About Me 

Sydney Shankman is a reporter and photojournalist based in the Southeast. She is from Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2026, she graduated Cum Laude with a BA in journalism from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Along with journalism, Sydney minored in women’s studies and received a certificate in news literacy.

Sydney covers a wide range of topics in her writing, including women’s issues, sustainability and poverty. Her main focus is community journalism.

Currently, Sydney is a reporting intern at the Mountaineer, a newspaper covering the happenings of Haywood County, North Carolina. During this internship, Sydney will continue to develop her writing and reporting skills and learn the inner workings of the publishing process for a print newspaper.

In the summer of 2026, she had the opportunity to photograph the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the Associated Press. As part of her coverage, Sydney photographed matches and fan events in Mexico City and Vancouver.

She was a Fink Fellow for the Cox Institute, focusing on poverty coverage. Through her work with the Cox Institute, Sydney learned about what it takes to report on poverty and community issues. Additionally, she worked on the monthly Covering Poverty newsletter and website, which include a variety of resources for journalists.

Since her time at Grady, Sydney has discovered a passion for photojournalism and travel writing. In the summer of 2024, she had the opportunity to participate in a Grady College study away experience. She spent a month in Prague photographing and writing about local culture. Sydney also spent two years as a photojournalist for the Red & Black, where she photographed sports, culture and news events. She completed the photojournalism track by taking Introductory, Advanced Photojournalism, and Documentary Photojournalism to develop her skills behind the camera.

In spring 2026, she worked as a reporter at the Oglethorpe Echo, covering health and recreation. Working at the Echo has helped develop Sydney's writing, reporting and time management skills.