Name: Samantha Griffith ’06 ’15
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Degrees: Broadcast Journalism major with a minor in Psychology of Leadership (B.S. 2006), master of liberal arts in 2015 

Some may know her as the current marketing and communication coordinator for the Bob Schieffer College of Communication, or some may know her as a fellow Horned Frog from the classes of 2006 and 2015. By either role, Samantha Griffith is a proud Texas Christian University alumna who was led back to her roots to work for her alma mater.  

As an undergraduate broadcast journalism major, Griffith pursued a career in television news after college working as a production assistant at NBC 5. She moved to Sioux City, Iowa, to report for KMEG 14, the local CBS station. After her time at the station, she said she worked as a social media editor for the Sioux City Journal before moving back to Fort Worth. Although she enjoyed the fast-paced news industry, she was ready to find a more stable opportunity where she could further develop her communication skills.  

Upon returning to TCU, her first job was in the Office of Donor Relations as the scholarship coordinator. She learned about the importance of philanthropy and how a development office works. “After serving in that role for seven years, I was given the opportunity to move to the position I’m in now,” she said. “It’s such an honor to work for the same college where I was once a student.”  

When asked about an average day on the job, Griffith said, “One of my responsibilities is managing the Schieffer College’s social media channels, so I’m always looking for mentions to share or great stories about students, faculty and alumni to promote on our feeds as well as on our college website. Although I work for TCU’s Marketing and Communication (MKC) division, I’m embedded in the college, so I usually have a few college or MKC meetings to attend each day to set goals or develop marketing and communication strategies.”  

Griffith said courses like Media Writing and Editing were an enormous help. “They taught me the importance of proofing my writing, the AP Stylebook and how factual mistakes can damage a reporter’s credibility. The Newscast class was also hugely helpful at giving me a taste of working on deadlines and reporting a story on camera.” 

Griffith said it was hard to pick just one favorite TCU memory. “One of the coolest memories I had as an aspiring journalist was attending the first Schieffer Symposium in 2005 during the spring semester of my junior year. The event happened in Moudy South, and I remember the excitement in the building leading up to the evening while wearing my newly purchased purple blazer,” she said. “In addition to seeing Bob Schieffer in person, I remember walking right by Tom Brokaw in the Moudy atrium. It was such a surreal few days to be a journalism student!”  

Click here for more information about the journalism major.