Originally from San Jose, Costa Rica, Luis Cambronero-Briceno moved to New Jersey when he was seven years old. Growing up, he said he developed a passion for reading, watching movies, and writing, and these led him to the path he is now on at Rutgers, where he is double majoring in Communication at SC&I and film at the Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. Through the 4 + 1 program, he has also begun to pursue a Master of Communication and Media degree as a senior.
Tracing his interests in communications and film back to his childhood, Cambronero-Briceno said “I always enjoyed sitting with a book and was interested in the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, the Hunger Games, and any young adult novels made in the early 2000s,” Cambronero-Briceno said.
He also enjoyed watching TV and movies both for entertainment and as a way to learn English. “I think as for getting cultural lingo and stuff like that, it's the best way to do it. I would watch a lot of TV like Nickelodeon and Disney,” he said.
His passion for communicating and writing was sparked by his experiences growing up in a Spanish-speaking household, he explained. His mother, he said, had limited proficiency in English, so she asked him to help her write her emails. “I picked up this love for email very quickly. I think that's where my love for communication stems from,” he said.
On campus, Cambronero-Briceno is a work-study student and works as an Area Manager at the College Avenue Student Center where he delegates tasks and ensures that operations are on track. “It’s nice to work at the Student Center because we have a lot of international and work-study students and our professional staff is always looking out for the students and seeing how they can improve not just their professional well-being, but their educational [well-being],” he said.
In our Q&A, Cambronero-Briceno describes his Rutgers journey, the internship he had last summer at Ogilvy in New York City, his favorite courses, and shares his advice with students considering a similar path.
SC&I: Tell us about your experiences as a SC&I student. Is there a specific class at SC&I that you learned a lot from, or a class that you found was one of your favorites?
LCB: Media, Marketing, and Communication with Mark Beal was my favorite. He teaches his courses in a similar manner and brings in alumni which makes it interactive. Again, it's such a different perspective on how film courses are taught. Sitting there listening to someone fully giving back and teaching it in such an energized and exciting way was really renewing for me. Beal swears by Gen Z, and so having that mentality with Gen Z students, I think goes a long way. It’s nice to see someone be so passionate about our generation when you know all you see in politics and or in the last few years was people putting down Gen Z.
SC&I: You are a Film major too, but it sounds like you have put it on the back burner to pursue PR. Is film more of a hobby, or something you see yourself doing down the line?
LCB: I wouldn't necessarily say it's a hobby, I see it as a way of making income. A lot of the work I've done is freelancing marketing work for agencies. I‘ve done freelance work, audiovisual work, and interviews, and helped shoot interviews at conventions outside of the country. I've also done interviews on campus, and then I've edited work for other agencies and clients. I do love my filmmaking degree and my BFA, it's more of a long-term thing that I see myself doing. Down the line, I would like to leverage my BFA and my Communication degree to eventually become a creative director for a magazine or a news outlet or something of those shorts. I've produced shorts (short films) on the student level, and that's been enjoyable. I shot my junior thesis last year, I made a documentary on women’s expression through fashion, and then I'm currently working on my senior thesis for the film program. In terms of thinking long term, I would rather invest more in public relations, because I see that being more stable rather than filmmaking.
SC&I: Do you have any advice that a SC&I professor has given you that has stuck with you?
LCB: I was told that I needed to take a Mark Beal class. My friends were always saying, ‘you need to take one class with him.’ Last semester I took a class with Professor Beal. He said never be afraid to ask for help. I've always been very stubborn in the sense that I know what I'm doing and only ask for help when it's the last resort. When I got the email back from Ogilvy that I was getting an interview, I wanted to handle it myself and go into it alone because I wanted that pride. I wanted [to work for] Ogilvy after seeing all the work they've done in the past few years. I spoke to Professor Beal to set up a mock interview, and for him to help me and see what experiences of my resume I can pull from for the position. We met twice for 30 minutes and he contacted one of his connections over at Ogilvy. What I took away from that is that I shouldn't be ashamed of asking for help because not only is it putting aside my pride, but in the case of someone else asking me for help, I have an idea of how to assist them as well. It was eye-opening for me, just because everyone else was also doing it. Being at a film school, you sometimes don't get that, because everyone's so proud of their creative ideas and their creative endeavors that it's a lot of independent work at times. I'm grateful to Professor Beal. The other aspect I learned from him is to always give back to people. He's always giving back. He's always leveraging his connections, and always keeping that mindset and that humility was extremely touching for me.
SC&I: What did you learn as the Strategy Intern position at Ogilvy this summer?
LCB: It was an amazing opportunity, and I'm very glad I fell in love with strategy, honestly, over the summer. It was such a nice, eye-opening experience to see how many different options there are in the communications field, and how there are so many intersections between creative thinking and strategic thinking, from the facts to the creative output. It was nice to see how I can balance my communication degree and my filmmaking degree and leverage both and use them intertwined, to get the best results.
SC&I: What persuaded you to pursue the five-year dual degree MCM program?
LCB: I started this semester and I'm taking a class with Dr. Dool, and I'm doing the E-portfolio. What persuaded me to apply for the program was, first of all, everything I've heard about it. I have a friend who graduated last year from the program, and she always spoke highly of it, and she encouraged me to go for it. I also did my research, and everything I've heard from not just Dr. Dool, but Professor Beal as well. The benefits it has towards getting me prepared for the workplace and a different perspective than your undergraduate is a very big thing I'm looking for, but also in an economic sense, it's also I feel like a smarter choice. Getting the chance to interact with professionals who have already been in the field, not just our professors. I think [the MCM program] will have a great impact on my development.
SC&I: Looking ahead at your career plans, would you prefer to start your career at an agency, or a corporate company, or explore another path after Rutgers?
LCB: Going into college, I was against all corporations. I never wanted to work corporate, that is the last thing I wanted to do. I think my thoughts on that have completely changed. I love corporate and the stability of it at times, and the organization it has. I think you're able to especially now, in the post-Covid world, they have shifted so much towards a hybrid environment, they get a lot more flexibility and stability that was seen more in the world of freelancing. You get the best of both worlds. Again, it’s not perfect, but I would want to go into agency work first, just to get all that experience. It's a lot more fast-moving, in my opinion. I would want to do that, first, get that experience under my belt, and then eventually pivot. I want to delve into a more creative route, whether that be a magazine, I want to become a creative director for a magazine or a news outlet. Down the line, I’d like to produce films. I think producing is super fun, it gives you the option of having a say in the film, but you're not directing it. It's your creative vision, but you do get to give your input, and I love that. I could get to do a lot more budgeting, seeking out investors and comms plans.
SC&I: What advice would you give to someone who just entered Rutgers such as a freshman or transfer, and doesn't know exactly what they want to pursue yet?
LCB: I would tell them to get involved, whether it be a job on campus or a club or RUPA, Greek life, get involved in any sort of way. A lot of the things I've noticed being in school, while, yes, your classes do provide you with a lot of knowledge and teaching, it's also the interactions we have with other people. Especially being from New Jersey, and coming from smaller towns, it's nice to be at a big school with a big setting, and we get so many opportunities here. That's one of the reasons I chose coming to Rutgers, being a BIG10 school and getting all these opportunities, as opposed to a smaller school because I wanted to get these experiences that you wouldn't necessarily get in a small place. Make those connections and get those acquaintances/friendships down the line. I think one of the things that benefited me the most was becoming friends with my supervisors, who were all students at the Student Center. Make those friendships, make those connections, and get involved.
Learn more about the Communication major and the Master of Communication and Media degree at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.
