Genesis Garcia, a Journalism/Communication graduate of NECC, recently made a guest Zoom appearance at NECC on March 23.
During the one hour appearance, hosted by the Center for Liberal Arts, she shared her journey from NECC all the way into the music industry. She also gave the audience tips on how to excel in her field as many in attendance are also in the communications field like her, as well as motivation and inspiration to reach their goals. In her journey she first got a job at Def Jam Records. She now works as a publicist for RCA Records and has helped and knows many artists, publicists, and writers in the music industry.
Garcia was a student during the early 2010s here at NECC, where she got her associate’s degree in communications.
She mentioned the massive amount of help that her professors and the staff at NECC helped her greatly and supported her on her journey. Without them, she may not be where she is today.
After explaining what NECC had done for her in her career, she went in depth on how life was for her before landing her first job, and how she ended up landing it.
Landing the job at Def Jam Records took a lot of perseverance and hard work that many people may not have had in her situation.
Garcia detailed how she regularly drove from Massachusetts down to New York and back so she could interview with these major music companies.
When she saw an opening, she made the trip down. She interviewed with RCA, Epic Records, Warner, Columbia Records, and more. So many companies, but yet she got rejected from the jobs every single time.
“I drove from MA to NY to do interviews and I constantly got denied. Rejection from interviews was my best friend at that point.”
Things were looking bleak for Garcia and she described how she was losing hope. Then she decided she’d drive down to New York one more time for an interview with a record company, and if she got rejected, she’d stop. The rejection was starting to get to her.
After the interview she had a lot of confidence, she believed she had killed the interview and certainly could secure the job.
But on her way home disaster struck for her. She got stuck in a snowstorm which she said turned out to mean “10 hours long stuck in highway traffic”.
“It felt like God was trying to tell me something, that this career just might not be for you.” Garcia said. And just a few days after the disastrous ride home, she got notified that she was once again rejected from the job.
She took a long break after that debacle, but months after she saw an opening at Def Jam records. Even with those past shortcomings she decided once again to interview and try to get the job. She worked as hard as she possibly could, she was determined to land her dream job as a publicist in the industry.
Her change in heart worked, and she secured the job at Def Jam Records. It took her a lot of trial and error and perseverance but ultimately she pushed through.
It was a huge relief to her and finally she could live her dream.
She worked for Def Jam for a while and now works for RCA records as a publicist. After detailing her crazy journey of how she reached her point, she showed the students some of the work she’s helped make and the process of creating it. She showed the students the process of creating a Grammy campaign as she helped create one for R&B singer Steve Lacy. The campaign included feature articles, magazine covers, having a number #1 song “Bad Habits” and more which all led to him winning a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B album.
After that, students took turns asking her questions about her career and tips to pursue their own path in the industry, as well as give answers for an assignment she gave them. The assignment included doing research on an artist of their choice and acting as a publicist for that artist.
Garcia left students with an inspiring story as well as some words of wisdom and tidbits that they can use to pursue their career.
Her life was an up and down path to get where she is and she knows some would have lost motivation if they were in her position.
“A lot of our lives do not look like a straight line, it’ll usually be a roller coaster for most of us,” she said.
Even so, she wants no one to quit. She wants everyone to give it their best and stresses the power of persistence, belief in yourself, and having a support system as well.
“The power of persistence, the power of seeing what you want to be and seeing your career, it will happen,” she said.
“It might not look the way you visualize it in your head, for some people you will have to work and work. The power of networking and building connections with others in your field helps greatly. You will build each other up”
