Norman Public Schools
During nearly three years with Norman Public Schools, I served on the district's communications team, managing social media and producing photo, video, and digital content for one of Oklahoma's largest school districts. NPS is the eighth-largest district in Oklahoma, serving over 16,000 students across 17 elementary schools and 4 middle schools. I managed the district's presence on Facebook, Instagram, and X, developing content that reached parents, students, teachers, staff, and the broader Norman community, while balancing this role with full-time studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Beyond day-to-day content, I introduced several initiatives that made a real impact on the district's engagement. I launched "senior features," spotlighting graduating seniors, which strengthened the connection between the district and the Norman community.
I also developed and led a takeover series, starting with a first-day-of-school superintendent takeover that hit over twelve schools in a single day, capturing authentic interactions with students, teachers, and staff in real time. From there, I expanded the takeover concept to student groups, giving organizations like choir, student council, and theater the chance to take over the district's platforms and speak directly to the community in their own voice. The student takeovers were one of the best ways to reach younger audiences the district had always had trouble connecting with. Running them took a lot of work: I drafted contracts, scheduled planning meetings, and vetted student participants to make sure each takeover fit the district's platforms and brand.
Each year, I also played a central role in the district's Celebration of Excellence, NPS's annual Teacher of the Year ceremony. In the weeks leading up to the event, I met individually with each finalist for a sit-down interview, produced their feature videos, and led the publicity effort across the district's channels. On the night of the ceremony, I served as the official photographer, producing imagery that lived on across social media and district communications long after the event.
One of the most defining experiences of my time at NPS was contributing to the $353.9 million bond campaign in 2023. On top of my communications role, I also served as the district's drone operator, which ended up being a big part of the bond effort. Aerial footage gave the campaign a way to visually show the scale of existing facilities and make the case for what new investments could look like across the district.
Norman is a politically dynamic city, shaped in large part by the University of Oklahoma, and passing a bond with a supermajority requirement was challenging. Working alongside Koch Communications, the district launched #VoteOnValentines, a community awareness campaign tied to the February 14 election date.
My role on the communications team meant helping shape and distribute messaging that connected Norman residents to the district's vision, all while being careful about how we communicated. Bond campaigns come with strict rules around language: we could inform the public that a vote was happening, but we couldn't tell them how to vote. Getting that balance right took a lot of intentionality. Voters ultimately approved the bond with 68.71% support and over 13,100 people turning out.
School Resource Officers
With public perception of school resource officers being a sensitive topic nationally, I developed this concept as a proactive PR effort to humanize the SROs within NPS schools and build community trust. I coordinated visits across multiple schools, developed the questions, and shaped the tone to be warm and approachable, and the video performed well with parents and the broader Norman community.
We Are Norman
This district-wide brand video was a strategic effort to capture the full spirit of Norman Public Schools in a single piece, pulling from months of footage across sporting events, classrooms, and community events. The goal was to create something that felt less like a school district video and more like a community identity piece.
It was more complex than a typical project: under FERPA, families can opt their child out of appearing in content, so I had to coordinate with teachers and staff to make sure every student featured had clearance before anything was published.
Teacher of the Year Finalists
After sitting down individually with each finalist for a personal interview, I produced this feature to introduce the finalists to the Norman community ahead of the Celebration of Excellence ceremony. The goal was to make the community feel genuinely connected to each educator before a winner was ever named.