Alex Nogales
National Hispanic Media Coalition
Los Angeles, CA USA
"It’s not always about talent. There are a lot of really talented people in the world. It’s about being in the right place at the right time."
Career Roadmap
Alex's work combines: Television, Entrepreneurship, and Upholding a Cause and Belief
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Experience working in a media company is paramount. Read a lot, especially anything having to do with media, politics, history, and english.
Here's the path I took:
Bachelor's Degree
Film/Cinema/Media Studies
University of California-Los Angeles
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
He grew up in Calexico, CA, on the border with Mexico—his parents were Mexican immigrants and migrant farm laborers.
2.
Experienced a lot of racism growing up and remembers signs in stores saying “No Dogs or Mexicans Allowed”; this has driven him to work to ensure that Latinos are able to walk in any door.
3.
Decided to drop out of school after seventh grade because he didn’t like how segregated his school was and how the Hispanic and Latino populations were treated.
4.
Was 28 years old when he realized that he needed to go back to school to get ahead—enrolled in community college and then transferred to UCLA where he graduated magna cum laude.
5.
Says he always had a passion for media and entertainment, so he began writing for children’s television shows—ended up losing his job and was unemployed for over a year.
6.
Got a job as a producer for CBS Television where he worked for over 13 years and received multiple Emmy awards.
7.
Eventually, he got tired of the lack of diversity and representation in media, so he co-founded the National Hispanic Media Coalition in 1986.
8.
He’s now a passionate advocate for Latino representation in all forms of media, a leader in the fight against hate speech, and was instrumental in forming the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
You don't have the talent to work in media.
How I responded:
Starting out I didn't have the mentors I needed in order to guide me and help me. I had to figure out on my own that talent is only part of the equation. A lot of it is having that support from others and being in the right place at the right time.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My parents were immigrants from Mexico and we lived as migrant farmworkers on the California/Mexico border.
I was the first person in my family to go to college. I had dropped out of school when I was in 7th grade, but ended up returning when I was 28 to get a college degree so that I could get ahead.
Being the child of immigrant farm workers, I dealt with a lot of racism growing up.