Marli Collier
Press Secretary, Office of Senator Shelley Moore Capito
University of Georgia ‘18
Washington, D.C.
A native of Dawson, Georgia, Marli realized she wanted to enter the world of journalism in high school. “My AP Composition teacher really encouraged me. She said, ‘you have a gift, you’re a really strong writer.’ It made me start thinking I could give journalism a shot. I think in high school, I just had really great teachers that supported me and clued me in. I don’t know if I would’ve thought about it naturally without their encouragement.”
Although she had the desire to go out-of-state for college, the HOPE Scholarship kept her in Georgia, specifically the University of Georgia. “I was looking at other places, but it’s really hard to pass up the well-roundedness of UGA and then when you consider that you can be a HOPE scholarship recipient and go to school tuition free, it’s impossible to pass that up.”
“What I loved about my time at college is that I was surrounded by a lot of different people from different life-paths. It really opened my eyes, especially since I’m from such a small town, to what’s possible in the world.”
During her time at UGA, she was able to participate in several internships that introduced her to the world of politics. “I interned in D.C. the summer after my sophomore year in college. I did half the summer working with the National Cotton Council and half the summer interning with Senator David Perdue. I totally fell in love with the city and the politics.”
She now works as the Press Secretary for West Virginia’s Senator Shelley Moore Capito.
“I love that I can take complicated policy ideas and make them digestible for everyday people. I think that’s what I love the most, is being able to take something like natural gas production, make that understandable for someone on Facebook and why it’s so important for the people of our state. I definitely think another great part is traveling to West Virginia with Senator Capitoe. Any time I get to go back to the state and hear from everyday people and how policies that we’re working on here in Washington have affected their life is the most rewarding part.”
Her favorite project she has worked on in her role is West Virginia Girls Rise Up Program. “We travel around to schools across West Virginia and talk to girls about their goals. Senator Capitoe de-mystifies what public service is. A lot of girls in West Virginia don’t have a ton of female role models and so being able to talk to the Senator is really impactful. It’s really about girls finding their passion and go for it, encouraging them to take pride in themselves.”
Marli lives in Washington, D.C. and hopes to continue learning all that she can on Capitol Hill.