Jaylin R. Smith

Jaylin R. Smith, a Corps member for Report for America, is a multimedia journalist and motivational speaker from Greenwood, Mississippi. After receiving two bachelor’s degrees in communications from her beloved HBCU, Mississippi Valley State University, she continued her education at the University of Mississippi where she received a masters in Journalism and New Media. Over her college career, Jaylin has written articles for the Truist Leadership Institute, Overby Center for Southern Politics and Journalism, and the Hotty Toddy website.

She was also chosen as a 2024 TEDx Speaker at the University of Mississippi. Her love for diversity and community have fueled her academic and professional interests, making the Delta Region reporter ideal for her. In her leisure time, Jaylin enjoys singing (very badly), writing poetry, hanging with friends, and being adventurous.

She can be reached via email at Jaylin@mississippifreepress.org.

Read Jaylin’s Mississippi Free Press stories here.