Q&A: Raven Mitchell

By Denali Lerch

Atlanta native Raven Mitchell is a third-year journalism major in Grady college, but the journey she encountered to get to this point was not one that she predicted.

Mitchell began her college career as a genetics major, hoping to work in the busy and high-energy field of medicine. After being introduced to Grady college, she learned that medicine was not her passion anymore and decided to undergo a journalism degree.

She has found that journalism can involve all of her passions: sports, broadcast and even new media. Grady provided her with opportunities to branch out into all of those fields.

In the near or distant future, she can see herself working in broadcast journalism, running around a busy newsroom or production putting on her own show. Whether it’s with athletes or celebrities of all sorts, she has the same vision of how to apply what Grady has taught her.

Being from Atlanta, Mitchell has a distinct knowledge about the city and the culture that surrounds it. Her family history comes from Atlanta, and Mitchell could see herself returning and pursuing her career there. She said Atlanta is full of opportunities and has a rich history that she has been able to experience firsthand.

Her family is her support group. They encourage her with her life choices, including major changes and different goals she has for her career. Her grandmother, especially, has inspired her by supporting the decisions she has made in college.

Denali Lerch: What are your goals with this major or your career in general?

Raven Mitchell: I want to go into broadcast journalism because I like the fast-paced environment and the room especially. What originally attracted me to be a doctor, like as an emergency physician, was the fast pace feel of the job. So broadcast journalism, especially like writing stories on the fly, attracts me. Ultimately, though, I want to produce shows sometime in my career.

Lerch: What kind of broadcast do you want to go into?

Mitchell: Well, I would say news but my first love is sports. I played sports since I was five; I was into every sport. So, I would eventually like to go into that, and maybe not just for basketball games and that sort of thing. I would like to create my own show about the players and athletes.

Lerch: Are you in the Sports Media certificate?

Mitchell: Actually, no, I also have another love. I’m in the New Media certificate program because I love technology and that sort of subject.

Lerch: Has there been someone who’s been motivating or inspirational to you throughout your first three years of college?

Mitchell: I would say everybody, but my grandma especially. I could say “grandma, I need a camera,” and she’ll say “okay, got it, we’ll get the camera, we’ll get lenses, everything.” With my grandma, she’s supportive of whatever I want to do. Especially when I changed majors from genetics, she was ok with it and would get me what I need.

Lerch: What’s something about Atlanta that you know from living there but other people usually don’t?

Mitchell: Yeah. So, my grandmother, again, she used to work at this bookstore that is actually a barbershop now. But it was like an African American bookstore right by the agency Atlanta University Center. So they had different college graduate books. Her story from there is probably one of the most interesting things I’ve ever heard. But most people don’t know that it existed because it’s a barbershop now.