University of North Georgia alumna and Public Information Officer for the Hall County Government Joy Licciardi recently reflected on her time at the school and how her education prepared her for her career.
Licciardi, who graduated from UNG in 2018, recalled that when she started her education out of high school, she initially chose to study at Gainesville State College, which had not yet consolidated with UNG. Initially, she had planned to stay at Gainesville State only to complete her undergraduate studies, but she changed her plans after the schools combined.
“I decided to stay, and I’m so glad that I did because it was a wonderful experience for me,” Licciardi recalled. “I’ve just built really good relationships with my professors, and they’ve served as mentors in my life since I was a student at UNG.”
Licciardi studied communications with a focus in broadcast journalism during her time at UNG. After graduation, she was offered a full-time position at Gainesville-based radio station WDUN. She said she created video content for the news agency for two years before her career slightly shifted.
“I was offered a position with Jefferson City school system as their communication specialist,” she said. “I was still using a lot of those journalism skills. I did a lot of their videos, especially during COVID, where communication was super important. And that was a big learning experience for me.”
When she left that job, Licciardi wanted to see what else was out there. She went into project management and loved doing that too.
Licciardi then briefly returned to WDUN before taking on her current role with the Hall County Government. In her position, she is primarily responsible for public outreach, media inquiries and general information about Hall County’s programming.
“To me, it was, ‘where could I be happy and where could I feel like I was giving back to my community?’ I always felt like journalism. I loved being able to tell stories to the community, and that was kind of my way of giving back to people, because I’ve always just wanted to help people in some sort of fashion. And I really did feel like I was doing that with journalism, and I feel like I’m still doing that working in public service.” – Joy Licciardi, Public Information Officer for the Hall County Government
As she reflected on her time at UNG, Licciardi gave advice to those seeking to pursue a career in communications.
“When you’re early in your career and when you are trying new things, you are going to fail in some areas, and that’s normal, and that’s a part of growth, and it’s okay to put yourself in those uncomfortable situations,” she said. “You might try a job, and it might not be a good fit for you, but you’re probably going to learn something while you’re in that moment and while you’re in that experience.”
