PR from the Beginning

PR from the Beginning
By Ericka Burey

Jamie Rugama always knew she wanted to be apart of something
big. She found her niche in Public Relations.


Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jamie knew she always wanted to be the girl behind the scenes. Graduating from Taylor High School in Houston Texas, Jamie was always a hard worker. She maintained a part-time job at night in order to save up money for a car and college. She was also a devout dancer. Performing in competitive and school teams and she even made an appearance at the 2004 Super Bowl during the halftime performance. Jamie always enjoyed being in the spotlight but when it came down to picking a career Jamie knew she would fit right in Public Relations.
Soon Rugama began her tenure at the University of Houston. Here she majored in Public relations and minored in Global Business. Here in college she found that the public relations field that sparked her interest was corporate. Now that she had her mind set on what she was going to do for a career the only problem was getting there; still working almost full-time in a department store as well as a local bank branch as a teller. Not a stranger to hard work, Jamie worked extremely hard to maintain a high G.P.A. and putting herself through college, and it paid off.
In January 2009 Jamie’s career officially began. After graduating in the fall of 2008 Jamie acquired a highly sought after slot for the Houston Dynamo Professional Soccer team as a communication assistant. Though the position is highly sought after, it is still an unpaid position. With the economy in shambles, Rugama informed me that though the position is unpaid it is still very important to the advancement of her career. She primarily deals with “preserving a good image of the organization as a whole and as well as the team,” said the 23 year-old. “[We] make sure to keep good relations and repport with all media.” Rugama described her position as “conveying the correct images to the audience and establishing rapport.” Rugama expressed extreme excitement for her position and the fact that she is doing what she loves to do.
As for the skills that are necessary for the Communication Assistant in the Public Relations department and for any Public Relations professional include: the ability to network, to be knowledgeable about a wide variety areas and to being a well-rounded as possible according to Rugama. Each of these skills is very important to have a successful career. She specifically emphasized networking as a key to success in PR. Rugama stated that the “contacts that you make with certain people can save your organization from negative backlash, if the relationship is cordial.”
Lastly, when asked about advice that she could give to future PR professionals Rugama had three words, “network, network, network!” Along with this Rugama also suggested to “learn how to have complete composure.” Another piece of advice included “as a PR professional you have to be able to handle any situation that arises as well as yourself.” Rugama had a lot of helpful advice to give to me and the conversation was very helpful to understanding where I plan to go with my career.
In the future, Rugama plans to have a family as well as becoming a practicing PR professional in the corporate sector. Rugama truly developed a passion for the corporate public relations that could be done and looks forward to advancing her career in the field that we all love.