirmed interest in law from a more legal-oriented organization, and having a compelling reason to use the law from business organizations allowed me to have a compelling “why law school” in my essays and interview.

    4. Useful Resources

    I relied heavily on online tools and communities during my application process. A few that stood out:

    • PowerScore LSAT Podcast (especially their test prediction episodes)
    • 7Sage (great for practice questions and analytics)
    • Law School Data (for acceptance statistics and trends)
    • Spivey Consulting Podcast (insightful admissions advice)
    • Navigating Law School Admissions with Miriam & Kristi (an excellent inside look at the admissions process)

    My Journey into Consulting

    While I was involved in business organizations at UGA, I was exposed to many career paths I hadn’t previously considered. Consulting immediately caught my attention. The idea of solving complex business problems, working across industries, and working with similar high-performing peers was incredibly appealing.

    There are a ton of resources out there for breaking into consulting, but I’ll focus on my favorite part:

    The Case Interview

    My first case was during an actual interview for a pro-bono consulting group at UGA. Somehow, it worked out and I got in—but I wouldn’t recommend that strategy to anyone. Instead, I’d suggest starting with case books, YouTube walkthroughs, and sites like CaseCoach or PrepLounge to understand the format. Still, nothing beats live practice with a partner. Doing cases with other people teaches you how to think on your feet, explain your reasoning, and structure your thoughts under pressure.

    Casing can be intimidating at first, but it’s also a chance to have fun and simulate the kind of work consultants actually do. Preparing too early can lead to burnout, so I recommend timing your preparation so you peak right before interviews.

    Why both Consulting and Law?

    So, why both? I’m often asked how consulting and law fit together and whether pursuing both makes sense. Right now, my plan is to spend a few years at McKinsey; then, attend law school; and afterward, join a Big Law firm and work specifically in corporate law. My long-term goal is to make partner at a big law firm.

    Consulting gives me the opportunity to build strategic thinking, client management skills, and a strong professional network—all of which translate well to legal practice, especially in corporate law. It will also set me up well to understand the industries that I will later serve. 

    Of course, all of this is subject to change. Depending on how consulting, law school, and life go, I may decide to change my path. For now, though, this combination feels right for me.

    Conclusion

    Looking back, the two paths—consulting and law—might seem unrelated at first glance, but they’ve converged naturally for me. Law school was a long-held goal that shaped the way I approached college, from my academic focus to my extracurricular involvement. Consulting was a newer interest that offered me a way to explore business problems, develop practical skills, and work with incredible people. The decision to pursue both was to learn as much as possible, challenge myself, and keep as many opportunities open as possible.

    If you’re a student thinking about law school, consulting, or both, I hope this post helps. There’s no one-size-fits-all path, but investing in academics, exploring your interests, and staying open to new experiences can take you far. Along the way, make sure to make time for the things that keep you human, whether that’s playing music, going to the gym or for a run, or simply getting enough sleep. Through everything, I’ve learned that, despite ups and downs, hard work and effort can pay off, sometimes in ways you’ve never imagined.

    Thanks for reading!

    Alex

  • Balancing Interests: Medical School in a PR World

    Balancing Interests: Medical School in a PR World

    Esther is one of the coolest people we know, hands-down. Dawson met Esther through the Institute for Leadership Program his freshman year in which they worked together on the Stitch team. Since then, Esther has been an incredible mentor and friend. Saanvikha met Esther through The Backpack Project of Athens, a non-profit that aims to ease the burden of homelessness in Athens, GA, and has always been inspired by her leadership, empathy, and work ethic. We have loved getting to know her professionally and personally and can’t wait for her to share her story with you. Being on the pre-med track can often feel rigid, and from our experience, it often seems as if people feel like there is a specific “check-list” to successfully get into med school. Esther challenged this notion and continues to do so, so join us in reading her story about how she balances her in becoming a physician with a Public Relations degree.

