Arabia Thompson LaVergne

I've been in education for about 10 years and have been working in the media realm for about 3 years now. My daytime work is as School Dean of Students at Yes Prep, where I've been since 2017. In this role, I assure that our culture remains positive and manage discipline techniques for our secondary program. I also run my own photography and videography business, where I do photo booths, event media, and branding for businesses, organizations, and individuals. My business started a little bit after COVID when I decided I wanted to get into the event planning industry. I bought a whole bunch of photo backdrops, champagne glasses, and small rentals that I thought I could rent out. Then I bought a 360 photo booth and started soliciting emails, literally just emailing a lot of people asking if I could set up to get my name out there. One person took a chance on me, and from there my network just expanded. I was able to get another photo booth, and as content became very hot, I started filming the events where I had the photo booth and creating recap reels for my clients. They wanted me to make more of them, and it became profitable to the point where now I'm able to do brand marketing for different individuals and organizations. My degrees are in social work and human sciences, so I literally have no degree in marketing or filming. I'm completely self-taught and just made my way into the industry. In December, I won an award for cinematic excellence, and considering my grassroots background, I'd say that is probably my proudest achievement. I hope to eventually leave education and do media full-time, sooner than later.