Student Spotlight: Lauren Rodgers

By: Claire Hatcher

An interview with one of Elon's media analytics students. 

In an era overflowing with information, Media Analytics emerges to measure and make sense of the abundance of data. I sat down with Elon University junior Lauren Rodgers to learn more about her choice to pursue Media Analytics. 

In addition to Media Analytics, Lauren is pairing her major with Strategic Communications and minoring in Multimedia Authoring. “I was undecided as a freshman,” Lauren began. “I made the decision to major in Media Analytics after taking COM 100. We touched on the topics of coding and software, and I thought it would be a good fit for me.” Lauren continued on to explain that taking COM 100 solidified her interest in communications. “I wanted to choose something that would be a marketable degree.”

Lauren considers Applied Media Analytics to be the most beneficial course she’s taken in the major so far. “We each chose an account to run Twitter and Google Analytics on,” Lauren explained. “Using analytics, we were able to track the server, the domain, and the traffic. Using categorical and numerical data, we then made creative suggestions to improve marketing and audience interaction.”

Lauren has certainly hit the ground running with the knowledge Media Analytics has given her. She currently serves as the Chief of Analytics for Elon’s fashion and lifestyle magazine, The Edge. Eager to put her skills to use, she pitched the position to the Editor in Chief of the magazine and created the role herself. Lauren spent the first semester in her position gathering information that was already available from The Edge’s website. “I had to track the website for about two months before I was able to get enough information to understand developing patterns.” From there, Lauren looked under each section (Fashion, Lifestyle, Features, Beauty & Wellness, Travel) and picked the top articles to see what they had in common and what was gaining traction. Lauren noted a correlation between popular articles and writers posting about the article on their personal social media accounts. “I’m excited to launch a campaign next semester on how the writers can become their own influencers. We’re going to work with the graphic designers to promote each article on the writer’s personal social media page.”

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In addition to her work with The Edge, Lauren launched a podcast with fellow student Keith Montena. The podcast, fondly known as “And They Were Roommates” discusses current events, pop culture, and life as college students. The duo releases a new 45-minute episode each Thursday.

Next up on Lauren’s radar is an internship. This spring, she will be joining Bolt PR in Raleigh as a Public Relations intern. As for post-grad plans, Lauren’s keeping her options open but has a general idea of her career path. “I would love to go into political public relations or even social marketing for political campaigns.” And given her track record and undying ambition, I’m certain Lauren will thrive in whatever career she chooses after graduation.