By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥�19)
In high school, Zoey Georgeades was like any other student: She went to class, hung out with friends, was involved in extracurriculars like yearbook and loved jamming out to her favorite tunes. Except, unlike other students, some of her favorite tunes were her own.听Georgeades (Jour鈥�24) didn鈥檛 just rock out in her room鈥攕he was working with a producer and had plans to move to Los Angeles to start her singer-songwriter career.
And then, COVID hit. With travel, and most aspects of life, severely limited because of lockdowns, she shifted gears and decided to give higher education 鈥渢he good old college try.鈥� Inspired by her love of music in concert with her background in yearbook鈥攚hich sent her to the Colorado Student Media Association鈥檚 annual J-Day event鈥擥eorgeades decided to study journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder. That, along with her minor in communication, gave her a fresh perspective on her passion of producing music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very interesting time learning to be a musician and influencer while getting a degree,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y studies have pushed me to improve my communication in general, and that鈥檚 impacted my songwriting, making me very calculated.鈥�
During her time in Boulder, she served as the Panhellenic vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, and joined student media organizations. As a staff writer, and later arts and entertainment editor, for , she has written a variety of stories covering the Boulder music scene. Not only has she been able to connect with and interview musicians, she鈥檚 become more confident in herself.
鈥淗earing what they鈥檝e had to say and go through has been really interesting,鈥� Georgeades said. 鈥淣etworking and getting comfortable to go alone to concerts to cover them has really broken me out of my shell, which is really important in both music and journalism.鈥�
Her experiences in the classroom have been just as fulfilling鈥攕he said it鈥檚 been fascinating to learn about the rhetorical and philosophical sides of communication, which have pushed her to think more critically about the messages she puts out into the world and what it means to have integrity as both a musician and a journalist.
鈥淎s communication people, we should be the best, but often, we鈥檙e the worst,鈥� Georgeades said.
鈥淲ord choice is everything. CMCI has taught me to be very clear and direct, and very open minded.鈥�
Zoey Georgeades (Jour'24)
Her network has proven invaluable throughout her time in CMCI. She said Keyana Simone, faculty director of student media, and other professors have always been supportive and helpful sounding boards, giving her the confidence to pursue both music and journalism.
For Georgeades, music transcends language and it, like journalism, is ultimately a tool for bringing people together. She hopes as she moves forward in her career鈥攚hich she plans to start this fall in Los Angeles鈥攕he will be able to create a community using these passions.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 through music journalism or music production, I鈥檓 excited to put my all into it,鈥� she said.