Mr. Public Relations

After trying out a myriad of majors, Dylan Echols has finally found his niche.

One of the busiest members of the Texas Tech public relations program, Echols went through six or seven different majors before settling on public relations. When he first came to Tech, he was a wind energy major.

“Public relations was actually my second major,” Echols said while laughing. “But I switched from that and then switched back a few years later.”

Dylan Echols in the RaiderComm office.

Echols, who grew up in a military family, has lived around the country, from South Dakota to South Carolina. After graduating from New Caney High School in the Houston area, Echols began his college career at the University of Houston. Echols said while he was at the University of Houston, he did not get involved with student life. He felt it was time for a change, so during his junior year of college, he transferred to Tech.

“I just felt like I had no purpose in life,” Echols said, “or purpose to go school, other than that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

On a visit to the University Career Center with his roommate, Echols took a career placement test. One of the top careers the test suggested was public relations. Echols said he understood public relations better this time than when he originally majored in it, so he decided to give it another try. He described some of his key characteristics as being creative, friendly, and authoritative, all factors that are important in public relations.

Echols switched his major in Spring 2013. In a meeting with his advisor, she suggested Echols join the Tech PR group in order to meet new people and build connections. Although he had never been involved in university activities in the past, Echols became very active in the student group. During his first semester as a member, he ran for an officer position, and was elected the vice president of Tech PR.

Echols gets animated during a meeting.

“I was kind of surprised,” Echols said. “Because I hadn’t had much experience, I just showed the initiative. Because when I applied for Tech PR, I also applied for RaiderComm, where I became an account associate. When I did all of that, it just kind of made me realize that the opportunities are out there, you just have to take them. They’re just waiting for you.”

Along with Tech PR, Echols is also involved with RaiderComm, a student public relations firm. Echols started off at the bottom of the food chain, but was soon offered an account manager position on the Art Fit public relations team. Art Fit is a local workout facility that offers both dancing and mixed martial arts classes. Echols next took on the TEDx Texas Tech event. With the help of a social media campaign, TEDx sold out and was a wildly successful event.

“We got a lot of people engaged at the conference. Over 1,000 mentions on Twitter,” Echols said. “And, like, 500,000 impressions, so people actually saw it on their feed. People from India, France, Germany, all saw it. So that was really cool.”

After the former student leader of RaiderComm graduated, the position was offered to Echols. He said it has been challenging, but is excellent experience. In his time there, RaiderComm has grown from three accounts to five. Echols has added more positions for graphic designers and social media campaigns.

Public relation campaign notes in the RaiderComm office.

Echols said he advises incoming and younger public relations majors get involved early. He suggested students get to know their professors, and realize how important networking is. He also said the College of Media and Communication’s webpage is helpful in finding opportunities.

Similar to his struggle to find the perfect major, Echols is undecided on what to do after he graduates in August 2014. He said he has considered pursuing graduate school, whether at Tech or abroad. He has also thought about joining the Peace Corp. Working in a public relations firm is an option as well, especially in a creative environment.

If you would like more information on Tech’s public relation programs, visit their website.