{"id":46,"date":"2026-05-14T18:42:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/from-theatre-student-to-communications-leader-carrie-taylors-journey\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T20:13:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T20:13:47","slug":"from-theatre-student-to-communications-leader-carrie-taylors-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/from-theatre-student-to-communications-leader-carrie-taylors-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"From theatre student to communications leader: Carrie Taylor\u2019s journey\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the late 1990s, former San Jacinto College student Carrie Taylor was flipping through a University of Houston-Clear Lake course catalog when a class title caught her attention: \u201cCommunication and the Internet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The internet was still in its early stages, but Taylor sensed it would reshape how people communicate. That moment helped shape a career built on storytelling, strategy, and a commitment to public education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, she serves as director of communications for university marketing and communications at the University of Houston, leading executive and internal communications, including the employee newsletter UH Today and the award-winning UH Magazine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Carrie

Carrie Taylor (courtesy of Nick Pomes)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h3>\n

A long shot<\/span><\/h3>\n

That success, though, wasn\u2019t something Taylor could always see for herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

She first enrolled at San Jac in 1988 as a theatre major, unsure whether college was even possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy family was in a tight financial place, and I was already working,\u201d she said. \u201cAttending college actually felt like a long shot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During a visit to the college\u2019s Central Campus, Taylor met theatre director Terry Ogden, who helped secure a $200 book scholarship. The gesture might have been small in dollar amount, but it was significant in what it represented.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was both the money, which was desperately needed, and knowing a faculty member believed in my potential,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lessons from the\u00a0stage<\/span><\/h3>\n

At San Jac, Taylor found her bearings. She performed in theatre productions such as \u201cBiloxi Blues and the Gingerbread Lady\u201d and worked behind the scenes building sets. A patient English II professor helped her master writing fundamentals she still relies on daily. She grew \u201cfrom an awkward teenager to a young adult\u201d in that community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though she never took a formal communications course at San Jac, Taylor sees a direct line between what she learned on stage and her career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe many public relations professionals are theatre students who learned to write,\u201d she said. \u201cSpeech and diction, analyzing text, understanding an audience \u2014 those skills transfer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding her voice<\/span><\/h3>\n

After San Jac, Taylor transferred to the University of Houston-Clear Lake in 1999, drawn to its focus on applied learning. There, she led the communications club and served as editor of the UHCL newspaper \u2014 experiences that gave her career its first real footing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Across higher education, nonprofits, health care, K-12 education, and entrepreneurship, she has built a career in strategic communications and media relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a noisy, demanding world, so finding ways to capture people\u2019s attention and to get a particular message through is more challenging every day,\u201d she said. \u201cI love that I can grow alongside emerging technologies that create new ways to communicate \u2014 after all, technology is what drew me to the field to begin with. I try to keep that curiosity at the forefront of everything I do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She has developed visual content, written long-form features, and crafted scripts that were read by NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. She still sees it as a reminder of the reach of well-chosen words.<\/span><\/p>\n

A family legacy of education<\/span><\/h3>\n

In addition to Taylor, her mom, three brothers, and sister have all attended San Jac and have all gone on to pursue higher degrees. Among them, they count two master\u2019s degrees, five bachelor\u2019s degrees, and one medical degree in progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom led by example and showed us all that was possible if we tried, and I\u2019m so proud of all we have accomplished,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cEducation was always an important priority in our family, and San Jac was the gateway, the launch pad, the safe start (and restarts) we each needed in our unique ways. Somehow, six very differently minded people were able to find their professional start by attending San Jac.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On not being a tree<\/span><\/h3>\n

As a leader, Taylor focuses much of her energy on mentoring early-career professionals. Her advice tends to come back to one idea: Don\u2019t let fear make your decisions for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKnow that you are not a tree \u2014 you are not planted and stuck in one spot forever,\u201d she said. \u201cMake decisions that lead to growth and knowledge, and then share what you learn along the way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a philosophy she has lived. And it started with a $200 scholarship and a theatre director who saw something worth investing in.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Melissa Trevizo<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the late 1990s, former San Jacinto College student Carrie Taylor was flipping through a University of Houston-Clear Lake course catalog when a class title caught her attention: \u201cCommunication and the Internet.\u201d The internet was still in its early stages, but Taylor sensed it would reshape how people communicate. That moment helped shape a career… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":52,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scholarship","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom theatre student to communications leader: Carrie Taylor\u2019s journey\u00a0 - Summer 2026, Volume 7 \u2013 Issue 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/from-theatre-student-to-communications-leader-carrie-taylors-journey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From theatre student to communications leader: Carrie Taylor\u2019s journey\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the late 1990s, former San Jacinto College student Carrie Taylor was flipping through a University of Houston-Clear Lake course catalog when a class title caught her attention: \u201cCommunication and the Internet.\u201d The internet was still in its early stages, but Taylor sensed it would reshape how people communicate. 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