By Luke Hackett, Gaylord College Class of 2024
As a spring 2023 graduate of Gaylord College, Aria Patel has many decisions to make, such as where to live, what to do and every other choice that comes with leaving college.
And even with all that on her mind, Patel can remember when she was just a freshman with plans of becoming a heart surgeon. This version of Patel certainly never imagined leaving with a degree in public relations, let alone the program’s most outstanding major award.
“I started college as a biology major, and that just didn’t work out for me, so I switched to public relations. And when I made the switch, I realized I had to work hard to succeed in the field, so I did just that and took every opportunity I could.”
Patel held a long list of Gaylord titles that included Lindsey + Asp creative director, Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) director of communications, PRSSA southwest district ambassador and 1013 Intro to Media TA.
She involved herself outside of Gaylord, as she participated in three internships, freelanced social media for local businesses and served on her sorority’s executive board.
Despite this high level of involvement, Patel remains humble, as she believes that many other people in Gaylord could have received her award.
“I’m very honored to have received this award because there are so many amazing people in Gaylord who could’ve won. I just never thought my efforts were being considered for an award and think that Gaylord’s faculty and staff could have picked someone better.”
Ultimately, Patel may not fathom the impressive nature of her accomplishments until she has time to truly reflect upon her experience in Gaylord. Until then, Patel seems to be focused on her search for employment, which almost contradicts her patience in the whole process, as she waits to find employment with a culture that she can fit into.
In fact, finding a job with a healthy and thriving culture seems to be her no. 1 priority in employment. Even as an intern, Patel was not afraid to jump ship if she did not feel heard, which she proved when she left an internship experience where she did not feel valued.
She believes this situation embodies the saying that “Gaylord is a family,” it is something that she wants all current and future Gaylord students to hold in their hearts.
As someone who wasn’t afraid to quit her job or switch gears from heart surgery to public relations, it seems that Aria Patel can handle whatever comes her way.
