STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: LAUREN ROSENBAUM


Lauren Rosenbaum is becoming a familiar face on the UH campus. Her smile and bright personality has landed her the spotlight in several UH marketing pieces. However, that star on camera is also a rising star in public relations with big ideas and big plans. She is quickly taking charge of her future and displaying an admirable sense of motivation and ambition that will most assuredly lead to a successful career.

Rosenbaum, a Baytown native and public relations junior, is currently the assistant to the marketing coordinator for Auxiliary Services, gaining real world marketing experience. She was initially hired on to the student marketing team in fall 2010 and now assists in planning and executing auxiliary events such as the UH vs. Rice Chili Cook-off.

�Lauren is an outstanding student worker who has natural talent in public relations and marketing. I am extremely happy to have her on my team,� said Billy Garner, marketing coordinator for Auxiliary Services.

After attending Texas Tech University and Lee Community College, Rosenbaum transferred to the university and said she �found her heart and her pride at UH.� She said she wasn�t very engaged in the college lifestyle at her previous schools and wanted to work on campus in order to get involved with the university. She attended a job fair where she submitted her resume to Auxiliary Services and was chosen for the team by Elaine Hampton, Cougar Card Office Supervisor.

�Everything from Lauren�s smile to her sense of humor makes her a joy to be around! She is always ready and willing to take on new responsibilities in order to get the job done. We appreciate her tenacity and all of the wonderful qualities she brings to our organization!� Hampton said.

Outside of her studies and work, Rosenbaum has gotten involved this semester in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and became the social media chair. She plans to run for vice president of the chapter in December.

�When you are majoring in public relations, networking is huge. So I decided to join an organization that will help me find opportunities and launch my career. But I also joined to be a part of something, a group of people where you are all learning about something, not because you are in class or because you are forced to, but because you enjoy it and feel like you belong. And once I joined, everything just keeps going up,� she said.

After joining PRSSA, Rosenbaum attended a national conference and said it is the �best thing I could�ve ever done for myself.� She learned about student-run public relations firms that were developing on other college campuses and felt inspired. She decided to put her ideas into action and has been working on plans to develop a UH student run public relations firm. She has quickly gained the support from her student organization and several UH staff members as well as groups interested in hiring the firm.

�When students have an internship opportunity on campus, why wouldn�t they want to be a part of that? Some students can�t find internships or don�t have time to devote to them and if there�s something right here on campus, it makes it easier. It will give us an opportunity to build our resumes and learn things we can�t learn in a classroom,� she said.

While working to build the firm, she is also putting her public relations skills to work in promoting the Mr. UH competition, a male pageant that was started by two girls on campus as a way to bring students together for a fun and philanthropic cause. All proceeds from the contest will be donated to the charity of the winner�s choice. The competition will be held on November 11 from 7-10 p.m. in the UC Houston Room.

Not only does Rosenbaum make things happen behind the scenes but she has also become quite a pro at starring on screen. She has been featured in several UH marketing pieces including a �Choose Houston� commercial, a Cougar Vision video at a home football game, a bus shelter ad on campus and will soon be smiling down at Houston commuters from billboard ads for UH.

She said she has found her direction this semester and it has led her to great opportunities. Rosenbaum said when she first began college, she picked a major but didn�t yet feel the connection to it and had tried to figure out what she wanted to do with her career. She now says she knows what she wants to do and hopes to work for a PR agency after graduation. She is making significant steps this year and plans to keep moving forward in achieving her dream.

�Joining PRSSA and getting further into my public relations classes helped me to develop that passion for it and I realized this is what I need to be doing. And once I realized that this is what I want to do for a career, that this is what I�m meant to do, I won�t stop until I do it,� she said.