Martha Lee, born and raised in Hong Kong, is a graduate from the University of Oregon where she majored in Journalism and Spanish. During her time there she studied abroad during the fall 2005 in Oviedo. After graduation Martha worked in several jobs in various countries, before settling down in the Big Apple. Here is what she said when I asked her what she was doing:
“I am now working as a Multicultural Art Director at an ad agency in New York, called GlobalWorks. So, what does that mean? Well, I basically work on advertising campaigns for different ethnic markets on both a national and international level.
My clients include telecommunications companies, banks, universities, drugstores and businesses that sell household products. Work is really fun because it allows me to learn about different cultural insights, from the Hispanic’s attitude about finances to the cleaning habits of Koreans. The projects I handle range from TV spots in the Tri-State area to a Point-of-Purchase in a CostCo in Japan.
Sounds cool, right? And believe it or not, my language skills helped land me this job in New York! I still remember my first encounter with my current boss and my supervisor: While I was presenting my portfolio to both of them, my boss interrupted me and pointed out in my resume that I can speak Spanish. Immediately my boss and my supervisor asked me a few questions in Spanish and asked me to go in to the office. Since June 2010, I have been working with a team of fun people who come from over 25 countries. I get to practice my Spanish everyday because the majority of my colleagues speak the language. Knowing Spanish is not only fun but it can come in handy. It has opened the door for me to different projects and even employers. It also lets me make more friends.