By Analyse Jester, Gaylord College Class of 2025
Gaylord College annually presents 16 graduating students with the Outstanding Senior Award. Noelle Stark, a senior advertising major, is receiving Gaylord College’s 2023 Advertising Outstanding Senior Award. This award is given to students who show great leadership skills and achievements during their time at Gaylord.
“It is wonderful to know that after four years of working so hard that I was able to get recognized with an award like this,” Stark said. “I am really happy that I get to represent the advertising 2023 class.”
Involved in Lindsey and Asp, Gaylord’s student-run advertising and public relations agency, Stark had the opportunity to grow in her career and inspire others along the way.
“It is a wonderful organization to be a part of on campus, it's been really great to take on a leadership position for it and help wherever I can,” Stark said.
Stark said many of her classes and professors also encouraged her along the way. One of her most memorable classes was Intro to Advertising.
“When I first stepped into Professor Adam Croom’s Introduction to Advertising class, I realized I was in the perfect major for me and it felt like everything just fell into place,” Stark said.
Gaylord has many professors who set up connections to pave a path for their students. Stark used her time here to build her network and absorb as much information as possible.
“I knew I was going to have a great time learning here in college about something I was very passionate about,” Stark said.
Getting involved and exceeding her limits were some of the ways Stark made her mark at Gaylord College. Seeking help from her professors and her peers helped Stark succeed, as well as getting to know the people around her.
“Taking the extra step and pushing yourself to become involved, make those connections was probably the hardest thing for me to learn how to do confidently,” Stark said. “But now that I have been able to do that, it has been very beneficial to my education and my time here at Gaylord as well as my future career.”
One person who stood by her side since day one was her father.
My dad, he has been my number one supporter throughout college. Being far from home, I probably call him a couple times a day to tell him about everything going on in my life,” Stark said.
“Here at Gaylord we are all so close, we all want each other to succeed, so being able to focus on growing on not only yourself, but those around you,” Stark said.
Proud of all that she has achieved during her time in Gaylord, Stark is ready for the next steps in her life, including moving to Houston to work for Shell as a marketing advisor. But she said she is still cherishing her last moments of senior year and excited to celebrate all her hard work here at Gaylord.
“An outstanding senior is someone that takes the extra time to push themselves to grow, and also looks at peers to help one another, trying to create the best memories here you can and learn everything and absorb as much knowledge as possible,” Stark said.
