Name: Mackinley Bullock
Class: Senior
Major: Strategic Communication
Minor: Journalism
Hometown: Kansas City, Kansas

Mackinley Bullock chooses a corner booth at Einstein Bros. Bagels just off campus for us to chat about her TCU experience. Bullock explains that even though home is now Kansas City, her father is in the army, so she grew up moving around often. She attended high school in Germany and has lived in Colorado, Texas and Kentucky. Bullock explains that growing up with no one real place to call home has made her more well-rounded.

Moving around frequently helped influence Bullock’s central value of family. The idea of having relatives that live close to TCU’s campus was the main reason she chose to attend this school. Bullock also explained that after seeing the campus for herself, she knew it would be her home away from home. She chose to major in strategic communication because it would allow her to be creative in the specialized industries of advertising and public relations. Her favorite course has been Creative Strategy with Professor Antonio Banos. “At first he really intimidated me,” she said. “However, after working with him in Roxo (TCU’s student-run ad/PR agency) and taking his classes, I have learned so much from him and gained many useful skills.”

Bullock’s positive experience at TCU goes international as well. Studying abroad in London with the Strategic Communication department is a favorite memory of her four years. With a smile on her face, Bullock explains, “it is one of the things that really made me fall in love with advertising and public relations and it even made me want to pursue a career internationally.”

Finally, I asked her for any advice to give to incoming first-year students. “Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know something,” said Bullock. “Always stay positive and push yourself to do things out of your comfort zone. In the end, you’ll be happy you did and you’ll learn something new along the way.”