Ryan Rogers, ’10, had a packed schedule in college — he was involved with over 10 student organizations.
“I was extremely involved in extracurriculars,” he said. “I also worked between one and four jobs at all times. My time at UL Lafayette is well-remembered, but I don’t know how I did it.”
He was a board member for the Honors Program and Up ‘til Dawn, a senator on Student Government Association, and part of multiple committees with University Program Council (UPC). Ryan was also a staff writer for The Vermilion, an emcee for UPC events, and a lifeguard at the Student Aquatic Center.
In the middle of it all, Ryan began his career in advertising.
“I got a job as a copywriting intern turned part-time writer at RUSSO (then The Russo Group), where I worked until graduation,” he said.
After that, his career path took him from Lafayette to New Orleans to San Francisco.
“Upon graduation, I got a job at Right Angle, where I worked as a copywriter and broadcast producer for nearly three years,” he said. “Then, I returned to RUSSO where I served as senior copywriter, then associate creative director, then creative director overseeing two offices.
“In 2015 I made the move to PETERMAYER in New Orleans where I worked on major national clients as the dedicated senior copywriter on Kennedy Space Center, Delaware North Parks & Resorts, and more,” he said.
After making an impression with his work at PETERMAYER, he was offered a role at Google.
“Accepting an offer I couldn’t refuse, I moved to San Francisco to work on an embedded marketing team at Google with small/medium business marketing partners,” he said. “Here, I also helped develop the global Pride campaign for LGBTQ+ families.
“Then, I was recruited by Pandora in 2018 to develop their new custom advertising product as the team’s dedicated associate creative director,” he said.
Ryan describes his career path in advertising as “inevitable,” but his choice to attend UL Lafayette was because of the community.
“I maintained a childhood love of commercials, plus a talent for writing and visual art – advertising was an inevitable career path,” he said. “I chose the UL Lafayette advertising program because it gave me room to grow in a smaller, more supportive environment. Plus, the program celebrated creativity and strategy in practice.
“Ragin’ Cajun culture empowered me to be tenacious, challenge the status quo, and celebrate specificity like queer spaces and Cajun heritage,” he said. “I believe these qualities are inherent to great advertising professionals.”
