From theatre student to communications leader: Carrie Taylor’s journey
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: "Communication and the Internet."
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.
Today, Taylor 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.
A long shot
That success, though, wasn’t something she could always see for herself.
Taylor first enrolled at San Jac in 1988 as a theatre major, unsure whether college was even possible.
"My family was in a tight financial place, and I was already working," she said. "Attending college actually felt like a long shot."
During a visit to the college's Central Campus, she 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.
"It was both the money, which was desperately needed, and knowing a faculty member believed in my potential," Taylor said.
Lessons from the stage
At San Jac, Taylor found her bearings. She performed in theatre productions such as “Biloxi Blues and The Gingerbread Lady” and worked behind the scenes building sets. A patient English II professor helped her master writing fundamentals she still relies on daily. She grew "from an awkward teenager to a young adult" in that community.
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.
"I firmly believe many public relations professionals are theatre students who learned to write," she said. "Speech and diction, analyzing text, understanding an audience — those skills transfer."
Finding her voice
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 — experiences that gave her career its first real footing.
Across higher education, nonprofits, health care, K-12 education, and entrepreneurship, she has built a career in strategic communications and media relations.
“We live in a noisy, demanding world, so finding ways to capture people's attention and to get a particular message through is more challenging every day,” she said. “I love that I can grow alongside emerging technologies that create new ways to communicate — 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.”
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.
A family legacy of education
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's degrees, five bachelor's degrees, and one medical degree in progress.
"My mom led by example and showed us all that was possible if we tried, and I'm so proud of all we have accomplished," Taylor said. "Education 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."
On not being a tree
As a leader, Taylor focuses much of her energy on mentoring early-career professionals. Her advice tends to come back to one idea: Don't let fear make your decisions for you.
"Know that you are not a tree — you are not planted and stuck in one spot forever," she said. "Make decisions that lead to growth and knowledge, and then share what you learn along the way."
It's a philosophy she has lived. And it started with a $200 scholarship and a theatre director who saw something worth investing in.
About San Jacinto College Surrounded by monuments of history, evolving industries, maritime enterprises of today,
and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the people of East Harris
County, Texas, since 1961. The College is ranked second in the nation among more than
1,100 community colleges, as designated by the Aspen Institute and was named an Achieving
the Dream Leader College of Distinction in 2020 and 2026. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution
that spans five campuses, plus an online college, San Jacinto College serves approximately
45,000 credit and non-credit students annually. It offers more than 200 degrees and
certificates across eight major areas of study that put students on a path to transfer
to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. The College is fiscally sound, holding
bond ratings of AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 by Moody’s. San Jacinto College is
accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
