CLAY COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) – Kaley Beth Roberts is one of the 2024 Ralph Gabbard Scholarship winners.
The $1,000 scholarship goes to high school seniors in Eastern Kentucky interested in pursuing journalism careers.
“Obviously, it’s going to be sad to graduate, especially to leave the theater, but just to leave the school I’ve loved for four years. But, I’m very excited for all the new opportunities that are waiting for me, you know at whatever college I decide to go to,” Roberts said.
Roberts is a senior at Clay County High School who plans to attend Centre College in Berea or Transylvania University in Lexington.
“That’s kind of how I got into journalism and then once I saw there was a scholarship for people who were interested in that, I was like oh that would be a really cool opportunity for me to help fund my education to go major in journalism,” Roberts said.
She is heavily involved in acting at her school and competed both statewide and nationally since she began in the acting troupe at age 10.
“With journalism, you sometimes have to see and talk to people with first-hand accounts of what happened and what they’re going through. The research both–you wouldn’t expect acting to have a lot of research, but it does,” said Roberts.
Roberts said she believes her time as a thespian helped her prepare for a career in journalism in a variety of ways.
“Especially the live aspect in live theater so many things can go wrong and you’ve just to pick up and keep going. So, I’ve definitely learned how to adapt when things don’t go the way you thought they were going to, which is something that would definitely help on live TV,” said Roberts.
Kaley Beth said she is interested in multiple roles within the field of journalism but regardless she is eager to see what the future holds.
“I’m really excited for the new, whatever career path I choose, hopefully it’s journalism. But, I’m just excited, I feel like my whole life is ahead of me,” Roberts said.
Kaley Beth graduates from Clay County High School in May 2025.
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