06 Nov Welcome Our Two Newest Members

At AC&M we are very always looking for new talent. In this case, we are very proud to announce our two new additions: Chelsea Martinez and Natalia Schiappacasse, who will be joining the Creative and PR/Accounts departments respectively. With the first week under their belt, we checked in on them to get to know them, see how their experience has been so far at AC&M and what they hope to see as part of the team.

Chelsea Martinez, Graphic Designer

First, tell us a little bit about yourself…
My name is Chelsea Martinez, and I recently received my Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Marketing and Management. However, I happened to fall into graphic design about three years ago, and I have been doing freelance ever since. Fashion and cultural concepts drive me to be creative in mixing textures and produce pieces that inspire others.

Yes, I have a southern accent… My mom was born and raised in North Carolina, and my dad is from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Since I was little, we would take trips to the ranch where I fell in love with the people, the music, and the food!

How did you hear about AC&M/what first interested you about wanting to work at AC&M?
Michael and Fabian (Two AC&M creatives) came to my portfolio show looking for someone in graphic design, and I happened to showcase my freelance graphic skills within my fashion print pieces. I sent a portfolio takeaway and my résumé with the guys and it ended up the hands of our Creative Director, Manolo. After he contacted me, I did research on the company and they were all about the Hispanic culture and cultural marketing. Let me add, that this was exactly the kind of place I wanted to grow into as a creative.

What skills do you want to gain from this experience, and what skills do you bring to the table by joining the team?
Being part of the creative department, the skills I hope to gain involve expanding and learning more design styles. I can already tell that there is lots of talent to follow up behind! What I bring to the table is my ability to mix cultures and textures through my design aesthetics. I have a simplistic and minimal style with a west coast kick and I have a killer eye for details.

It is week one, what are your takeaways?
It feels surreal to be transitioning into the field that I have been waiting to be in. My true passion is designing, and it is great to be surrounded by others who are also creative thinkers.

Natalia Schiappacasse, Agency Relations and Outreach

First, tell us a little bit about yourself…
My name is Natalia Schiappacasse and I am a recent graduate from UNC Charlotte where I studied International Studies and Public Relations. My background is a little tricky: I was born in Boston, MA, my mom if from Chile and my dad is from Brasil. One of my passions would definitely be dancing. I love to dance to Latin music and I definitely try and sing-but I am no Shakira. As for food- I LOVE FOOD, but I also love sweets so brigadeiros are my definite go-to snack when I have a sweet tooth.

How did you hear about AC&M?
I heard about AC&M through a career fair at UNC Charlotte. I was walking around and suddenly I saw a big colorful poster board in Spanish and English, and surrounding the table were soccer balls and jerseys. The Latina in me told me I needed to check out that table and that is what I did. I spoke to the two representatives from AC&M (Giovanna and Steve) and they told me to attend their Soccer Talks event and as they say, the rest is history.

What first interested you about wanting to work at AC&M?
Passion. As soon as I went to Soccer Talks I could immediately see the passion behind what they were doing here at AC&M.Immediately after the event, I went home and Googled AC&M and found some great examples of previous projects, read through the history of the company and checked out their social media. One thing I noticed off the bat was that didn’t seem like a job- meaning, the passion put forward by the team translates into amazing projects that make a difference. That is when I knew that AC&M could be somewhere I could see myself growing and hopefully working.

What skills do you want to gain from this experience, and what skills do you bring to the table by joining the team?
There are so many AMAZING things that AC&M does and so many talented people that work here from creative, to social and Hispanic and soccer marketing. I really want to do soak up as much as I can from across the board, just learn what goes on here at the agency day- to -day for the variety of clients we have.

My degree is in public relations, which means taking care of a brand and its reputation. My goal in my role here at AC&M is to do just that as a voice of the agency in any way I can. As far as what I can offer, I bring a can-do attitude, perseverance, dedication to each project I take on and passion behind what AC&M stands for.

It’s week one, how do you feel so far?
I feel great. I am so excited to learn as much as I can. I have seen so many amazing things in the works within my first week here. The team works really hard and I can’t wait to work with them to expand and create opportunities for the company.