Kat Maramba
Kathrina “Kat” Maramba ’06 works as a communications specialist at Blue Engine Message & Media in Washington, D.C. The firm specializes in brand and reputation management, digital communication, crisis management, issue advocacy, coalitions and strategic partnerships, message development and public relations planning & outreach.
Maramba is happy to say that there are a lot of things she enjoys about what she does—not the least of which is working with and learning from the people around her in one of her most favorite cities, Washington, D.C.
She also loves that her firm helps elevate new or non-traditional voices on issues that matter. Last year, Blue Engine promoted a climate action panel at the 2016 RNC Convention in Cleveland with Bloomberg Government and the Defend Our Future organization.
“I loved highlighting young conservative leaders who are deeply committed to U.S. climate leadership and action,” Maramba says.
From Sociology to Law to Communications
Maramba graduated with a B.A. in Sociology-Criminology and a minor in Psychology from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University in 2006.
When asked if she went into communications directly after graduation, she responded, “Nope, I was a Sociology major! At the time I thought I wanted to go to law school or stay in academia so I began working first for a legal consulting firm and then a law firm.”
As a college student she never imagined this career for herself. She does a fair amount of developing digital and social media content in her day-to-day. She notes that when she graduated only a handful of college students had Facebook and Twitter wasn’t a place where people could get their news.
“I never imagined that drafting Facebook posts and tweets would be a job!”
What drew her from law to communications?
When she was working at the law firm, she realized she didn’t want to go into law after all. So she took stock of what it was that she liked about the field that she could potentially have elsewhere.
What she realized was that she really likes how law allows you to practice in areas that interest you or are passionate about—you can be an entertainment lawyer, sports attorney, practice in international courts, etc.
The field of communications and public relations allows for this sort of exploration of a variety of industries.
“Over the years I’ve been able to learn more about different things and industries in my line of work,” she explains. “We have had clients in the profit and non-profit worlds, in tech, energy, finance and higher education. It’s been fascinating!”
Her OHIO Experience
Maramba says there were several things about her time at OHIO that helped prepare her for life after graduation.
The classes she took helped challenge the way she thinks about the world.
The professionalism demanded by her office work in the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as in her participation in student organizations has served her well, as have the lessons learned in how to appreciate and work with different groups of people – a foundation provided by both her university experience and through the Athens community as a whole.
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