Meet Grecia Olachea of Markitors in Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grecia Olachea.

Grecia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story begins in sunny Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico where I spent most of my childhood. My parents decided to come to Arizona when I was eleven years old in the hope of providing my sister and me with a brighter future.

From a very young age, I loved interior design and wanted to attend ASU to pursue that as a career. During my senior year in high school, as other students began applying to colleges and scholarships, I realized that this process was going to be a little more complicated for me because of my legal status, which impeded me from receiving financial aid, loans, or federal grants and scholarships.

Flashforward five years later, I was able to graduate from a community college by attending school part-time, since the cost of tuition was triple for out-of-state students. I was able to pay for my Associate’s with the help of a couple of private scholarships, by working for my aunt’s photography business and doing some freelance interior design projects. I even launched an online accessory boutique to help pay for tuition, but I didn’t have the time needed to really make it work.

After graduating with my Associate’s, I was finally ready to attend my dream school. Unfortunately, DACA recipients didn’t qualify for in-state tuition at ASU. It was not until two years later that policy changes occurred, granting in-state tuition, and I was ready to take the opportunity!

I visited an advisor to talk about applying to the Interior Design program and was shocked to find out that this was a four-year program that would not accredit my Associate’s degree. At that moment, I didn’t know what to do. I had dreamed about studying interior design my whole life, so… “now what?” I couldn’t afford to pay for four more years of tuition, and I couldn’t afford to leave my job to meet the program’s strict requirements.

Fortunately, there was another program offered at ASU that gave me the opportunity to take interior design courses with the flexibility of graduating in less than two years. The Design Management major is a non-studio program which consists of design and management courses. Although this wasn’t exactly what I had always imagined pursuing, it turned out to be the perfect solution.

As part of this major, I took several marketing classes and immediately felt a connection and love for this field—it just clicked. I was excited and determined to graduate as soon as I possibly could. At the time, I worked full time for a high school district and attended ASU in the evenings. I was taking eighteen credits per semester since this meant I could graduate faster and classes were a little more affordable this way. A year and a half later, I was walking across the stage with my Bachelor’s Degree! I was thrilled to explore the professional world and start my career.

I applied to many—at least thirty—companies ranging from architecture/interior design firms to digital marketing agencies. One day, as I continued job hunting, I ran across a Social Media Specialist position at U-Haul International. The position at this company sounded amazing and daunting at the same time, but why not? I had nothing to lose. I applied to the position and before I knew it, I had an email in my inbox from U-Haul requesting to see my portfolio, and then a phone interview, a second interview, and a month later, a final interview. I really wanted the job, but I also knew that there were probably dozens of people I was competing against. I put my big girl pants on and I went in. I felt great about the interview, but I also couldn’t help but feel extremely nervous. Right after the interview, I walked to a restaurant nearby to get a treat and relax. As I was getting ready to leave the restaurant, I received a call from my recruiter at U-Haul—was that a good or bad sign? Why so soon? I nervously picked up the phone only to find out that she was calling to offer me the position!

Starting this new chapter in my life was amazing. This position gave me the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, and this led me to where I am today. I realized that the corporate life wasn’t for me, but I was thrilled to explore other possibilities. This was only the beginning of my journey, and I couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for me.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a bumpy, yet amazing journey If it wasn’t for these struggles, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Although I knew that achieving my goals would take several years of hard work, it made me want to work harder to get there, and once I did, I appreciated my accomplishments enormously.

Please tell us about Markitors.
I’m currently a Social Media Manager at Markitors, a digital marketing agency in Old Town Scottsdale. I help companies of all sizes build and grow their social media presence through strategy design, campaign management, paid social ads, social trends research, and content creation. I also create email campaigns to help our clients connect with current and prospective customers.

Being creative in my job is what I enjoy the most since it allows me to incorporate my love of design and lets me experiment with different ideas, which plays a big role in marketing success. I also love going to work every day knowing that I’m helping businesses grow, simultaneously having a great time doing it with a team of some of the most talented and passionate people I know.

Recently, I also launched my own website. I’m still exploring different possibilities as to what type of content I would like to share, but I can’t wait to get started and for it to take off!

Is there anyone, in particular, you would like to recognize? Mentors, etc?
This wouldn’t have been possible without my parents, sister, and friends who cheered me on and helped me stay motivated along the way. My boyfriend, who is my biggest supporter and inspires me to continue growing. My mentor Ben Miranda and my friend Nancy who truly believed in me, inspired me, and immensely helped me along the way. Without these amazing people, I wouldn’t be where I am today!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.greciaolachea.com
• Email: greciaolachea@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greciaolachea/

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