Wounded Warrior Staffer Visits Mississippi College

Wounded Warrior staff member Kyle Martin, a 2004 MC communication graduate, visits with MC communication professor Tim Nicholas and students at a luncheon Tuesday.

The Wounded Warrior Project raises millions of dollars to support injured American soldiers making sacrifices in wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the globe.

As programming marketing specialist with the non-profit, Mississippi College graduate Kyle Martin helps tell the stories of these brave heroes fighting to protect the USA’s freedoms.

The Mississippi native has worked with Wounded Warrior’s publications and social media at its Jacksonville, Florida headquarters since November 2012. He knows how to edit Smartphone videos, shoot photos, write tweets, and master other skills in a fast-changing world of technology.

A former newspaper reporter in Mississippi and Georgia, Martin challenged MC communication students to follow their passion and try to be world changers as they pursue careers.

A 2004 Mississippi College communication graduate, Martin returned to the Clinton campus in early March to deliver the department’s 2014 Purser Hewitt lecture series. It is named for the former “Clarion-Ledger” editor.

“Become good storytellers to make a difference,” Martin advised MC students during a luncheon in his honor Tuesday afternoon.

Martin first showed his flair for writing at “The Greenwood Commonwealth” before joining the “Augusta Chronicle” staff. He covered the courts and military affairs at the daily Georgia newspaper before being hired the Wounded Warrior Project.

“At the Wounded Warrior Project, I felt like I was making a bigger impact,” said the former seven-year newspaper reporter.

From its early days in Roanoke, Virginia when a U.S. Marine helped get the organization started in 2003, the Wounded Warrior Project has grown to oversee 19 programs nationwide. Since 2010, its Believers in Heroes Campaign has helped raise more than $6 million for injured veterans.

Wounded Warrior has helped people like Army Staff Sgt. Chris Gordon who lost his right leg after his military vehicle was hit by an IED device in Iraq in March 2005. After recovering at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., the New York native is using a prosthetic and learning to walk again.

The son of overseas missionaries, Martin is using the skills he learned at Mississippi College, with professors like Cliff Fortenberry and Tim Nicholas, to bring the stories of injured American soldiers to life.

A new video series commemorating the Wounded Warrior Project’s 10^th anniversary was featured on MSNBC and other media outlets during Veterans Day last fall.

MC student Laura Courtney of Thomasville, Georgia said she was impressed with the guest speaker because he encouraged professionals to focus on people and story telling as they pursue careers in communications. “Relationships are everything,” she said.

“Story telling is important for all communication majors,” agreed Mississippi College senior James Osborne of Brandon.

Previous guest speakers for the Purser Hewitt Lecture Series at Mississippi College have included award-winning Clarion-Ledger investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell.

For more information, go to woundedwarriorproject.org. To contact the non-profit with a story idea or send a comment, forward an email to editor@woundedwarriorproject.org.