About Us

Photo by Jordan Fisher

Jasmyne Douglas was born in Okinawa, Japan on June 3, 1994. The daughter of a Command Sergeant Major in the Army, she was accustomed to packing up and leaving to a new destination every two to three years. These experiences helped her adapt to her surroundings easily, however, the one thing she regrets was having to abandon the newly found friendships she created. When her father retired from the Army in 2006 after 28 years of service, her family finally settled down in Cibolo, Texas. It was there that she discovered her love for writing. She went on to become a part of her schools’ newspaper and yearbook staffs, becoming copy editor of the yearbook during her junior year of high school. She also participated in University Interscholastic League competitions, specializing in Feature Writing and News Writing and went on to placing 5th in the State Finals in Feature Writing. After graduating from Byron P. Steele II High School in 2012, Douglas enrolled at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas choosing to major in Mass Communication with a minor in Business Administration. In her spare time, Douglas enjoys drawing, perusing Pinterest for an obscene amount of hours, and binge watching Netflix. A prospective new member of both the Public Relations Student Society of America and the Society of Professional Journalists, Douglas hopes to join the University Star in the coming semester.

Miraida Gutierrez-Colon is a nerdfighter, a thespian, and the person who will almost always have the longest name in any class she takes. Pronounced MEE-RYE-DAH, she hails from the wonderful city of Houston, Texas, where she spent 6 years of her life learning as much as she could about the creative process when it comes to acting, designing sets, and writing for theatre. Miraida takes pride in the fact that she’s Puerto Rican, Peruvian, and a native Texan. An extremely active member of the LGBTQ community, as well as a feminist, Miraida’s diverse background has given her an extremely unique perspective when it comes to living life.

She’s currently majoring in Mass Communications with a specification in Electronic Media and minoring in Theatre, in hopes to get out of college with the necessary skills to change the world’s way of thinking for the better, while hopefully giving them a reason to laugh along the way.

Kelsey Heitzmann is a junior at Texas State University. She is a mass communications, public relations major with a minor in communication studies. She is involved in a sorority and works on campus as a resident assistant in Blanco Hall.

Kelsey was born and raised in Illinois and moved for the very first time in her life, to Texas, her freshman year of college. Her current home is Victoria, TX. Some of Kelsey’s hobbies include a variety of outdoor activities, meeting new people, exploring new places, and exercising. After graduation she hopes to find a job somewhere in a city working in public relations, possibly something that involves health and wellness promotion. In the mean time she plans to work hard to developing her writing and social media skills over the next two years of college.

Photo Taken by: Shelby Crossland

Shelby Crossland was born in Uvalde, Texas on May 17, 1994, to a loving family of three. She was the younger of two daughters and went on to grow up in the small southern town of Pleasanton, Texas. Growing up in a country town taught Shelby the meaning of family and within that family meant livestock. She grew up raising show hogs and had a passion for the FFA Association throughout her years in Pleasanton. She was far from shy and always started up a new organization. Shelby also did:

• FFA speaking and sales teams
• Varsity volleyball
• Class office
• Pleasanton Homecoming Queen
• Volunteer work

Shelby went on to graduate Pleasanton High School in 2012 with her mind and acceptance letter already to Texas State University. Shelby is currently a junior at Texas State and stuck to her passion by majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Agriculture. She is a member of the Bobcat Promotions team and a future member of PRSSA. She has stayed very active with events and meetings through her three years. Shelby will be choosing an internship this fall semester with hopes of learning hands on in the real world of public relations.

In Shelby’s down time she loves to enjoy agriculture and nature, by taking trail walks with her dog and boyfriend, along with traveling different places. She also loves watching movies, shopping and the color pink. Shelby is excited for what her future holds and the years to come at Texas State University. Shelby will be gradating come 2016 with hopes of furthering her career at a public relations firm with a background in agriculture.

Alexandria Reid comes from humble beginnings, but is ready to excel in her field. She will soon be moving to Austin, TX, to pursue a career in advertising.

Alexandria first moved to Texas when she was only two years old. Her parents, both active in the United States Air Force, met while stationed in Japan. After Alexandria was born, they were stationed in San Antonio, TX, where they retired and raised a family.

The family didn’t have much at first. Neither parent had a college degree, but her mother made the tough decision to go back to school while her father continued to work for the government. This time period was tough for the family having only one income to survive off of, but it taught Alexandria what it meant to persevere by watching her mother get through the struggle.

Now, Alexandria wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps by finishing her degree and pursuing a career in the booming city of Austin. She has strived to complete her classes to the best ability, and now she is ready to take the leap. A member of the Honor’s College, Alexandria hopes to have the upper hand when applying to jobs in the area. You can follow her journey on her twitter.