Valenti student Victoria Castillo wins AAF’s Most Promising Minority Student

Those who are selected for MAIP can receive paid internships and have the opportunity to collaborate with top-rated advertising agencies in New York, Chicago and Boston

The MPMS is an immersive program in New York where students receive an all-expense-paid five-day trip. We are exposed to many big agencies in New York (McCANN, WarnerMedia, sparks & honey, 72andsunny, IPG, FCB, UM and Wieden+Kennedy) and are able to get your faces seen. "We receive our awards at an award luncheon where we present our tagline and our hashtags to top professionals in the industry. We are also able to participate in a recruiting expo where we can meet and network with potential employers," said Castillo.

Castillo became aware of both opportunities through Professor Larry Kelley and he encouraged her to send an application. Victoria is passionate about art and expressing her creativity. Therefore, her portfolio was inspired by art direction and it was titled “Let Me Create: Where creativity continually flows”. The MPMS program requires us to submit both a tagline and a hashtag. When presented I said “I am where creativity continually flows. #LETME CREATE.

Castillo will be attending an award ceremony and luncheon in New York from February 9-14 to accept her MPMS award.  Victoria found out about AAF Houston through Valenti and has now been a member for the past year. 

"Being a part of AAF Houston opened her to many opportunities to network and secure an entry-level position job. In addition, AAF Houston offers creative workshops and agency tours for members," Castillo said. 

The Valenti school has helped Victoria navigate her passion and build a skillset to achieve her career goals. "I really like the sense of community in the Valenti school," Castillo said. “Valenti is where my passion for advertising was able to blossom and if there’s one piece of advice I would like to give is always ask questions and everyone is rooting for you to succeed”.