Will Salter: McGill Fellow and sports enthusiast

By Denali Lerch

Through internships, opportunities with PRSSA and good relationships with professors and faculty members, Will Salter, a senior from Claxton, Georgia, has worked his way up to be recognized as a McGill Fellow at The University of Georgia. For many, this kind of experience and success is what we, as students, desire to achieve in order to gain as much work in the field as possible.

The McGill program is designed to honor Ralph McGill’s legacy as an editor for The Atlanta Constitution. By being a part of the McGill program, chosen students meet with visiting journalists and research given topics to discuss on a specified date. 

These students are chosen by faculty members who have witnessed their motivation and drive and feel that they would be a valuable asset when discussing important issues or trends, even if the students do not know what those are yet.

“It’s good to know that someone nominated me and that it’s journalism because I’m mainly involved in public relations, so I feel like I’m bridging that gap and adding some diversity,” Salter said. 

After researching the topic weeks in advance, watching videos and coming up with questions, the students attend a symposium to discuss their ideas and concerns about their newfound knowledge with the visiting journalists. 

Once the discussion wraps up, the 2020 McGill Medal for Journalists will be rewarded and fellows for the following semester will research and write about an additional topic.

Salter sees this opportunity as a way for him to express his many interests and passions in different aspects of the communications field, specifically with his experience in sports production.

He recently interned with the Association of Tennis Professionals tour “Uncovered,” working in the sports media and production field. This coveted internship is one that shaped the way he views his work and future career, thanks to the assistance from his professors and mentors.

“All of my professors at Grady have pushed me in one way or another; a lot of the work in Grady is field work – team work, meeting deadlines, styles, facts. Even my boss from the ATP internship took a chance with me when I didn’t know what I was doing,” Salter said.

All of these opportunities have led him to develop a concise view of what he wants in his career and where he sees himself going next. 

“In 10 years, I hope to see myself as an executive producer somewhere in sports illustration,” Salter said. “But mostly, I want to look back and make sure that every move I made was the right one. I don’t want to end up with any regrets.”

All of these moves have led him to being named a McGill Fellow months before his anticipated graduation. With the McGill event taking place in the near future, the knowledge he gained from his internship and the help that Grady offers, Salter expects more success to come his way.