Earlier this year, the University of Georgia announced the 2023 40 Under 40 honorees. The winners include 9 graduates with SPIA degrees. 40 Under 40 celebrates young alumni leading the pack in their industries and communities. Learn more about our Honoree Clyde McGrady, National Correspondent for the New York Times.

What was your favorite SPIA class or favorite SPIA professor?
Charles Bullock

What was your favorite study spot as a student?
This is a trick question because I didn’t enjoy studying.

What obscure thing are you talented at?
Listening.

What is one weird fact or tidbit that you still remember from school?
My economics professor told me that the cost of a lottery ticket is almost always more than the potential payoff, based on the odds of winning. But please buy them, because HOPE!

What one superpower would you give to everyone in the world? How would the world change?
It’s not exactly a superpower even though it currently feels like one: grace/empathy. It would produce a much kinder world in which billions of people have to co-exist.

Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why?
Paris, France. I’ve already been but there’s so much to take in that I barely scratched the surface on my first visit.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, living or dead, who would it be? Why?
Martin Luther King, Jr.

What is one piece of advice you have for current SPIA students?
Be critical of the advice you receive. Try to solicit it from a wide range of sources. Sometimes people will project their own experiences and regrets onto you, so listen carefully, but ultimately, trust your own instincts.