Disclaimer: The views expressed by our interviewees are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of GradSimple. We only edit these responses for clarity. All opinions remain those of the interviewee.
- Year Of Graduation: 2025
- College/University: University of Southern California
- Major: Business Administration, Business Cinematic Arts
What do you do for a living? Can you share what a typical day at work looks like? Do you enjoy what you do?
I’m working at a music talent agency. It’s a lot of booking artist gigs, routing tours, calling different venues and checking availability, and how we can slot people in. The job is remote so it gives me time to work on other projects that I’m doing.
It wasn’t really what I originally planned for my postgrad life. I had already interned at several other places, so I was hoping to go to one of those.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation? Are you happy with where your journey has led you so far?
It was just a lot of interviews and a lot of networking. Entertainment and the market in general is not doing amazing right now. There’s a lull. I’ve learned to embrace that aspect of it. At first it was kind of frustrating to see so many places not hiring. I feel like the entry level role in general has just been eliminated. I’ll read job descriptions and they’ll require five years of experience, which is such a joke. So now I’m kind of just like, “Okay, when an opportunity does come up how can I be best prepared for it?” I’m focused on that, that’s my plan for now.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable? Why or why not?
In high school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and somebody told me that I should do business because it’s the most flexible major. It gives you more opportunities to add in other electives, or add a second major down the line, or a minor. That’s exactly what I did. The school that I applied to, USC, had a program called Business of Cinematic Arts, and I thought that was really cool and I’d always loved film. That’s how me and my dad connected, like as long as I can remember movies were such a big part of our family.
Getting to do film in LA, where everything gets made, is the Hollywood dream. It feels so cool, so that’s what I went for. I thought if I didn’t like the cinema arts aspect of it, I could just drop that part, keep business, add something else and figure it out from there. I ended up loving it and interning at some pretty cool places, like NBCUniversal.
What does purpose mean to you? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life?
My thoughts around purpose have drastically changed since I graduated from school. I thought my purpose in school was to have a singular goal, have a singular vision, and achieve it. For me, that was working in film, being a studio exec in Hollywood, and you know, making the next Oppenheimer, or whatever.
The second I graduated, though, and seeing my parents come to my graduation, I was like, “Oh my god. I miss my family.” I’ve always put it in the back of my mind, like being with my family, but I’ve kind of tried to take a step back and reflect on what I actually want. I feel like for me now, purpose is building something that I’m passionate about, whatever that may be. I’m in the process of achieving that purpose.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
My biggest struggle is figuring out how to turn everything I’m doing into something that gives me the lifestyle that I want. Luckily my parents are able to support me a little bit, but it’s just being able to turn these projects that I’m doing into something where I can get paid. I don’t like to see it as a struggle because I understand that what I’m doing now is just the first step, but it’s a bit tough.
What do you want to spend more time working on, either personally or professionally? What’s stopping you?
Developing skills, definitely. I wish coding clicked for me. I’ve taken the intro level coding classes and I just don’t get it at all. I wish I knew an easier way to learn. I also feel like AI is going to be really powerful, so gaining those skills as well, how to best use it, how to implement it, not just my daily life, but my professional life would be great.
If I could find a way to be in school for the rest of my life, I would 100% do that because I love to go to classes. I love learning. So I have to replace that with either work that lets me learn, or certificates and courses.
How do you define being a successful person?
Being able to say no to more things, that’s when you know you’re successful. In college when it’s your first day, you’re saying yes to everything, and you’re trying out so many new things. You’re joining all these different clubs and then slowly you start to narrow it down. When new opportunities pop up, you have the flexibility to say no as you become a junior or senior. That’s success, being able to say no to things because you either don’t feel like it aligns with you, you don’t need it, or it’s just not building towards your ultimate goal.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
I wish I was busier. In school I was so busy and I loved it. Every single one of my seconds was taken. I liked that my calendar was filled, it gave me so much energy. Now I just don’t have a lot to do during the day. I have to seek out new opportunities. So in three years I want to have a packed schedule and feel energized. When I have only one or two things to do, it feels like a waste of a day.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
When I set a goal for myself, I’ll do everything to attain it, but sometimes that’s just not feasible. Sometimes there were doors open along the way that are now closed, that you should have paid attention to. It’s a skill you have to develop, to be able to work towards your goal but kind of have eggs in multiple baskets.
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