黑料专区

Thanks in large part to his student experiences at 黑料专区, Anthony White 鈥�08 has become the kind of communications professional who can tell his own stories compellingly or help others share theirs.

He is the Manager of Arena Communications at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., home of the NBA鈥檚 Atlanta Hawks. Prior to that, he worked for several companies, including The Home Depot, for which he drew on his storytelling skills to promote products and job openings in stores. He has also co-edited an online magazine.

White first realized his gifts in storytelling might matter in his post-graduation work life when, in addition to taking several journalism courses, he began writing for The Falcon鈥檚 Eye, the University鈥檚 newspaper. He eventually became the news editor.

鈥淯ntil then, writing was just a hobby,鈥� said White, a native of Gastonia, N.C. who majored in psychology and communications at Pfeiffer. 鈥淲e all have gifts that we did not give ourselves. I think it鈥檚 our responsibility to share those gifts with the world. So many supportive professors and mentors at Pfeiffer really nurtured and supported my craft. They helped me to believe that I had something and that it could take me somewhere.鈥�

That 鈥渟omewhere鈥� emerged while White was still at Pfeiffer — thanks to Bear Frazer 鈥�05, another editor at The Falcon鈥檚 Eye. In 2007, Frazer heard that was looking for freelance writers and helped White land an assignment at the publication, which covers everything from lifestyle trends to entertainment. The assignment entailed interviewing Cupid (aka Bryson Bernard), who鈥檚 best known for 鈥�,鈥� a line dance single from 2007 that made it to #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would mark the first time that White saw his byline in print.

鈥淚t was so exciting for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really opened my mind to the possibility that writing could be a career. I never knew this could be a thing. I thought, 鈥楾his is amazing.鈥欌��

The same could be said about his current position at State Farm Arena. As Arena Communications Manager for the downtown venue, White serves as the public relations contact and manages all media relations for events, primarily non-basketball. A large area of his responsibility is concert media management. He works directly with artist publicists and tour promoters to not only help amplify the messaging about a show but assist with the media on-site. The media with whom White deals ranges from the traditional (e.g., a print or online version of a newspaper) to the modern (blogs, social media platforms, and podcasts).

One show that White worked with and was especially proud of was the annual 鈥淏irthday Bash鈥� extravaganza featuring Latto and Friends.

鈥淏irthday Bash was a different kind of beast,鈥� White said. 鈥淏ecause of the scale and the nature of the show, it was a heavy lift but thanks to everyone who was involved, all of those who attended had a great night out.鈥�

White has also assisted with concerts featuring some of the industry鈥檚 biggest stars like Usher, Sabrina Carpenter, the late Frankie Beverly, and the legendary Stevie Wonder.

White鈥檚 gifts in storytelling can be pivotal in his role when it comes to heightening awareness about arena events and initiatives.

鈥淲e host some great events, but we also do some incredible things in the community,鈥� White said. 鈥淭hese range from our volunteer opportunities — including the Million Meal Pack, where we had over 6,000 volunteers pack over a million meal kits that we distributed to the community — to our sustainability efforts. We鈥檝e hosted over 500 zero-waste events and counting. These are stories that need to be told.鈥�

When White鈥檚 not attacking his big to-do list at State Farm Arena, he鈥檚 contemplating his next writing project, be that a blog or a magazine article. This time around, he鈥檚 experimenting with a new genre by trying his hand at short stories.

鈥淚 think I’m always going to do something in writing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 keep a pen and a notebook with me all the time because I’m always jotting something down. So, I think regardless of where I end up in my career, there will be a large aspect of writing still very much happening in my life.鈥�

These sentiments have their origins at Pfeiffer, at which White鈥檚 professors and mentors opened up and encouraged him to pursue a world of limitless possibilities.鈥淭heir message to me was that you can do more, you can go further, you can go higher,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 forever grateful for that.鈥�

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This article was written for 黑料专区 by Ken Keuffel.