From Engineering to Public Relations: Kayla Zou’s path to COM

I was enthusiastic about photography, and when I was in college, I regularly posted pictures on my social media. During my sophomore year, a friend who was working for Samsung Mobilers, a global marketing program, asked me to join the program as a brand ambassador. I built up a five-person team, and started my first ever public relations job. As the seasonal products were announced, Samsung would send us product samples, including cellphones, tablets, cameras, smart watches and laptops. Based on their distinct, innovative functions, we would create attractive projects to highlight the abilities. Additionally, we would organize on-campus events to increase awareness of the latest Samsung products. Among the 15 college teams in China hired by Samsung, we won an award for the best team of 2013. As the leader of this group, Samsung executives specifically noticed my hard work. My work at Samsung helped me gain hands-on experience in the public relations field.

In 2013, I was selected as a Samsung representative for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Representing Samsung China, I worked in Sochi for half a month. Since Samsung was the sponsor of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, I worked closely with 14 different countries to promote the company global brand. I interviewed top tier athletes sponsored by the Samsung Dream Team and featured them in articles that were later published on various Samsung websites. I was thrilled to be a part of the mainstream publicity the Olympics generated.

Being part of BU COM has further developed my public relations skills, and given me a multi-cultural experience. I am continuing to immerse myself in practical PR experiences, specifically in the student-run PRLab. With my expertise in photography and video production, I am able to successfully help PRLab clients achieve their media expectations.

The logical thinking asset my engineering background gave me is serving as a wonderful foundation in my PR studies.