Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Ocampo.
Angelica, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a first-generation Latina (Mexican/Colombian) that was born and raised in the Lake Highlands area.
I went to UNT to pursue a degree in Art History, partly because I was lucky enough to have art history classes offered in HS and fell in love with the topic – the other part was to rebel against my business/finance-career-minded extended family (they were very vocal about what their expectations were of me). Falling into the guilt-trip Latina matriarchs are so good at, I made Marketing my minor to answer to their business request.
Realizing that my mind was not focused on school at the time – I left UNT to start exploring what I wanted to do with my life. That path took me down retail management with Gap, education, education administration. Although I climbed the ranks fairly quickly in each job, they never felt like something I could see myself doing longterm.
I was fortunate enough to find my current boss, Yareli Esteban, through a mutual contact. She was starting a new agency and was getting to the point of needing extra help. Seeing that I didn’t have any formal experience in marketing/advertising, she took a risk to add me to her Strategar team and it’s been a strong-growing relationship ever since.
I now oversee creative execution of our projects as well as assist with anything from strategy to account management. As a team, we’ve been able to grow our roster of clients to include entities like Snappy Salads, UNT Dallas and the Texas Department of Agriculture to name a few.
Yareli’s mentality of investing time on training and educating individuals to set them up for success inspired me to begin a podcast called The Hops Huddle. There, we invite c-suite executives to have a drink with us and share their favorite work-life advise so we can begin to weed-out the outdated “advise” shared with young professionals.
In the little spare time I have – I am working to become an okay rock climber and aspiring lettering artist.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not. At. All.
I mentioned that I am a first generation Latina. Although I have AMAZINGLY supportive parents, us “FG’ers” are left to figure out a lot of the things we’re “suppose” to do on our own. I was also the eldest of three so insert the pressure to be on your game 24/7.
The saying “you don’t know what you don’t know” pops up quite a bit in my life. I didn’t know what questions to ask my advisors in school. I didn’t know what professions were available to me. And I definitely didn’t know what my role was in this world as an education Hispanic woman.
It took a long time for me to accept that I’m capable of being more in life than what society puts in your head as a Hispanic woman. It took even longer for me to accept that I am worthy of having more.
I definitely can’t say I’ve gotten to where I am on my own. I am so grateful to every single person that has answered every silly question I’ve ever had – I know there’s been a lot.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Startegar (Job) The Hops Huddle (Podcast) – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My official title is Brand Story Thinker at Strategar, a local boutique marketing/advertising consultancy. Because we’re such a small team, we really have to be good a wearing multiple hats and wearing them fiercely.
I oversee the creative execution of many of our projects but I also work closely with the strategic team. Our collective goal is to work with companies/entities that are not only for profit – but are for purpose as well. We are proud to be working diligently with clients that are environmentally conscious and place a high value on providing various levels of education.
I am also the co-founder and co-host of The Hops Huddle, a podcast dedicated to providing up-and-coming professionals the opportunity to hear the candid “I wish someone would have told me that” stories of seasoned industry leaders throughout their career. We invite these experienced professionals to have a few drinks with us as we get advice on topics ranging from networking, work/life balance to what you’re boss really thinks about your tattoos.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
I am a HUGE fan of The Crazy One podcast. Stephen Gates is an amazing creature that shares candid advise that can span beyond the creative world and seep into anyone needing business guidance.
Contact Info:
- Website: thehopshuddle.com
- Email: angelica@thehopshuddle.com
- Instagram: @aocampo.png
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ocampoangelica/
Image Credit:
Cristina Drielts
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