Roger Alexander Hincapie (Colombia, Media, Northern Virginia Community College-Annandale, 2018-2019) recently accepted a position with a New York based marketing firm called VAAN. He will be working remotely from Medellín, Colombia as a Delivery Manager. He describes the position as being the communication bridge between the client and the developers, “making sure the design and engineering teams understand the requirements and finding the best way to fulfil the client’s expectations with the team, staying on track of the activities, timelines, and budget.”
During his participation in the CCI Program, Roger took classes in journalism, marketing, and public relations at Northern Virginia Community College and earned two Career Studies Certificates in Social Media Marketing and Public Relations & Promotion. He completed two internships, one with the George Mason University Student Media Office, where he wrote five articles for the college newspaper, Fourth Estate; and the second with MyBook, a start-up company created by a two GMU students.
Roger credits his experience with the CCI Program with providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. “My English level, which I acquired during the program, has opened several new possibilities in my professional life.” Roger said that since completing the CCI Program, he has been optimizing his LinkedIn profile. “This has gained me some visibility for recruiters, and the HR team of the agency found me there. I have got several offers through LinkedIn without applying for jobs, because of this.”
“Life sometimes guides you through paths you were not aware of.”
Roger said that when he traveled to the U.S. for the CCI Program he intended to focus on journalism and was intent on becoming a respected professional in the field. However, after taking some classes in marketing and public relations and then joining MyBook as an intern, he fell in love with the tech industry and joined a Startup company as a Public Relations Officer when he returned to Colombia. After that company dissolved due to the pandemic, Roger invested in himself by taking courses, pursuing certificates, and finding mentors. His investment paid off and he was hired as a Project Manager and SCRUM Master for a marketing agency. He discovered that he enjoyed driving “projects from concept all the way into its existence, promotion, and monetization.” He later joined Tipzty, an e-Commerce start-up, as a project manager, where he has been able to gain valuable experience and hone his skills.
The CCI Program also increased Roger’s enthusiasm to help others succeed by sharing his knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship, startups, marketing, and business planning. He helps local entrepreneurs and small businesses with planning and execution of their business. He also volunteers with Innovation Girls, a program dedicated to empowering girls in the areas of science and technology, which was co-founded by Helena Valencia, an alumna of Study of U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) program and who was recently selected for the Ford Global Fellowship program.
Roger and his girlfriend, Valentina Cardona, who he describes as a marketing genius, are developing their own marketing agency. Since starting in December, they already have three recurring clients and aim to build their brand through social media. They just launched an Instagram account where they are sharing their knowledge about digital marketing and content creation. Roger said their goal is to, “build our brand and position ourselves as experts on the Marketing, Advertisement and Business Development fields.”
What advice would Roger give to others? “If you are offered a job or a position and you’re not sure if you’re the right person for it, or you are feeling this imposter syndrome, thinking you’ll be a failure and all of that… Push all of that away, close your eyes and jump. And if you don’t know how to do something on that job, learn it on the way.”
Roger’s personal and professional journey demonstrates the impact that the CCI Program has, not just on the individual, but also on the communities to which they return. Roger says, “the knowledge, experiences and confidence acquired during the [CCI] program have been key for facing new challenges in my life” and that he wants to share his knowledge and experience to help others avoid some of the pitfalls that he had. “Now that I am finally sure and confident about what I know and what works for small companies and projects and that I’ve have this experience of failing, and I know why things failed in the past, I want to share that with people who are starting in their path in this area.” Roger says that helping others helps him learn more, plus it’s nice to see them be successful without making the same mistakes he made.
Written by Kelly Forbes, Program Support Associate