28 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE
As Kennedy looked over the list of majors in
the school of journalism, a degree in entertainment
and media studies caught her attention. “I thought,
‘I’ll start with both majors, advertising and
entertainment and media studies and figure it out as
I go,’” said Kennedy.
When she attended orientation for “journalism
school intended,” she learned that she had to
immediately apply to the school of journalism
college. She also learned that you could not pursue
two majors within the journalism college. Once again,
she was at a crossroads and had to make a decision
that would determine her future profession.
As part of the application process, Kennedy had
to write a statement of intent. “You write about
why you should be accepted into the program. That
statement of intent is basically what determines
whether you get in or not. They tell you to practice
writing it, so you’ll have your thoughts together
before you go in the testing center because you can’t
take anything with you. When I sat down and began
working on a letter of intent for both advertising
and entertainment and media studies, it was very
difficult to write about why I wanted to major in
advertising, but writing about why I wanted to major
in entertainment and media studies was easy.”
Writing that letter of intent allowed Kennedy to
look back in retrospect. Like many children, Kennedy
loved making videos. “I would direct my younger
sister, Bentley, and make her do what I wanted for my
video stories,” she laughed. “By middle school, some
apps for making music videos came out. I thought
it was just a fun thing my friends and I were doing.
But as I wrote my letter of intent, I realized that it
was more. I had actually always been interested in
entertainment and media.”
The realization was nothing new to her friends.
“We would be watching a Netflix movie, and I wanted
to stop and discuss things. I wanted to know where
the movie was made. Who were the actors? What had
they played in before? Was the story based on true
events? How did the writers get the information for
the show or movie? What kind of research was done
to create it? My friends even commented about my
interests in all that stuff,” said Kennedy.
All the questions pointed straight to the path her
heart was set on following. “When I went to apply,
entertainment and media study was my top choice
and advertising my second. I was not confident at
all that I would get in. A lot of students applied.
Some were from Atlanta area schools that had media
clubs in high school. I realized some were applying
for a second.” Only sixty people were accepted into
the entertainment and media study program, and
Kennedy was one of them.
The first semester was the most difficult. “All
sixty of us were thrown together in this class with
Professor Biddle. All the professors in the program
ABOVE Kennedy at Cannes Film Festival in France. Kennedy with
Deborah Roberts and UGA Dean Charles Davis. On the set of a Dunkin
Donuts commercial shoot. Kennedy and her all-female production
crew won Best Overall for colleges and Best Screenplay in the 2019