Meet Emily Petraglia | Graduate Student & Social Media Marketing Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Petraglia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is my trauma, actually.

I was in a car accident when I was sixteen where I fractured my neck in two places, had 10 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a punctured lung, a concussion, and a laceration in my left quad that went all the way to the bone. I played volleyball in high school and, due to the condition of my spine and knee, the chances of playing in college went out the window.

I had always been a straight A student, but when the wreck happened in 2016, the summer before my junior year, I had to redirect my focus. I decided to go to the University of Georgia for academics and I would not trade my experience for the world.

I spent the entire summer in 2016 recovering at my parents’ house and the isolation had detrimental impacts on my mental health. I decided in those months that I wanted to pursue a degree in psychology because I loved the idea of being able to help people. I never wanted anybody to feel the way that I felt during that hard time. Thus, when I applied to UGA, I came in as a psychology major and had intentions of building my own practice.

The more I thought, though, I realized that all of my time as a psychologist would be tailored towards a limited clientele base. I changed my mind and decided to pursue degrees in journalism instead that way my messages could be broadcasted towards the masses.

Therefore, my business objective is to facilitate all of the important conversations. I never want to tell people what to think, but what to think about. There is too much informational gatekeeping occurring within our society and I want to help push back. Within the industry of journalism and academia itself, information is hidden behind paywalls and other barriers that prevent people from learning.

My plan to counteract this is to become a jack of all trades. I plan to absorb all the knowledge from every field I possibly can, synthesize it and make it more accessible to the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The type of art that I aspire to create is infotainment. The rise of big tech giants, such as Google, Facebook and Apple, has ultimately led to the disintegration of news organizations’ business models. Traditional media outlets used to get the majority of their revenue from advertising, but the digital age has forced the adopted of subscription models. Local news outlets do not have the audience to sustain their finances, so they are being bought up and conglomerated by bigger companies, Local communities are not being reported on, thus, voices are not being heard, My goal is to show everybody that they have a voice.

Infotainment combines information relay with entertainment. Emerging social media platforms have created such an abundant marketplace of ideas that it is easy to get overwhelmed with information. These companies quite literally capitalize off of the attention market, so their goal is to get you to engage with their content for as long as possible. I think that commercial incentives are causing sensationalism and polarization, which is resulting in reduced consumer trust and news fatigue. My goal, therefore, is to abandon the corporate infrastructure and empower others to stand up for what they believe in too. We can teach ourselves to do anything, the higher elite just doesn’t want to see us do it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my girls and I were venturing around Atlanta for the week, we would definitely have some diverse experiences. During the day, I might take them to the High Museum of Art, Fernbank Science Center or the Beltline. By night, however, you could find us at a concert at the Coca-Cola Roxy or Lakewood Amphitheater. We love a little razzle dazzle!

My favorite spots to eat in the city are Seasons 52, First Watch Cafe and Tacos & Tequilas.

I have not spent as much time exploring in the city as I would like to just yet, but it is on my list of things to do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would not be the person I am today without my mother, K-12 teachers and college professors. The education that I received growing into an adult is absolutely one of the reasons that I am such a profound advocate for information accessibility now.

I mentioned earlier the car accident that I was in in high school. That took place on June 20th, 2016 and I still started my junior year on time with all of those injuries, I had a neck brace that extended from my neck to my bellybutton and a leg brace that went from my hip to my ankle. It was hard enough going back to school without everybody thinking that I was weak and vulnerable. My teachers– Joni Jameson, Kristen Carter, Brian Zirbel, Bruce Young and Meshaun Vaughn– are what inspired me to keep going.

Similarly, I faced several adversities in college that led to the reformation of my identity. The professors at UGA, specifically Carly Fabian, Keith Herndon, Charlotte Norsworthy, Jonathan Peters and Dodie Cantrell, held my hand through those trying times.

These individuals all share one thing in common: they consume themselves to light the way for others. If I can obtain in my career even a percentage of their perseverance, I know I’ll be alright.

Website: www.emilylpetraglia.com

Instagram: @emilylpetraglia

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/emilylpetraglia

Twitter: @emilylpetraglia

Facebook: @emilylpetraglia

Youtube: www.youtube.com/emilylpetraglia

Other: TikTok: @emilylpetraglia