This little dork spoke at TVLC, a gathering of hundreds of leadership students in the Tri-Valley!
Last time, I was at this conference as an attendee. I was a nerdy, energetic student with a dream of taking on the entertainment industry during college.
Since then, I’ve had my photography published, I’ve covered red carpets, I’ve contributed to nationally-acclaimed film & TV research, had 11 professional roles and graduated from a top university as a full-tuition merit scholar and Salutatorian. I got hired at the #1 place to work and largest social network in the world.
I had no idea about my destiny, I just knew it was huge.
Students came up to me with hugs, questions about USC, Lucasfilm, Instagram, huaraches, saying No, being Black.. all because I got to spend an hour with 300 of them, clowning around. Is this real life?
I am currently based in the SF Bay Area and work at Instagram as a Marketing Coordinator.
I’m a proud alumna of the University of Southern California c/o 2018 (B.A. Communication, Minors in Marketing and Spanish). As a Trustee Renaissance Scholar at USC, (Communication, Marketing, Spanish) I researched consumer behavior and culture theory, gave tours and shot red carpets. For three years, I served as Communications Coordinator of the USC African American Cinema Society. In Fall 2015, I performed research on the underrepresentation of women and racial groups in entertainment as part of USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative. This study, #CARD2016, was covered by nearly 100 outlets, including BBC, NPR, AP, TIME, Fortune and EW.
As a professional entertainment freelancer, I have spoken through brands such as Facebook, Star Wars/Lucasfilm, thredUP and the NAACP Image Awards. My work has been featured in Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly (1) (2), Refinery 29, Afropunk (1) (2), Twitter’s Trending Moments, Blavity, StarWars.com and more.
I’m also a portrait photographer and love the red carpet scene: I get to interact with high-profile professionals in Los Angeles, including directors, producers, actors and CEOS! I’m proud to have a blog that has international viewership and I keep my thumb on all things entertainment. View all posts by Joy Ofodu
