Briana Hayes

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT BRIANA HAYES

Briana is a native of Baxley, Georgia and is a J.D. candidate at the University of Georgia School of Law. Coming from a town with a population of just under people, she has been a champion for rural students’ success. Much of her work can be traced back to 2019 when she was the fourth black woman in over a 60-year history to be crowned Miss University of Georgia. During her time with the title, she traveled to rural parts of the state to speak with over rural students regarding volunteerism, leadership, and the benefits of pursuing higher education, particularly at the University of Georgia. Briana later founded RISE to assist rural students as they transition to UGA. During the spring semester of 2020, she began conducting research with Dr. Darris Means on the assets rural African American students possess on their pathways to higher education. Throughout her undergraduate career, Briana enjoyed becoming involved in community service. Whether tutoring at the Thomas Lay After-School Program, independently fundraising thousands of dollars for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, successfully advocating for nearly half of a million dollars worth of lighting improvements on campus, interning with Extra Special People, or volunteering with organizations such Campus Kitchen and UGArden, she truly found community through service initiatives. Back home in Baxley, Briana found a new way to uplift others through community organizing. Following the revelations of the Ahmaud Arbery case within her judicial circuit, she united over 400 local citizens to spark social change. Her demonstrated dedication to social justice led her to be named a Marshall-Motley Scholar through the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Through this award, she is attending law school on a full-ride scholarship in return for her commitment to practice as a civil rights attorney on behalf of Black communities in the South for at least ten years.