Olympic Gold Medallist Graduates from PR Program

The University of Texas' public relations program awarded a diploma to its first Olympic gold medalist in December 2001. Laura Wilkinson, as a public relations senior, won the gold medal in platform diving at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, after overcoming a broken foot. She was the first American woman to win the event since 1964. Wilkinson took a year off school to train and compete at the Olympics. She returned to UT in the spring of 2001 to complete her Bachelor of Science in Public Relations with a concentration in speech. "Winning gold at the Olympics was amazing, but I was not about to throw away my education that I received at UT," said Wilkinson. "Getting my degree has been a huge achievement." Wilkinson moved back to The Woodlands, Texas, after graduation to continue training for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Wilkinson has applied much of what she has learned in PR and speech to her career in diving. She has spoken to schools all over Texas and for corporations such as Ernst & Young, Securities Association and Wheaties Energy Crunch. Wilkinson completed three years of diving eligibility for the University of Texas before she became a professional diver and signed a contract with Nike. In her three years competing for UT, she won two individual NCAA titles. Wilkinson was selected to be a torchbearer to carry the Olympic torch for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She carried the torch through Houston, Texas, on Dec. 10. 10/15/2002