My name is Arielle Acosta, I am 20-years-old, and I am from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I am a Filipino-American. Both of my parents were born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. when they were young. That meant that they had to work even harder for the life they wanted for themselves, for my siblings, and me. Because of this, my parents pushed me to work hard and pursue a career in a field that they thought would help me become financially successful. They tended to push me towards careers in nursing, accounting, and computing. Their pressure made it difficult for me to pursue a career of my own interests.
The thought of my future career did not seriously cross my mind until the middle of high school. In middle school, I focused on friends, getting good grades, and extracurricular activities, such as softball. Then, in high school, I knew I had to start thinking about a possible career and college major, but I still pushed it off. I continued my extracurricular activities; I was getting involved with student government, band, and still, softball. However, by the time it was my junior year of high school, I knew I had to start thinking seriously about my possible major and future career.
“You should major in Nursing, you should major in Accounting, you should major in Computing.” Towards the end of my junior year of high school, with college applications right around the corner, that was the only song I heard on repeat. As a naive 16-year-old, I didn’t know what any of that meant; all I knew was that I wanted to play softball. It wasn’t until the first week of my senior year that I was given somewhat of a direction. I was recruited to play softball by Claudia Stabile at Pace University. This was it! This was exactly what I wanted! But as I filled out my application, my excitement dissipated and my mind went blank.
I looked to my friends, family, and teachers for advice, and they told me the same thing: “Play to your strengths! You’re really talkative and sociable. You should try marketing!” Marketing? I didn’t really know what that was, but if the people I care about were recommending it, then why not? I started to look at the different majors that Pace offered. As soon as I saw the words “Sports Marketing,” my eyes lit up. That could be a perfect major, combining a few of my interests: collaborating with others, advertisement, and the sports industry.
During my first two years as a Sports Marketing major, I really enjoyed it because I thought I had to, but as I started to learn about other majors and careers, I became curious about them. Along with my interests in sports, I also have interests in media, film, and visual/performing arts. Throughout high school, I was also involved in Student Government where I served as an Activities Commissioner, helped with Public Relations, and helped with the promotion of events happening at my school. I talked to my counselor about my other interests and she highly recommended that I minor in Communications.
In the second semester of my sophomore year, I took my very first class in the MCVA department, Media Production I, and I instantly fell in love. I always enjoyed creating my own films, and have a great appreciation for filmmaking (here’s a link to a short film I directed and edited for my Media Production Final). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iFZUlWP8Es.
Therefore, taking a class to enhance my knowledge of filmmaking felt enjoyable. However, taking this class as a Sports Marketing Major made me feel isolated, as if I didn’t belong there. My professor at the time, V. Lobue, convinced me otherwise. After excelling in his course, I thought about my career a lot. I still wonder if Sports Marketing is where I belong, because I am the happiest while inside the walls of the MCVA department.
Now as a junior, I’m exploring my options throughout this department, looking for more doors and opportunities for a possible career I will actually enjoy. I am genuinely glad I chose to minor in Communications; without it, I would feel as if I was stuck at a dead end. With a minor in Communications under my belt, I am currently looking to change my major to just Marketing, until I am able to find the right career for me.