Staff Reports

Cordele Dispatch

CORDELE — On Monday, The Cordele Dispatch welcomed its newest writer to the editorial staff. 25 year old Erica O’Neal, hailing from Alpharetta, Georgia will be the Dispatch’s go to for feature stories and local community news. Here is a little bit about her:

“I recently moved to Cordele this past last month. Prior to moving here I graduated from Mercer University in May 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and a double minor in Photography and Art. I also wrote for Mercer’s school newspaper, The Cluster and was named an editor for a year.

I have worked a number of internships while I was a college student: GPB (WMUM), Her Campus, Appen Media Group, and ESPN3. I have experience in digital, radio and newsprint storytelling and I love writing feature stories. Since graduating college, I worked odd jobs while searching for a reporting job. During that time, I started building up a portfolio as a freelance photographer and have worked on set for multiple local Atlanta films.

I grew up on a horse farm with my family and spent my childhood helping my mother with horseback riding lessons.”

“Erica stood out in our interviewing process with a wide range talents across multiple media platforms,” said Managing Editor Trevor McNaboe. “We look for Erica to make an immediate impact with in depth reporting and feature stories.”