Written by Jessica Skinner ’26
In this interview, Rocio Araujo ’21, a marketing major and A-List Pathway alumna, shares how Career and Professional Development (CPD) and personalized experiences helped her turn her LMU experience into a career she’s truly passionate about. Currently living and working in Madrid, Spain, Rocio shares how service and community have contributed to her success.
Here’s what Rocio shared about her LMU experience and career trajectory:
What was your major at LMU, and which school/college were you part of? What were some of your favorite things to do on campus?
[I was a] Business Administration, Marketing major through the College of Business Administration. I [also] was in the A-list Pathway Program: [which stands for] Applied Learning for Societal Transformation. It’s basically marketing for a mission. It’s an amazing program.
Were you involved with any clubs or organizations?
I was involved with OISS, the Office for International Students and Scholars. I helped welcome new international students because that’s what I experienced when I started at LMU. And [OISS] completely transformed my life. I think my best friends came from my orientation week.
I was also in a sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and in the Special Olympics Club, where I helped with their marketing.
All these experiences helped me become more immersed in the LMU community, meet as many people as possible, and become engaged as an international student.
Did you intern while at LMU?
Yes. My most important internship was during my senior year. I found it through Handshake. I was working at a marketing agency in Beverly Hills, which focused on wellness and lifestyle brands – they’re called Symbol and Fire.
It was a great first internship. I still speak to my boss. I don’t work for him anymore, but [I learned] a lot about branding, marketing, and design within the wellness world.
Do you have memories of classes, programs, experiences or professors that stand out?
The A-List Pathway is awesome. I recommend it to every student.
Professors Hamilton and Saint Clair at the College of Business Administration are two of the best professors at LMU. Also, Professor Stefl, but I didn’t have him much as an instructor. Overall, all the marketing professors at LMU are really cool.
With Professor Saint Clair, we worked on a project with the City of Compton, so we got to meet the mayor and revamp the social hub they were creating for under-resourced creatives. We participated in an on-site activity and helped with their whole activation.
With Professor Hamilton, we got to work with Re-INC, a t-shirt and street-style brand founded by major players on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. We helped them with branding and marketing, so it was very hands-on and meaningful.
These professors instilled in us, students, marketing for a mission, but also how to be marketers in the real world. What I learned in those classes is actually what I’ve done outside of them. [I received] practical, hands-on, amazing feedback, not only professional advice, but also personal and career advice. I’m a huge fan of the Marketing Department and experiential learning.
Do you think LMU’s Jesuit values and approach to education had an impact on you?
LMU’s focus on service – I think that’s huge.
I just see it in the values I align with, as well as in my friends and peers. What we’re doing in the world has been very service-based, and I think that’s comes from LMU’s mission.
Did LMU’s location in LA influence your experience as a student?
Yeah, 100%. LA was the best place to go to college. Outside of the LA life (being able to have the beach so close, the California lifestyle, sunny days, etc.), it was just very accessible to everything. Especially LA, for marketing and career growth, was incredible… [You’re] in such a vital location for everything in the world: entertainment, sports, and wellness.
And the guest speakers that we would have on campus were awesome and unheard of in other places!
In what ways has LMU changed you as a person and young professional?
LMU completely changed me.
Being at LMU, I took many different classes, including a lot of psychology and nutrition courses. And just through my time there, I developed a huge interest in wellness and fitness. I probably wouldn’t have had that if I hadn’t been in LA or at LMU.
And the people at LMU are very service-oriented, creative, open-minded, and hardworking. [I got] the perfect blend of the practical, hands-on approach, but with service-based values. So, having service-centered leadership at the forefront has really impacted me.
As a student, did you utilize Career and Professional Development (CPD)? Can you talk about how you engaged with their services and any ways it guided you?
As a student, I visited CPD for LinkedIn profile and coaching. Just in our classes in the business school, we had a whole class on LinkedIn and networking.
But, during my time as a student, I didn’t use [the Career and Professional Development Office] as much as I wish I had. But as an alum, I’ve used it so much. You can still utilize CPD as an alum for coaching and more.
Marcy Hess, Senior Director of CPD- she’s amazing and she’s helped me a lot; guided me on polishing my LinkedIn profile and resume, and she helped me find my current job.
And I’ve used resources like Handshake. The LMU community and alumni network are so awesome. I always tell Marcy, don’t be afraid to just send my name to someone if they’re coming to Madrid, or if they need anything, or if they’re in the wellness industry or fitness industry.
[So overall,] CPD has helped me with interviews, resumes, LinkedIn, learning how to conduct informational interviews, learning how to get coffee chats, and really just understanding that, career-wise, it’s all about relationship-building.
I love CPD.
What are you currently doing for work? What is the name of your employer?
My career is focused on making wellness and fitness more accessible to people.
My official title is Studio Manager at a boutique wellness studio called Olimpia – The Wellness Circuit. Olimpia’s, a Pilates studio, but we also have saunas, cold plunges, massages, and red-light face masks. So it’s a 360-wellness experience. It was the first studio in Madrid to offer this, so it’s trailblazing the wellness industry in Spain.
I helped launch and scale [the studio]. I helped build the brand identity from zero and scale it from being non-existent to now having over 3,000 monthly visitors. We’re expanding to a second location, [so I’m] managing the P&L, staff management, and making sure that our brand is growing in a practical way.
What do you love about your work?
I 100% love the community that’s built from it. My background has been within the wellness and fitness industry; being able to create experiences and a physical space where people can come every day and have those 50 minutes for themselves to do a workout class, or 45 minutes to get into the sauna and do something for them fills me with so much joy.
And Madrid’s a very bustling city. There’s so much to do, a lot of nightlife, so it’s nice to be that oasis, that sanctuary that people can come into.
What are your long-term aspirations, and do you think LMU prepared you for success in your field?
My long-term career aspirations are to continue on this path of making wellness as accessible to as many people as possible. LMU 100% prepared me for success after college.
All the classes I took in business, especially in marketing, taught me how to create a niche, expand within a market, and do the research behind it. So, the practicality and hands-on approach of LMU prepared me incredibly well for this career.
What advice would you give to incoming students?
LMU is awesome! Absorb as much as possible and meet as many people as possible, because these people will be people, you’ll know long-term, who will become your best friends, who will be your coworkers, and who you’ll continuously see. The number one piece of advice would be to get engaged and use all the resources, like CPD.
Career and Professional Development provides personalized support for international students. Learn more via our website. Additionally, alumni have access to Career and Professional Development for life. Learn more about alumni offerings via our website.
