Greenwich Business School student Kevin Molina Chalarca was told at High School that creative subjects won't lead to a job. Kevin found the courage to ignore this advice. He followed his passions and now studies marketing. In May 2021, Kevin secured his dream internship at TikTok and is loving his degree.
My name is Kevin and I’m 26 years old. I'm studying BA Advertising & Digital Marketing Communications at Greenwich Campus. I'm originally from Colombia but I moved to Spain when I was just seven years old. At 16 I developed an interest in photography and film making with my Freerunning crew, “FreeFly.” This moment definitely shaped my future passions and interests.
At 16, my mum bought me my first camera, and since this moment, I unknowingly became a content creator.
My role at TikTok is Social and Culture Associate, I'm working on the EURO2020´s campaign. Daily tasks involve keeping on top of the culture and what's happening in the Football world related to the tournament. Besides that, I'm working on managing the social media channels 'de TikTok Spain'. I'm mainly focussing on Instagram and Twitter because they are new accounts.
I attend the daily meetings with the team to discuss marketing plans and the performance of different videos and hashtags. I am following the Spanish games, and every week I have to plan the best way to generate conversation on social media and grow TikTok's Twitter and Instagram account.
I'm also working on the campaign to support the LGTBQ+ community. I had to research and find the best videos from TikTok to create an advert for its platform.
One of my new tasks is sourcing quality videos on the platform. It's great because I can make recommendations on what should be shared more widely and I can push them to give them more visibility.
I always wanted to visit the UK and after my experience living abroad, something inside me was telling me “Go”
I had a real passion for the arts and creative subjects, However, in High School, I always was told by one of my teachers that if I want a successful career, I should aim for sciences more than arts. This advice led me to choose advanced maths, physics and chemistry at high school. I then started a degree in Building Engineering. I really enjoyed the technical drawing but I knew this wasn't what I'd dreamed.
Like everyone in their 20's, I had a vision of how my life will be when I turn 25- and this wasn't it. Feeling deflated and with a lack of motivation, I quit in my first year. After making this bold decision, I then worried I needed to become a professional in something. I started what is known in the UK as the “Certificate of Higher Education” in Telecommunications and Computing Systems. I did my Erasmus internship in Sofia, Bulgaria, and when I graduated, but I still didn’t feel like it was something I wanted to do.
A year later in 2018, one of my friends told me that he got an offer to work in London for a year and he was looking for people who were willing to travel with him. I saw this an opportunity as I always wanted to visit the UK and after my experience living abroad something inside me was telling me “Go”. It was a tough decision because I was buying only a one-way ticket. I knew that whatever happened, I had to stay here at least for a year because that was the challenge I set to myself.
During the first year, I started working in a restaurant at Harrods and I focused on improving my English. I learned English by talking to people in my job and on my own with videos on YouTube. It was here, I met my friend Matt who told me I should start a university degree in the UK.
After thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided to start university in London, but wasn't sure which subject to study. This time I wanted to study something and build a career based on what I enjoy. Therefore, I thought that the best way to combine my creative side with business was Marketing. So I did all the paperwork myself and prepared for the IELTS exam on my own with my best mate YouTube while working full-time.
After horrible three months, I got an offer from the University of Greenwich and two more from others I applied to. But it wasn’t until I went for an open day at the University on Greenwich that I realised- “This is the one”. I started my degree 2 years ago, and I did foundation year (year 0). Feeling I had wasted so much time on subjects I had no passion for, I felt motivated to work towards a career in marketing. This really pushed me to find a job in this sector whilst I'm studying.
It wasn’t until I went for an open day at the University on Greenwich that I realised- “This is the one.
Finally, It takes me to the moment when my friend Katie sent me the job advert for a summer internship for the EURO2020 campaign at TikTok. Katie told me to apply and pushed me to go for it, so I decided to give it a try. I got an interview and I had to create a video. The way the job application worked was different to the ones I was used to. They were not just selecting the candidates based on their CV. It scared me a bit, but I did my best on my application, and it was worth it, as I was selected for the position of Social and Culture Associate at TikTok.
I've really enjoyed the first year of my marketing degree, I'd have to say that Creative Content was my favourite module. I've been creating content for years but I never stopped to think about what's behind of all the content we see in social media. This course opened my eyes to the strategy behind content creation. I also really enjoyed the assignment. I had to create the strategy for a parkour event hosted by Red Bull. I can't wait to apply my new industry skills to next year's modules.
Find out more about Advertising & Marketing at University of Greenwich