    Choosing a major seems like a life or death decision — or at least it did for me. Maybe life or death is a bit of an exaggeration; but even now, I think about how crazy it is that the world asks 18-year-olds to choose a major that will “define” the rest of their lives. Of course, your major doesn’t define who you are, but it sure seems like it does at that age. Think about it, the four things you’re usually asked freshman year are: your name, high school, major, and fun fact. My major was ever changing the first few semesters. My family and friends probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you what I was majoring in. In hindsight, I should’ve stayed undecided. 

    Now that I’m post-four months of my graduation, I feel confident in introducing myself knowing these facts won’t change. 

    My name is Esther Kim, and I went to Lanier High School. I graduated in 2024 from the University of Georgia with a degree in public relations and certificates in Personal & Organizational Leadership and New Media. Fun fact, which really isn’t that fun: I’ll be joining the class of 2029 at the Medical College of Georgia (yay!). 
    Okay, okay. I know your first question is going to be what in the world can a PR degree do for medical school? The short answer is nothing really. But the longer answer is a bit more complicated. This introduction has been my roundabout way of leading to one simple point: you should pursue what’s most authentic to who you are (and it doesn’t have to be only one thing!). For me that was both communications and medicine. Here’s three reasons why you should also just do what you want, for lack of better words.

    You won’t regret it. Instead, you’ll live to regret not doing what you wanted to do. 

    Entering college, I knew I wanted to become a physician. Except, I didn’t know how. No one around me was in healthcare. The only information I had were from YouTube videos, other pre-med students, pre-health advisors, and the internet. 

    The only problem was that everything I wanted to do went against the advice of others. I was told I should major in a science like biology. I was told I needed to volunteer; find research; gain clinical experience; have leadership; and so on. And so, I did just that my freshman year. I was a chemistry major, started volunteering with various groups I found interest in, and put in the hours so that I could show my commitment in leadership. But in the midst of all of that, I started getting involved in TEDxUGA — a decision that would more or less change the course of my college experience. 

    Really brief context of TEDxUGA: At UGA, you can take a course with the New Media Institute to learn how to curate presentations, but more specifically TED talks. It’s like a public speaking course, but professional and on steroids. You’re then paired with a real TEDxUGA presenter and help them develop their talk as they prepare to take the stage. 

    I ended up taking this course the fall semester of freshman year, and it was the best experience I’ve ever had. It was all things that other courses couldn’t provide. It was such a different and rewarding experience that I took the class again. During the second time around, I worked with Dr. K. Paige Carmichael, who spoke about the importance of One Health and how the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health can create a more sustainable future. 

    There’s a few things that I learned here. One is that I’m a pretty good writer (though, it would be pretty embarrassing if you disagree after reading this). I always thought sciences and math were more my forte, and at that point, I actually would’ve sworn I was horrible at writing and anything to do with language arts. The second lesson I learned is (at least for me) I think the people we meet, connect with, and learn from is way more important and valuable than the content we learn from class. 

    Case A: Five years later, I still keep in contact with Dr. Carmichael, and I have learned so much from her through many one-on-one conversations than I ever could from just a class. As our relationship evolved from professor and student to mentor and mentee, we have now become colleagues, which is truly an honor. 

    TEDxUGA was an experience that I sort of stumbled into. I took it as an elective simply because I wanted to, but it became so much more. After two semesters of taking the course, I was hired to become the head curator and teaching assistant for the course. After four years of working with TEDxUGA, I have met and worked with incredible people including different deans and administrators at UGA, famous alumni, and really cool students. I grew in leadership, fundraising, event management, teaching, and so much more. All of which didn’t particularly “fit the bill” of a pre-med. 

