Roxo is celebrating 10 years of history and client work with past Roxstars and its client community at a special event this month. The “Decade of Difference” celebration for students, alumni, staff, clients and friends will take place from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 at the Hyatt Place Hotel Lot 12 Rooftop Patio. The agency has grown from just a dozen students to nearly 30 each semester. The unique, student-driven, full-service advertising and public relations agency has taught, employed and prepared approximately 400 students in the past decade with real-world client work and community-service learning projects.
Sarah Angle serves as Roxo’s faculty director.
“We’re preparing students to succeed in the real world by creating an agency with an inclusive, diverse, and highly innovative culture right here on the TCU campus,” said Sarah Angle, instructor of strategic communication at TCU and faculty director of Roxo. “I always encourage my students in Roxo to take creative risks and lean into challenges. When they leave the program, they walk away with a new level of confidence and work experience that lands dream jobs after graduation,” she says.
Roxo opened its doors in 2011 through a generous corporate partnership with BNSF. The goal of the program then and now is to provide students in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication with experiential-based learning that makes a positive impact in the community.
Designed as a social enterprise business, Roxo’s mission is to cultivate relationships through creative problem solving. Over the past 10 years, the agency has donated approximately $50,000 worth of work to the Fort Worth community. Its corporate social responsibility initiatives include mental health awareness for young people and suicide prevention.
“Roxo is the cool, innovative and enriching internship that everyone wishes they could have,” said Preston Harless, Roxo’s inaugural director of diversity, equity and inclusion. “Working on real client work in an environment of brilliant, motivated communicators creates an unparalleled experience and I’m ecstatic to celebrate with Roxstars, past and present,” Harless says.
Current and past Roxo clients include: Cook Children’s, Fort Worth Report, MHMR of Tarrant County, The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation, Unbounded Leather, TCU Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Near Southside, Inc., Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, GM Arlington, Project 4031, Southside Preservation Hall, Empower Fort Worth, Leadership Fort Worth, and local influencer Tiffany Blackmon.
“Working with Roxo was a joy,” said Kristina Robertson, executive director and co-founder of Project 4031. “The class and Sarah, the professor, made the process fun and seamless; they are true professionals. If you’re given the opportunity to work with their amazing team, your answer should be a resounding yes. We are grateful for the opportunity,” says Robertson.
Because they work with real clients and charge a fee for service work, Roxo students are expected to perform at the same level as industry professionals. For these juniors and seniors, that means real outcomes, real portfolio pieces and real-life success when that hard work pays off.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Roxo over the course of several semesters, and I’m always blown away by their energy, creativity, and professionalism,” said Kim Brown, public relations manager for Cook Children’s. “Roxo has helped us think outside of the box and take our campaigns to new heights, especially with the Joy Campaign. They took a personal interest in our goal to reduce youth suicide attempts and were completely invested in our mission. We are so grateful for their hard work and commitment to helping Cook Children’s,” Brown says.
