Story By: Brayden George
Traveling across Fulton County, Georgia, in the heat of Atlanta traffic could feel like prison to some, but for Tyson Evans, it feels like freedom from the drab, gray cubicle he resided in as a digital content producer in Birmingham, Alabama.
As a public engagement and content strategist in Fulton County, Evans now spends most of his workdays outside the office attending various community events and engaging with the public across the Atlanta area. But his career path didn’t start “in the A” – it can be traced all the way back to Strong Hall at the University of Montevallo.
Before Atlanta, there was Montevallo
Montevallo wasn’t Evans’ first choice when he began thinking about where to attend college. His sights were set out of the state, considering both Howard University in Washington D.C. and Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Evans’ mom, however, wasn’t quite as on board. “I couldn’t move out of state, because Mom was not having that,” he says. “She was like, ‘Let’s see if we can find something with TV here.’”
From there, Evans found out about Montevallo’s mass communication and film programs from former graduates of his high school. After submitting his application and taking a tour, he felt UM was the place he wanted to be.
“Everybody who was there was so welcoming,” Evans says. “They constantly hit me up with texts. I always remember that. So the fact that they were so communicative compared to every other school that I had reached out to within the state itself. I was like, yeah, Montevallo gotta be the spot … I’m glad it was the place for me.”
Evans enrolled as a mass communication major and completed his freshman year online. After arriving on campus his sophomore year, he dove into the mass comm program headfirst. “I remember seeing the studio and mass comm building for the first time. That was the first time I had seen something like that,” he says. “So my eyes lit up.”
In his junior and senior years, Evans became even more involved on campus joining the Broadcast Education Association, Strong Hall Production Crew, even winning Mass Communication Student of the Year in 2024.
Evans approached his time at Montevallo with intentionality. “Montevallo gave me so many opportunities to openly express myself, especially creatively,” he says. “I didn’t really waste a lot of time while I was on campus. I considered my fun, you know, working on productions, creating my own productions – that was what I did for fun.”
In the spring of his junior year, adding to his already full schedule, Evans applied for a production internship at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. Not realizing the full importance of internships until he experienced one, he decided to make the most of his opportunity. “ If I can do what I’m supposed to do and do my work, I can potentially get my foot in the door somewhere to get a start when I graduate. And that was really the mindset,” he says.
From intern to employee
For Evans, his mindset paid off directly. In the final semester of his senior year, he was hired as a production assistant at 33/40, “Because … I had done what I was supposed to do, I was able to get a job there,” he says. “And did that while still working on completing my degree.”
Through the connections formed and work done during his internship, Evans had opened up a job opportunity for himself while still in school. However, he did not stop there. “By the time I graduated, I talked to the manager, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to graduate. I’m looking for another opportunity. Is there anything you guys have available? You know, I have experience in X, Y, and Z,’’’ Evans says. “You know, it just goes back to, you built that connection, you did what you’re supposed to do, you’ve always had a good reputation while you were there. So they gave me an opportunity.”
It’s really crazy how life works out, how you unintentionally end up doing things that set you up for your next destination, your next location.
Tyson Evans
After his graduation from Montevallo, Evans was promoted from part-time production assistant to full-time digital content producer. In this position, he focused primarily on writing online articles, adapting stories for different social media platforms and managing reporter content plans.
While coming into the newsroom from productions, Evans felt prepared through his film writing and journalism courses at UM. “Looking back at it, you know, it’s really crazy how life works out, how you unintentionally end up doing things that set you up for your next destination, your next location,” he says.
From newsroom to neighborhood
In September 2025, Evans’ next destination and location would come calling quickly.
After receiving the offer and accepting the job with the Fulton County Government as a public engagement and content strategist, Evans only had time to give a one-week notice before moving in and starting work in Atlanta.
The switch comes as a refreshing shift from the high-intensity, fast-paced newsroom. “ I’m getting to use a lot of my film knowledge. I’m creating videos and curating content, you know, in order to essentially increase public engagement so people can be informed about the things that the government does,” Evans says. “It is not as fast-paced as news was, but there’s always something to learn, because there’s so much happening.”
In his new role, Evans creates content to inform residents about the county’s programs. He travels across the Atlanta area, covering community events and collaborating with local officials to promote government initiatives. From housing resources to legal aid and senior protection programs, Evans works to make complex systems more accessible to the public. On his one day a week in the office, he spends his time brainstorming new ideas and digital campaigns to shape how the county communicates with its citizens.
Looking back, moving forward
As he reflects in his Atlanta apartment, Evans is grateful for the direction his career path has taken him so far. However, he doesn’t believe this is where his journey ends. “The destination that I hope to end up at is creating film and TV on a major scale. And I do believe that I have the ability to do it. I believe that I have the talent and the capabilities of doing it. It all just comes down to the position. And if the opportunity’s presented. What do I do with it?” he says.
Throughout this journey that we’re on, we’re gonna go through a multitude of different things … But the thing that I’ve learned within that is that everything that you’re doing is setting you up for whatever your destination is supposed to be.
Tyson Evans
In the meantime, he’s settling into this new role and environment he has found himself in with patience and would encourage anyone looking for new opportunities to do the same. “Our lives are not based on a location, but a destination,” Evans says. “Throughout this journey that we’re on, we’re gonna go through a multitude of different things.
We’re gonna end up in various locations. It might be a job, it might be this place and that place, and you might say, this isn’t exactly where I want to be right now. But the thing that I’ve learned within that is that everything that you’re doing is setting you up for whatever your destination is supposed to be.”
Disclosure: The author worked with Evans during his time at ABC 33/40.
Vallo Vision News 
Great article!
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