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By Dylan Knight

Granite Hills High School alumni, Ebony Bailey, to no surprise to her classmates and teachers, is climbing the ladder to success.

“Someone with as much integrity, dedication and intelligence as Ebony is bound to do great things,” said Granite teacher, Tiffany Ross.

Throughout her high school years, Bailey took on a rigorous schedule with countless AP and honors classes.

“I think taking AP classes really helped. Having that workload in high school really helped me prepare for the workload in college and with balancing my time,” said Bailey. “One thing in high school that helped me prepare for college was taking the journalism class. I learned a lot about web design and multimedia from working with the Grizzly Gazette and I brought those skills I learned to college.”

Bailey was the news editor for the Grizzly Gazette in 2008-2009 and helped in many aspects of creating the Gazette. She is now an intern for the Los Angeles Times

“She was a joy to work with,” said Evan Hackett, GHHS journalism teacher. “She wanted to learn everything about the Grizzly Gazette; whether it was writing, design, or Photoshop. Ebony spoiled me; she’s one of those rare kids who hungered for success and was willing to work through brunch, lunch, even weekends.”

After graduating in 2009, Bailey was accepted to the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California.

“I actually hated USC my entire life until Mr. Hackett made me visit it with the AVID students,” said Bailey. “Upon visiting, I fell in love with the campus.”

Bailey will be attending USC for four years, majoring in print journalism and getting a minor in international relations and entrepreneurship.

“[For my favorite class] this semester I would have to say my BAEP 450 class (Foundations of entrepreneurship),” said Bailey. “The professor is awesome and the class is very useful.”

For Bailey, teachers are a source of enlightenment.

“Every semester I have at least one professor who is really inspiring and is just a good professor,” said Bailey.

Obviously, university life is far different from small town Portervillian life.

“One big difference is that in high school your schedule is made for you and in college, you make your own schedule,” said Bailey. “This brings up lots of issues with time management. In simple terms, once you’ve managed time management, you’ve managed college.”

Leaving for school also means leaving the parents and making your own decisions.

“In college you are a lot more independent,” said Bailey. “For me, being independent means that you are not living off of your parents. You have a good job where you can make a sustainable living for yourself, which allows you to make your own choices.”

Though Bailey will always be part of the Grizzly family, she now has a new family to love.

“I love the Trojan family and all of the networking opportunities that SC gives us,” said Bailey. “I can walk down the street and give some random person wearing an SC shirt a ‘Fight On!’ and it isn’t weird at all. There’s a sense of family that all of us Trojans feel.”

USC has a lot to offer this young journalist.

“Another thing I love about SC is Annenberg, the school that my major is in,” said Bailey. “It provides a lot of resources for students and I get free printing!”

College is a time of adventure.

“2010 was a year of many ‘firsts’,” said Bailey. “One good memory I have is seeing Obama speak on campus. I pulled an all-nighter just to wait in line to get a good spot. It was a once and a lifetime experience and it was the only all-nighter that I ever pulled that was worth it.”

Bailey is a full-time student and is involved with many things around campus.

“I don’t have much free time because I am involved with many organizations,” said Bailey. “I’m in a community service fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega. I’m also involved in Troy Camp (USC’s official philanthropy), Neon Tommy, and Annenberg Latino Student Association.”

Overall, USC has proved to be the dream university for Bailey.

“I love the colors, the people, the organizations, and just the overall atmosphere,” said Bailey. “I can’t imagine myself anywhere else.”

Though Bailey is long graduated from Granite Hills, she paved the way for many young journalists.

“She is the reason Bailey, Brad, Hannah, and Summer are a part of the Gazette,” said Ross. “She lit the fire.”

Above Photo: Alumni Ebony Bailey (far left)celebrates her graduation from Granite Hills High School.(Photo contributed by Ebony Bailey)

To learn more:

USC Annenberg school of communication and journalism

Alpha Phi Omega fraternity