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SHE’S A ROXSTAR
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROXO PRESIDENT ASHLEY GERMAN
Kendall McCarthy

Ashley German is an icon. From being nominated for Texas Christian University’s
Outstanding Senior award by her sorority to securing multiple social media internships during
her time in college to having one of the cutest personal Instagram grids in Fort Worth, there’s
really nothing she can’t do.
This year, she’s taken on a new challenge: being the president of Roxo, TCU’s student-run
advertising agency.
Founded in 2011, Roxo is a PR and
advertising agency run entirely by TCU students.
It started with only 12 students, but has grown to a
staff of 32 today. Roxo members have the
opportunity to work with local businesses,
influencers, and nonprofits to create professional
advertising and public relations campaigns.
Ashley’s love for Roxo started before she
even got to TCU. During her senior year of high
school speech class, she wrote a fake resumé
detailing the experiences that she wanted to have
in five years. On it: Roxo employee.
When she was a junior, she applied and
was accepted to the agency as a social media
manager. The next semester, she was promoted to
social media director for Roxo, managing three
social media managers and writing copy for more
than 50 posts on Facebook, Instagram, and
LinkedIn.
When asked if she ever planned on being
the president, Ashley said, “I never really
intended on doing it. When I first started, I
knew I wanted to do another semester. I never
thought I would do three semesters, because
typically students only do two. I thought to myself, I’m really not done being here, so what else
is there for me? I thought it would be fun to be on exec because I loved the team and being
hands-on with clients.” “Exec” refers to the executive team, which manages Roxo’s work.
Ashley was inspired to run for president in the first place by Morgan Jeansonne and Paige
Gonterman, two of her Roxo teammates who encouraged her to apply. Haley Thompson, 2020
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Roxo President, told her that she would bring a lot of value to the team. “I decided to let go of all
of the doubts about myself and just dive into it,” Ashley said.
During the reapplication process, Ashley kept her dreams to herself. “We (the Roxo team)
care about each other’s success, so we don’t want to create tension or bad feelings between each
other.” However, Ashley’s passion and true love for Roxo shone through, and she was named the
2021 Roxo President.

A Day In the Life

As a senior, Ashley’s day-to-day activities already involve a lot, from senior-level classes
to job hunting. As Roxo president, she is also in charge of overseeing the entire agency. On a
typical day, she sends team updates through Slack, the agency’s team messaging app, and makes
sure there are no emergencies. Her job is to make sure that everything is running smoothly and
be in constant communication with the executive team and the Roxo advisors.
“As president, I knew what I was getting into because of my previous experience in the
agency, but when I was just starting out I was so confused. There are no instructions, there’s no
rubric, it’s just you. I started by saying, let’s figure out what I change to be more helpful,” she
said.
Ashley and the other two executive team members, VP of Creative & Culture Ty King,
and VP of Business Development Preston Harless, lead the Roxo class and have team meetings.
This is Ashley’s first semester in-person in Roxo, as it is for most of their members. Since
classrooms have size restrictions, the Roxo team cannot meet in their office and the group has to
be split. Because of this, the executive team has to present two classes back-to-back, and the
agency members have not been able to meet each other in person as a large group.
Through all of these challenges, Ashley’s main goal is to support her team. “I tend to
idolize people in leadership positions in a way, but I didn’t want people to feel that way about
me. I wanted people to feel comfortable coming to me. If you make a mistake, it’s even harder if
you feel unsupported by your leadership or you feel like you’re going to be in trouble,” she said.
For her, the most rewarding part of being president is getting to see her teammates live out their
goals and to see a glimpse into the rest of their lives.
When working with her teammates, Ashley says she tries to tread the fine line between
professionalism and seriousness. To her, professionalism comes down to respect for your work,
your clients, and your teammates. Seriousness can sometimes mean dwelling on mistakes or not
being able to laugh at yourself. “My biggest fear is letting down clients or just Roxo, in general,”
she says. “There’s this constant impostor syndrome. I just have to remind myself that, hey, senior
year (of high school) Ashley would be really proud of you.”
Ashley’s advice to younger strategic communication students is simple, “Take advantage
of every opportunity given to you. You’re never too busy to further your career and experience.
Don’t listen to the doubt you have in yourself. I think that’s what a lot of college students
experience. If you even have that little inkling of consideration, look into it.”
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She’s also a huge fan of LinkedIn. “I post on Linkedin probably more than any other
platform,” she said. “Getting affirmation from professors and professionals is kind of addicting,
in a way.”

Looking Ahead
As for her future plans, Ashley believes that the experiences that she’s had in Roxo have
prepared her well. “Roxo has had a significant impact on my career,” she says, “I know that the
opportunities I will have for the rest of my life will be because of Roxo. People in Roxo have a
leg up because of the real-world experience that they have.”
Her current goal is to walk across the stage at graduation with a job secured, but she’s
realized that she’ll have to be patient. One thing’s for sure, though -- Ashley German will be the
next big name in the advertising world.
“I’m head over heels for advertising. I love the creative process. I don’t have anything
specific I want to do at an ad agency, I just want to be there. I just want to make really cool ads
for the rest of my life.”