Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Esteban
Hi Karina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in North San Diego County and went to San Diego State for my bachelor’s in Marketing. After graduating I moved to Los Angeles for work, but recently moved back.
I’ve always been a creative person, from growing up dancing, playing instruments, commissioning painting and calligraphy pieces –to now working in the social media marketing world.
I started my social media journey in 2019 when I became a Victoria’s Secret PINK Campus Rep my sophomore year of college. In that role I was trained by PINK marketing leaders and gained experience in event planning, marketing strategy, social media execution and more. From there I started to create for more and more fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands and even ran social media accounts for the organizations I was involved with at SDSU.
While in my 9-5 prior to freelance, I had the opportunity to attend red carpets, movie premieres, interview actors, cover concerts and work on social media campaigns with partners like Walt Disney World, Indeed, Target, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Capital One and more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
After landing a dream job right out of college and working there for a while, I was laid off and left LA. It definitely took a toll on me as I was working in a role that was everything I had been looking for. Reflecting on this, I’m so glad to have experienced this early on in my career because it’s made me all the more resilient.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m currently a freelance content creator and digital strategist. I create User Generated Content for brands and have worked with a variety from different industries including Jarritos, Lip Lab, #WeAllGrow Latina, Besamé Mucho Festival and more. In addition to creating content for brands, I also work with brands to share content on my personal pages. Some of my favorites to work with have been Cotton On, Free People, The Mayfair Group, Victoria’s Secret and Nopalera.
It’s always been important for me to uplift my community which I why I work with Latina-owned businesses like Nopalera and Holy Matcha. Equally for me, I want to work with larger brands to be the Latina representation I never saw growing up.
In addition to freelancing and influencer work, I’ve tapped into commercial modeling and have modeled for Wetzel’s Pretzels, Hija de tu Madre, Neems Jeans, and most recently Valdé Beauty.
How do you define success?
To me success is being fulfilled by what is going on in your life and who is in your life. It’s not about what society thinks you should have, but about what makes you happy. And this is something that can change, you’re allowed to change what you think you wanted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.karinaesteban.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karina_esteban/
Image Credits
All photos taken by me
