Harper Lock (Creative Brand Management, 2025)
Are you one of those people who walks into a new environment and immediately knows what they’re doing? No? What about one of those people that may be nervous at first, but knows they’ll get the hang of it? That’s probably more likely, but that’s not me. What about the person intimidated by the creativity and talent of others engulfing them like a tsunami who has no idea if they’re cut out for this, and then finds out they need to lead teams of these amazing people? That’s me, and that is what I walked into as a Creative Brand Manager here at the Brandcenter.
While Brandcenter is the best advertising graduate program in the world, I firmly believe it is able to achieve this because of the people here. From the professors, to the administration, to the students; everyone has a passion for the work done here. On top of that, everyone is REALLY talented. I came to Brandcenter directly after graduating from Texas Tech University with a degree in Advertising and felt like I had a decent grasp of the industry. But the Brandcenter doesn’t just teach you about the industry, they give you the tools to navigate it.
With so many talented people around me, it was daunting to fully realize the level of leadership required of Creative Brand Managers. There were times that I didn’t trust my own judgment or even feel like I had the right to lead such amazing peers. During my first semester, I decided to meet with our department chair, Kevin Rothermel, to try and unlock a mystical secret to leadership. Our conversation inevitably unearthed the pressures I was feeling and the mask I felt I had to wear in order to take the helm of a team.
What I had failed to realize was that leadership cannot be appointed, it is earned. I didn’t have to prove myself as a quote-unquote leader at all. I just had to be someone with somewhat funny jokes now and then. The guy they wouldn’t mind being up until 2am with. A person they could trust. I could even be someone intimidated by the creativity and talent engulfing them like a tsunami and have no idea whether I was cut out for it.
I just had to be the best version of myself and the rest would follow.
Welcome to the school that teaches you to be more like yourself and less like everyone else