Fruits of Labor and Learning

Kristin Huguet Quayle ’99 was looking for something when she went on her first college tours in 1994. She just wasn’t sure exactly what that was. But after a Furman visit, while driving away from campus with her father, she knew something had clicked.

I remember telling him that I really liked it,” she says. “It was just a feeling when you came onto campus – everyone was so warm. It felt so comfortable and like an amazing place to learn and grow.”

That instinctive sense of belonging planted the seeds for a journey that would take her from her home in the Northeast to the serene paths of Furman’s campus to the fast-moving tech world of Apple’s global communications team. Twenty years into a dynamic career at one of the world’s most influential companies, Quayle returned to Furman in May to deliver the Commencement address, bringing her story
full circle.

“It’s surreal,” she says, sitting in the Dining Hall she used to visit daily. “You go out and you do all these things in the world and then you come back to the place where your career essentially started.”

A Southern Leap

Kristin grew up in Connecticut, but her roots were always in the South with family that hails from Louisiana. She primarily looked at Southern schools, giving her and her dad a chance to travel the region, tracking each college visit and determining pros and cons. Even with all the data and all the lists, Furman simply captured her heart.

Kristin Huguet Quayle with her family and her sister’s family during Commencement Week at Furman in 2025. Courtesy photo.

“I didn’t want to rank schools,” Quayle says with a laugh. “I didn’t work that way. But Furman just had this energy to it. The campus was beautiful, the class sizes were small and you could get involved in so much. I could see myself here.”

She enrolled as a double major in communications and pre-law, fully expecting to become an attorney. But as graduation approached, she started to notice something: None of the lawyers she met seemed particularly thrilled with their jobs.

“I work with a lot of lawyers now and they’re amazing,” she says. “But back then, so many people in law I spoke to seemed unhappy. It got me thinking, maybe that’s not what I want after all.”

Instead, she followed a different calling. One sparked by a Furman internship with Tribune Broadcasting in Washington, D.C. Curious and adaptable, Quayle explored broadcast journalism before taking an unexpected opportunity in public relations in New York City.

“I didn’t really know what PR was,” she admits. “But I started working on major accounts, and I realized I had stumbled into a really interesting career.”

West Coast Pivot

As the tech boom accelerated in the early 2000s, Quayle raised her hand when her firm sought volunteers to help staff a hot new client in San Francisco: Sun Microsystems. She packed her bags for what was supposed to be a three-month stint. She never moved back.

“I loved everything about the city,” she says. “It took time to find my place, but there was this feeling that something big was happening in tech.”

That instinct proved right. She soon found herself overseeing international communications and decided to deepen her business knowledge by earning an MBA at UC Berkeley, all while working full time.

“It was intense,” she says. “Evenings and weekends, but it was incredible. I came from a communications background and wanted to round that out with finance and strategy.”

Then Apple called.

Taking A Bite of Apple

Quayle started at Apple the day before the launch of the iPod with video – long before the iPhone or iPad existed. The company was successful but far from the global powerhouse it would become.

Kristin Huguet Quayle ’99 (second from left in the back row) celebrates with Apple leadership and the cast of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso.” Courtesy photo.

“None of this was a foregone conclusion,” she says. “When I started, the Mac was doing well and the iPod seemed promising, but we were nowhere near what Apple is today.”

Two decades later, she is vice president of worldwide communications and oversees Apple TV+ publicity, where her team orchestrates Hollywood premieres and media strategies with A-list talent. And yet, the work is far more than glitz and red carpets.

“We get to be part of big moments and small moments that have a profound impact on people’s lives,” she says. “From new health features on the Apple Watch to major product launches, every day is different. And that’s what keeps me going. Am I learning something new? Am I growing? Am I making a difference? Does this work align with my values? As long as I can say, ‘yes’, to those questions, I’m in the right place.”

Values That Last

Reflecting on her Furman years, Kristin points to two things that shaped her most: the opportunity to explore her passions and the values that grounded her.

“It’s the first time you really ask yourself, ‘What do I like? What do I want to do?’” she says. “And Furman gave me space to figure that out.”

But beyond curiosity, it was character that stuck with her.

“The values of it all … how you show up with integrity, how you show up in the world – that’s something Furman students have,” she says. “And that’s something I carry with me every day.”

During those days in May, just before her Commencement speech, Quayle watched her own three children wander through campus during her visit and felt the power of the moment.

“To be back here with my kids, my sister, my whole family – many of them Furman alumni, too – it’s just incredibly special,” she says during a luncheon in her honor at the Hartness Pavilion. “It reminds me how fortunate I am. The education I received, the friendships I made … all of it helped shape the life I have now.”