Broadcast journalist Candice Smith to address graduates at VCU’s December commencement

By Brian McNeill

Candice Smith, an Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter, will be the featured speaker at Virginia Commonwealth University’s December commencement.

A native of Roanoke, Smith began her career at WWBT, the Richmond-based NBC affiliate, while still a VCU student: She worked as a part-time editor for the station’s evening newscasts while balancing her studies on campus. Today, Smith is one of WWBT’s leading on-air personalities, serving as the traffic anchor for the “12 News Today” morning program and hosting the “12 About Town Today” midday lifestyle program that spotlights Richmond leaders, events and cultural high points.

Smith graduated from VCU in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. Smith joined WWBT full time the following year as a digital content producer and social media reporter, a dual role that allowed her to report on trending topics, produce feature packages and maintain WWBT’s lifestyle blog. She also was a regular fill-in for morning and weekend traffic reports, and in 2016, she was elevated to full-time morning traffic anchor.

VCU will hold universitywide commencement exercises on Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.