Laken Darst, 20, is double majoring in public relations and advertising with a minor in advertising design.  During the first week here, Laken got plenty of practice in the PR field, and has already written articles, press releases and blog posts.

For Laken, writing is the most fascinating aspect of her profession, and she said she has had plenty of experience with writing stories and poetry in her free time.

“I enjoy writing in PR, because I am able to take information and put it into a story format” said Laken.

Born in West Virginia, Laken and her family moved to Miami, Fla., when she was 10, where she lived until moving to Lakeland to attend college.  She now calls Lakeland home, and loves experiencing the city by spending time with friends and walking around at First Friday events.

She chose Florida Southern because it is a liberal arts college with a tight-knit campus and small classes.  Her first semester, she shared a room with three other girls.

“It was a good experience of close encounters,” joked Laken.

It was there at Florida Southern that she first discovered our Lakeland public relations firm.

While searching the Internet for local public relations internships, Laken came across an article about one of our former interns.  Intrigued by the success of a student in a similar situation to herself, Laken was motivated to apply in hope of securing an internship of her own.

Although new, Laken has already learned many valuable lessons in the public relations track, and when looking back on the things that she has written, she can’t help but to feel proud.

“Whoa, I actually wrote that? Cool,” she said of the experience.

Laken’s name is as unique and fun as she is, and she explained that it is Native American for “abundance of riches.”

“Seeing as I’m a broke college student, it doesn’t mean riches in money!” she said, although she went on to admit that she was wealthy in the support of friends and family.

In the future, Laken hopes to take the knowledge she has learned here and combine it with her passion for advertising.  She believes that this real-world experience will help her to become a well-rounded employee in the future.