My first job was for an international advertising agency in Venezuela called Republica Target DDB. I started as an intern, and three months later they hired me as a copywriter for $300 a month. I was 21 and still in school working toward a communications degree, so it was perfect for me.

The first project I worked on was for a supermarket chain. It was their summer advertising campaign, and I was responsible for writing the copy for the magazine, television, radio and newspaper ads. Once I was done I had to promote it to the creative director of the company, which was very stressful but a good experience. They liked what I had done, and it just confirmed for me that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

One of my most memorable moments was while shooting a TV commercial. We were running late and it was 2 a.m. when it suddenly started to rain. The crew ran around to take down the lights and the set. It was crazy. We sat there for two hours eating and trying to stay awake, waiting for the rain to stop. Finally it did, and we finished the shoot at 4 a.m. The commercial had to be done [by] the next day, so even though we were all exhausted, we came together as a team.

That job taught me how to live in a world of different personalities. We had crazy people who yelled at everyone and quiet people who you’d never know were creative because they didn’t say anything. Because of that, I give value to every person I work with and try to cultivate their talents from the inside.

—Lauren S. Bernaldo