    I had at one point thought if I had made the right decision. I worked 20 hours every week since my sophomore year, with many weeks going overtime. I sometimes sacrificed school work for editing and working on presenter’s scripts (don’t tell that to anyone though). I thought about how if I didn’t say yes to this job, which has absolutely nothing to do with medicine, would I have gotten better grades? A higher GPA and MCAT score? More time for clinical experiences or research? Or even gotten into a top medical school? Who knows. Maybe? But I don’t have any regrets. Even if it may have not been the “right” decision as a pre-med (which I don’t think there actually is any), I am extremely grateful for the experience and know I wouldn’t be who I am without it. 

    And honestly, so what? I can’t go back and change the past, but what I can do is take advantage and make the most of every opportunity that I’m in. And that’s what I did. I now use this experience to my advantage and see how skills in writing, communicating, and public speaking, all of which may be intangible, are so important as a physician. 

    When One Door Closes, Another (and dare I say more than one) Will Open. 

    And thus, I changed my major to public relations. It seems like it was a simple, obvious choice when you look at my journey. But it was far from that. It took me three semesters to convince myself (and others) that changing my major to something wholly unrelated to medicine was the right decision. 

    When we pursue our passions, it might seem like we’re giving something up or need to make sacrifices. For me, that was, as I mentioned above, time to study, time to work in a hospital or clinic, and time to partake in research. I was afraid if I went after what I wanted to study that I would have to give up medicine — a desire and calling I’ve had for a long time. I had to be honest and ask myself if I really wanted to become a doctor. Sophomore year I wasn’t 100% sure. And so, I changed my major. I knew that I didn’t have to major in science to go to medical school, and I still had that choice. But it felt like I was giving up. It felt like I was closing the door on the opportunity by taking this path (dramatic I know). 

    Soon after making this decision, doors and opportunities that I didn’t even realize existed started opening. One of which includes joining in on the first Health and Medical Journalism study abroad trip to Havana, Cuba — a niche I didn’t even realize was a complete blend of what I was passionate about. I continued studying abroad at the University of Oxford and grew so much from that experience. 

    But the biggest opportunity of all was taking part in a nationwide competition for the PRWeek Awards, one of the most prestigious award programs in the PR industry. Selected as 1 of 4 UGA students, I conducted a survey, interviews, and data analysis to examine how psychological and social factors can affect environmental behavioral change. Then developed a PR campaign to emphasize the serious threat of climate change. Again, a complete blend of two things I’m passionate about. Something I didn’t realize I could do. It was honestly a pinch me, I’m going to cry moment because somehow, in some way I ended up placing first place in the competition and received the Outstanding Student award at the 2024 PRWeek Awards gala in NYC. 

    It felt like I was closing the door on medicine to pursue communications. But as time passed, not only did the door to becoming a physician open back up, but the wall between that door and the door of PR was knocked down. You never know what doors will open for you. Ones that you didn’t even know existed. Or I guess you could also just knock down the wall and do it all. 

    Who Cares? Not me (at least anymore). 

    My third point is pretty simple. For a while, I was very conscious about what people thought and how I was perceived. We let the opinions of others influence us more than we think and more than we’d like to admit. Of course, I think that’s the whole point of college. We make mistakes. We grow. And we lean into our unique identities. We realize that we don’t have to be like everyone around us and will be accepted for who we are. And if not, then honestly, I don’t think they deserve a say in your life. 

    So what if people think you’re a bit crazy and a risk taker? I’ve definitely been called that before. As I made mistakes, grew, and became the person I am today, I saw the people around me also begin to change. And I realize that it’s the people I’m currently surrounded by that accept me for who I am and support me in everything I do. 

    I could give more examples like how I took a risk and worked for a public relations agency for six months instead of at the clinic I was at, and I’m so glad that I did. Because now I know what the path in communications would’ve been like had I not pursued medicine. I am now 100% fully committed to becoming a doctor without any regrets. It’s also a major plus that I have this skill set in my toolbelt and know it will be used at some point in my career, just not sure of the specific yet. 

    If there’s something you want to do that you’ve been hesitating on, I say just go for it. You never know what will happen.