Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Romo.
Alex, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in National City, CA attending Lincoln Acres Elementary. From there, I went on to attend Bonita Vista Middle and High School. Upon graduating high school, I went on to continue studying at the University of Southern California. During my time at USC, I was able to work for a variety of companies through internships – NBCUniversal, Red Bull, and GoPro, and to name a few; while also doing a variety of clubs and organizations – the USC Alumni Society, USC Club Baseball Team, Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, and more. Packing my schedule and getting the most out of my experience was a top priority. My senior year, I was even working four jobs at once (NBCUniversal, Red Bull, USC Football, and working at the Law Library). In 2018, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in Business Administration (emphasis in Marketing) and a minor in Cinematic Arts.
At this point, I was able to land a full-time job in NBCUniversals prestigious Page Program (a year-long rotational program, where every three months you move into another department within the company to learn the entirety business). My rotations included UCP Content and Cultural Insights (Research and Analytics), NBC Entertainment Primetime Programming (working under the top executives on the TV executive board), UPG Film Brand Marketing (Live Action, Illumination, DreamWorks), and UPG Creative Development (working under the top executives on the Film executive board). After completing the program, I have currently landed a full-time job working under the Vice Chairman and President of the Universal Film Entertainment Group, Jimmy Horowitz.
While I have been building out my corporate portfolio, my Freelance portfolio has grown as well. I have amassed 17,000 followers on Instagram and continue striving to perfect my artistic craft. During this time, I have been given the opportunity to work high profile clients, such as MVMT watches, TOMS, IKONICK, Numéro Russia, SCHÖN Magazine, and others.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a road full of hard work and determination. One particular hard time was at the end of my sophomore year of college. I had been struggling to land my first internship. On pace to be the first one to graduate from college of my family, put a large amount of pressure on me. Never from my family themselves, but from pressure I inherently put on myself. At the time, a bunch of my friends was landing these massive jobs going into the summer at large corporations, such as PWC, EY, and others. I had only had smaller non-paid internships at the time, wondering why I was getting turned down given how hard I was working. I still remember crying to my brother in our room and him reminding me that the right opportunity was just waiting for me.
When one door closed, another one opened. It was at this moment I applied for a job at Red Bull in one of the most competitive interview processes I’ve ever been apart of. Social meetings, case studies, multiple rounds of interviews, you name it. I still remember being woken up to a call the next day saying that I was being offered this full-time paid job. I couldn’t believe it. Not only a large reputable company but one that grew to become like a family to me. From the people inside to the amount of information I learned, this was an experience like no other. I ended up being kept on after my internship came to an end that summer as USC’s Student Brand Manager until I graduated.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Working at NBCUniversal, we have a variety of assets that work in unison to cohesively create a high powered machine. I specifically work in the Business Affairs sector of the company, centered around the deals and talent working on numerous projects. I specifically support the Vice Chairman and President with anything from materials and scheduling to day-to-day tasks that come up.
I am known for being well-versed in all facets of NBCUniversal. Given my wide variety of experience within the Page Program, I personally know a large amount of people across the company that I can rely on to help me no matter which issues arise. Knowing these individuals is what I am most proud of as well. Mostly because these were networking connections, I sought out to grow within the company, but more genuine connections I made from wanting to learn more about the amazing people that run this company.
This drive to want to learn more about the people around the company than the personal gain is what sets me apart and helps make me a valuable asset to the company. I am someone the company can rely on to get the job done, while also pushing it forward culturally.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve heard the phrase luck time and time again. I will admit, I’ve always had my share of good and bad luck throughout my life, but I often find myself remembering a different phrase. Luck is hard work meets opportunity. A lot of times we feel as though luck is this abstract thing that often grants the “lucky” ones a break. When we think this way, we undermine the hard work and drive individuals. As outsiders, we aren’t aware of the time that they’ve put into having that good thing happen to them since we haven’t seen it for ourselves. I’d like to think everything in life is connected and has a balance. Luck is one of these things that is balanced out with the hard work put in, as well as the type of person you carry yourself out to be a day in and day out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alexromo.live
- Email: romoalej@usc.edu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romoakaswag/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/romoakaswag/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHTAiMaEyKH5Kx_v1lcjUmw
Image Credit:
Alex Romo
Raul Romo
Dean Mendoza
Arfa Khatri
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