Lauren Murphy ‘06 is no stranger to success. The Rice University graduate has now been a news anchor and reporter for news station WKRN in Nashville, TN, for a year now and credits part of the success she has accomplished so far to what she learned while attending Rice University.
“While many of my colleagues majored in journalism or communications, I studied psychology and sport management and had the time and opportunity to take other classes in a variety of disciplines,” says Murphy. “My background in psychology gives me an edge every single day during interviews, getting subjects to dig a little deeper. My experience in sport management got my foot in the door. The program focuses of getting students in the arena, making contacts, and opening doors. In class, I had access to nearly every big wig in the Houston sports scene. Now, interviewing politicians, sports legends, and celebrities doesn't ever faze me.”
Murphy started her broadcast journalism career in Lubbock, TX but before that she worked as an intern with KPRC in Houston, TX. KPRC was at first reluctant to hire an intern who wasn’t a journalism major but once the news station knew Murphy had it in her, there was nothing stopping the attainment of her goals.
“We worked hard to get Lauren an internship in television news because we knew she had the talent and the desire,” Dr. Clark Haptonstall, director of the Sport Management Program, said. “The TV station liked Lauren, but was reluctant to hire her as an intern because she wasn’t a journalism major. But because she was a Rice student and showed her passion during the interview, they brought her onboard. It wasn’t long before she was over-shadowing the other interns and getting responsibilities that typically went to full-time reporters. Lauren was about to parlay her experiences at KPRC to land her first job right out of school in Lubbock.”
The road to success is usually a winding path and this is especially true for Lauren. Before she started her broadcasting career she dabbled in a lot of different areas, including public relations, journalism, and even the spa business. Her internship with KPRC was vital in leading Lauren to her future career path.
“My first day interning at KPRC, I thought 'this is it.,'” Lauren said. “I knew I'd found a place where I'd face new challenges every day, meet interesting people, never get bored, and hopefully shine a light on injustices in our society.”
Phillip Roe ’14, from Brentwood, TN, is majoring in Sport Management and Mathematical Economic Analysis.