Keeping it in the Family

Lauren Royston is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Housing and Food at the University of Oklahoma. Royston started out as an intern and has worked her way up to the director in the past three years. In 2007 she graduated from the Gaylord College with a bachelors degree in public relations. As a student Royston enjoyed non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Food and Shelter for Friends, and the Mary Abbot Children’s House. She was a regular volunteer at the Abbot House and loves giving back to the community. Although, she likes being involved in non-profits, she loves her job.

She said, “I was so lucky coming out of college and being offered a job the following summer. It was all about the hard work I put in as an intern and the timing.”

One of her biggest tasks every year is creating a reapplication campaign for current residents living in the residence halls. I was able to watch first hand how this campaign was implemented.

Royston said, “One of the most rewarding parts of my job is working for a company that believes in me and stands behind me in my decisions.”

She loves that Housing and Food has given her the ability to hire a staff of interns to teach because she thinks that internships are a vital part of getting a job. Some of the key things she believes will help public relations professionals entering the work force is great writing skills, being able to multi task, an internship, and connections. The most important thing she looks at when hiring people is their diverse skill set. For example, she would hire someone with the ability to use the adobe suite, has great writing examples in their portfolio, and has experience with photography.

Royston said, “It’s almost like you have to find a few things that set you a part from the crowd.”

I work for Housing and Food as a resident adviser, but having the opportunity to watch Royston work and promote Housing and Food’s campaign was great and really showed me how much I love working with college students. I would love to further my job in Housing and Food just like Royston did, just in the Marketing and Public Relations Department.