Natalia Lima
I'm currently a college student at USC studying public relations and advertising, though I've always done PR - even in high school when my friends and I created a nonprofit to recognize the lives of people lost from COVID-19. The whole purpose was to turn numbers back into lives, because I think a lot of times when we're looking at data, we forget that there's real people behind the data. That experience was a big part of me finding my passion in life and what I like to do. I love being able to turn a product, service, or company into a story - I think a lot of people can't always translate that, and I love finding the story in things. I also really love that I've had so many opportunities to represent my Latin community and create stories that resonate with them. At USC, I'm part of the honors program with my twin sister, and we both received merit-based scholarships. I'm actively involved in the Latinas Student Assembly (LSA), where we represent all undergraduate-affiliated events that correlate with the Latin community here, and I'm also a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. My typical day involves waking up, going to the gym, doing work, going to class, and then scheduling time in the afternoon to meet with potential students who want to come to USC - I love giving back to the community that gave back to me. When I first came to college, my major was actually Philosophy, Politics, and Law because I wanted to be a lawyer, but I discovered that PR was my true calling. My plan is to find a job in public relations, either in fashion or in influencer management, and long term, I want to open up my own PR firm where I really get to lead visions and stories and represent the Latin community, whether that be brands or influencers - a company that's for them.
• USC (University of Southern California) - Public Relations and Advertising
• Honors Program
• Merit-Based Scholarship
• USC Honors Program
• USC Merit-Based Scholarship
• Latinas Student Assembly (LSA) at USC
• Gamma Phi Beta Sorority
• Co-founded nonprofit in high school to recognize lives of people lost from COVID-19
• USC prospective student mentoring and coffee chats
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience and hard work combined with humility. I was never the smartest kid in class - I was always the one who did the behind the scenes work to get there. I think along the journey, there's a lot of people who doubted me, but I constantly tried to push myself to be the best version of who I am. It's also about being humble enough to know when you are in the wrong and making the changes you need to make. I think those qualities together have been the key factors in getting me to where I am today.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say it's okay to do the unexpected and be okay with change. When I came to college, my first major that I completed was Philosophy, Politics, and Law - I wanted to be a lawyer and I started a law club here and was very well in the law realm. But the biggest advice I can give is to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Put yourself in situations and be okay with putting yourself in those situations, because I would have never known I wanted to do PR unless I put myself in a conversation that made me uncomfortable, which was talking about why I wanted to do law. That conversation shouldn't have been uncomfortable, but for me, it really showed me that law wasn't a field I needed or really wanted to be in. So be open to the unexpected and don't be afraid to make changes when something doesn't feel right.
Locations
USC Undergraduate Student Government
Los Angeles, CA