Finding Greatness: Dani Grisamore
Author: News Bureau
Posted: Friday, October 7, 2016 3:39 PM
Categories:
College of Arts and Sciences | Pressroom | Finding Greatness
Macon, GA
Full Name: Jamie Danielle Grisamore.
Age: 29.
Hometown: Milledgeville.
Residence: Macon.
Family: "I'm married to Joel Ed Grisamore and we have four dogs (Ava, Ada, Maggie, and Lucy) and one cat (Sebastian)."
Employment: "I direct Lost Keys Literary Festival. (The 2016 festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8.) I'm also the AARP recruitment specialist for the Experience Corps through United Way, a program dedicated to placing volunteer tutors in Bibb county public schools."
MGA Degree: Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Creative Writing, Class of 2014.
Describe your current career and community work and what you love most about them.
"The entirety of my career and life revolves around literature, either exploring literary arts with my community through Lost Keys, or connecting tutors with K-3rd grade students to focus on increasing literacy rates in our community with Experience Corps. I love both my jobs because they both allow me to immerse myself in the literary community, giving current artists space to explore and then paving the path for our children to have a thorough (and fun) exposure to literary arts!"
How have your Middle Georgia State experiences benefited you?
"First and foremost, the English faculty at MGA taught me not only the canon, but also to believe in my abilities as a leader and teacher. When I completed my senior capstone, I was confident in myself, my scholarship and my education.
By joining groups like the English Studies Organization, Women's Studies Association, Gay Straight Alliance and participating on the board of The Fall Line Review, I learned to plan events and organize funding, which helps immensely in regards to the festival. With RSO, I tutored children in public schools, which gave me a glimpse of what I am recruiting others to do and made my training more smooth."
In five years ...
"I want to shut down a street in Macon with literary events. My festival co-chair, Ashley Williams (also an MGA alumnae), and I both had that dream when we started Lost Keys. When I enter a room, I want the people in the room to know, that in regards to literature and literacy, I can be trusted to have their best interests at heart, whether that be finding them an audience, a community or finding their children a reliable tutor."