Lauren Witherspoon wasn’t expected go to university at all, let alone do it twice!
“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after school. I went to a school that doesn’t traditionally have people go to university, and so it was very difficult to get in anywhere.”
Originally from Edinburgh, Lauren left the city to study sports biomedicine, but found herself in the rough in third year. She failed a genetics module which resulted in her having to repeat the entire year to re-study the single module. By Christmas time she had done what she needed to do and was off-duty until fourth year began.
Eager to use the time off wisely, Lauren started looking for volunteering opportunities.
“I went back to Edinburgh to save on rent, and I enquired about volunteering opportunities at the local community newspaper, the Craigmillar Chronicle.”
“They asked me if I could do 12 vox pops – short video interviews with members of the public. I think they were testing me because people can really crumble at them. I completed the task within the hour. The Chronicle offered me a part-time job right there on the spot. It was really cool.”
Realising that journalism was her calling, Lauren decided not to return to her previous course and enrolled at Edinburgh Napier instead, gaining direct entry into 2nd year.
Lauren looks back at her time at ENU
“I wasn’t a studenty type. I didn’t really like being a student, I would much rather have worked. The lecturers were quite approachable, even though there were some characters there. I found it a lot less intimidating and relaxed at Edinburgh Napier. The amount of knowledge, real experience and advice from the lecturers was really good. It was just a really good group.”
Lauren offers her advice
“Always try and change things to suit you. I also prescribe to the idea that in order to be creative, people shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes. I like to create a working environment where everyone feels comfortable to be the best version of themselves, without the fear of failure.”
After a little over a year at the Evening Telegraph, Lauren decided to try something else and joined STV.
“My time at STV was really good. I quickly realised that the job was just about turning paper stories into broadcast pieces. In my interview, when they looked at my portfolio, they told me they had been using my stories for years. I learned a lot about broadcasting in this role.”
Lauren has always had a passion for sport - it was what she wanted to specialise in in the first place.
“I was interested in sports journalism but had been previously knocked backed because I was a woman. STV gave me the chance to get involved with sports broadcasting as an online reporter. After a while, I was given the opportunity to be a broadcast journalist in the Highlands and gain further insights into the industry."
Lauren realised that being in front of the camera wasn’t for her and she left her job to go travelling in Australia. After spending all her money at the Australian Open, her trip ended quicker than planned and Lauren returned to Scotland to take up a job at The R&A, golf’s governing body.
In addition to overseeing world golf, outside the USA and Mexico, The R&A also organises The Open, golf’s oldest Major championship, as well as numerous amateur and junior golf events.
Lauren manages the organisation’s content creation, production and publishing, producing campaigns that promote golf and working with broadcasters on TV coverage.
“To be honest, it was hard to find my feet at first, because it was a lot slower-paced compared to news. I was always wondering whether I was doing enough.”
Lauren says sport organisations are much more in control of their own content now, which means there’s a lot more to do. She describes it as a media organisation within an organisation.
“We write the rules, govern the sport and we have some big championships that are quite historical. We have The Open and the AIG Women’s Open on the professional side of things, and on the amateur side we have the Walker Cup, the Curtis Cup, the Amateur and the Women’s Amateur, to name a few.”
Lauren’s career has afforded her some great moments, including working on the Scottish Cup Final, when Inverness won. She has also travelled around the world with The R&A.
“I've been to LA, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa. I would never have enjoyed these experiences otherwise. I hope life gets back to normal next year, because flying all over the world was a big part of my job.”
Another highlight was being able to take her dad to The Open. The father and daughter duo have watched the championship as fans about 10 times now but being able to take him behind-the-scenes meant a lot to Lauren.
For Lauren, her journalism degree provided a good base for her career. It has opened doors for her and allowed her to use to her drive and ambition to advance. By not being afraid to fail, she has gained so many skills – and made lasting memories. She even got to meet Tiger Woods at the Masters!