GRISWOLD ‘STEPS UP TO THE PLATE’

Raised in Oregon but living elsewhere for 18 years, Lauren Griswold, who became Mt. Hood’s new marketing and communications director in July, is happy to be back near family and working in a close-knit community.

Griswold grew up in Beaverton, where she attended Beaverton High School while taking health professions classes with the intent of becoming a doctor like her grandfather, a cardiologist. When she started studying more in college, she realized it wasn’t for her.

She switched to studying business, but when that didn’t feel quite right either, she discovered journalism and her passion for public relations, and studied both at Eastern Washington University.

In 2003, she attended a Portland Beavers baseball game that sparked an interest which would shape her future.

“I saw a business woman in a suit standing on the field. She had her headset on, and I was like, ‘I wonder what that job is,’ ” said Griswold.

She later called up the team and asked if they had any internships, but learned they were already full for the season.

“So, I called them every single day I think from January until maybe April. I mean it was maybe every other day, and they finally hired me,” she said.

Besides the minor-league Beavers baseball team, that Portland business operation also operated the Portland Timbers before they stepped up to Major League Soccer play, so Griswold worked for them as well.

THE BASEBALL BUG

Her senior year at EWU, she had an internship with Shriners Hospitals for Children in Spokane, and had the opportunity to work with the Seattle Mariners’ nonprofit outreach group, Mariners Care, on an event. She then met their community relations director which led to her internship with the Seattle Mariners major baseball club, and she finished college early to pursue that opportunity.

Soon she traveled to the annual baseball winter meetings, where there are hundreds of job listings nationwide. Applicants drop their résumé in the folder of any positions that interest them, hopeful of getting an interview with this team, or that.

“I was offered a few positions and the one that I selected was in Connecticut, so I started working for the Minnesota Twins’ double-A affiliate in Hartford. I was director of community relations there,” said Griswold.

A year later, the Mariners reached out to Griswold when an opening emerged, and she went to work for them full-time until deciding to go to graduate school at Arizona State University where she earned a master’s degree in communications studies. She got to work at the Mariners’ spring training facility in nearby Peoria, Arizona, while continuing her education.

She met her husband, Shane, not long before graduating. She got a job through Edelman Public Relations and was soon working with a team on opening over 60 Microsoft retail stores, and also got to work on PR for the launch of Xbox One, as well as Microsoft’s Surface tablet.

After just a year, Griswold returned to Arizona to work at ASU as director of marketing, communications and media relations, and was then promoted to director of creative strategy and implementation.

Neither she nor Shane were from Arizona, however, and eventually they would decide to move to Oregon to be near Griswold’s family, which meant job hunting. That’s when the Mt. Hood opportunity opened for her.

“I wanted to find a position in higher education where I’d be overseeing marketing and communication in a brand, and I was really fortunate that the stars really aligned for this role here,” said Griswold.

SUPPORTING ‘OUR TEAM’

“What really attracted me to come (to MHCC) is that I would get to know people from all different areas: faculty from all programs, students from all programs, and then staff and leadership who are working from and touching each area of the college.”

Now, Griswold is busy tackling her position, which entails more than just marketing and communications. She’s also the public information officer, meaning that she’s the spokesperson for the college and all media requests go through her. She also oversees the print shop, mail services, and the warehouse.

The Mt. Hood marketing and communications team is putting an emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency through a project management system this year. They’re also working with a creative team of people from throughout the college to build a brand guide, and are doing surveys to make sure that the best messages are reaching the right people in the best ways.

It might sound strange, but working in higher education marketing and communications isn’t much different from the professional sports world, said Griswold. She compares the baseball players to students, faculty, and staff being the talent, with the behind-the-scenes business side of things existing in both fields.

“You’re our team, and we’re here to show and tell the story of how amazing each and every one of you are,” said Griswold, explaining the common thread.

Despite landing in a different career than her high school self planned, there’s similarity to treating people, after all. “We’re helping people become the best version of themselves. So… I’m doing it in a different way,” she said.

Away from Mt. Hood, Griswold is spending the majority of time with her extended family just as she intended. But the work part of her brain doesn’t always turn off when she leaves, as she’s always thinking about how to keep building and improving.

“I’m constantly looking at advertising and billboards and color palettes and looking at other people’s social media channels. You can find inspiration in anything,” she said.

There still might be medical care in her life, meantime: Shane is currently a student at MHCC, finishing up some prerequisites to apply for nursing school.

“We have a great life. I feel really lucky to be here,” said Griswold.