Starting the year leading UTRGV to nationals, mass communication senior Carlos Luna was named as one of 50 Most Promising Multicultural Students for 2023 for the American Advertising Federation’s.
The Most Promising program gives advertising, media, communications and tech companies the opportunity to tap into high-achieving talent of 50 diverse college students from across the country, according to a Jan. 10 AAF news release.
Students from more than 140 college chapters applied to the program. This year’s class had an average GPA of 3.7 and represented 28 schools and 18 states across the country, including California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, New York and Texas.
Luna said he found out about the program by taking advantage of every opportunity that came his way.
“So, when the multicultural thing … came up, I just wanted to throw my hat in the ring, see if I could be part of it and I was accepted,” Luna said. “It was very humbling and [I] had a little bit of impostor syndrome. But, I mean, here we are now. And I’m happy to be representing UTRGV.”
For the application process, eligible students provided recommendation letters, a portfolio, a resume and a summary of community involvement. Each nominee also wrote an essay about why diversity is important, how their skills will enable them to become advertising professionals and why they chose their major.
Luna said he was inspired by Kimberly A. Selber, an associate professor in the department of Communication, who helped him throughout the application process.
“She’s been very, very, very helpful to me,” Luna said. “I credit most of what I’ve done for just being inspired by her classes, and how she [is] so passionate about advertising.”
The 50 students will participate in a four-day industry immersion program between Feb. 13 and 16 in New York. The program will include professional development and personal branding workshops, the Building Bridges for Our Future Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, and Recruiter’s Expo, according to the news release.
Luna said that growing up, he realized there was a lack of multicultural representation in movies.
“It always seemed taboo or unnatural when you would see a Hispanic person,” Luna said. “I remember just thinking, like, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’ But it shouldn’t be weird, you know? So, representation is so important to me, at least for the reason that I don’t want kids to grow up seeing people like I did, not seeing their culture represented in any kind of media.”
Luna said he was happy to be representing UTRGV when he saw he was on the list among big universities, such as the University of Texas at Austin and Penn State University.
“Seeing University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, it’s kind of humbling, it looks really cool,” he said. “It made me laugh, but not in a, like, an embarrassing way but just like, ‘Wow, dang, we’re doing it. We’re going to be representing.’”
Steve Pacheco, CEO of the AAF, stated in the news release that he is proud of the selected students.
“Now, more than ever, the need to connect young talent to the advertising industry is a top priority for everyone,” Pacheco stated. “The fact that the AAF can develop such a diverse group representing the best from across North America is consistent with our mission to develop the Next Generation of Advertising leaders.”
Luna advises upcoming multicultural students looking to make it on this list to believe in themselves.
“There is no right or wrong time,” he said “… You have to want it more than anyone else does. If you want it, go for it. If you are not ready for it, wait it out, you know, [the] time will come. And I know there’s something else I wanted to say for the multicultural students. … It doesn’t matter where you are from. If you are passionate about it, go for it, just take advantage of what the world has to offer.”
