an origin story...
In my last semester at University of Houston in 2011, I became suddenly stricken with an illness that I would discover months later was a rare form of vasculitis called Takayasu's Arteritis. Although I could no longer operate under able-bodied circumstances, I endured my final weeks of university with the help of the disability assistance center and a full-time caregiver who encouraged me to continue striving for my personal idea of excellence despite my failing condition.
During my last year in Houston I also sustained a part-time role as an Executive Assistant to the CEO of a local photography studio -- until, under doctor's orders, I had to seize employment due to frequent hospitalization and a rigorous treatment plan that would ensue for the impending future.
After a year of bed rest and just a few months of remission, I moved to the Washington, D.C. metro area to take on a full-time role at a local PR firm where I found joy in finding my footing again as a working member of society. Two years later, I returned to my hometown Austin, TX where I became an Editor for the publishing department of a media agency. And a few years after that, I relocated to New York City to be close to the publication that eventually acquired the media agency.
After realizing I was feeling massive burnout of writing and editing thousands of published articles and short stories in the last few years, I shifted to Brand Strategy where I started focusing on helping both established brands and startups create successful marketing campaigns. I did this full-time while holding freelance roles as a copywriter for other publications and a content creator for my personal platform.
New York is home, and I am happy to have found an industry that evokes new ways of thinking on an ongoing basis. I want to continue my journey in Strategy where I can further demonstrate my ability to encourage, shape, convince, and inform brands on what's making their market tick, how to stay ahead of the cultural zeitgeist, and what it's going to take to keep their product in the hands of the consumers who believe in them.
