It’s been five years since Shavone Charles walked across the stage at commencement. On Saturday (Dec. 16), she will return as UC Merced’s first alumni keynote speaker at Fall Commencement.
Charles graduated with a bachelor’s degree in literature. During her time on campus, she served as a peer mentor, helped organize the first Afrikan Black Coalition conference, wrote for the student newspaper and completed internships at Google, Twitter, BET Networks and the UCDC program, to name a few.
After graduation, Charles took a job with Twitter and led the company’s global music and culture communications from its San Francisco headquarters. She was the youngest team member and the first African-American woman to be hired onto the communications team. While there, she helped found Blackbird — Twitter’s first employee resource group for African-American employees.
The San Diego native is passionate about working with at-risk youth and providing a support system for young women of color across industries.
In a recent interview, Charles shared insights into her promising career and what she enjoyed most about her time at UC Merced.
