Desiree Loyola graduated from North Arlington High School in 2017.  She grew up in North Arlington and continues to live here.  I started by asking if she had any specific memories from high school that she still looks back on.  She responded with, “I miss participating in high school sports! Cherish pep-rallies while you can. I tried cheerleading at Fordham for a year, but my degree and internships held much more value, so I decided to give cheer up.”  She continued by elaborating that since North Arlington is such a small town, she made lifelong friends and met extremely valuable people along the way.

A piece of advice Desiree gave me was, “You don’t have to grow out of your high school friends if their values align with yours throughout college.”  Fresh from high school, she set her goals to be attending college and moving to New York City– which is exactly what she did.  She attends Fordham University and is a marketing major with a concentration in strategic branding, as well as a minor in economics.  Desiree expressed, “I’ve had two wonderful internships throughout college. I’ve worked both on the agency and brand side, which has been so rewarding! I worked at a marketing agency called DeVito/Verdi, where I worked with clients such as Northwell Health, Cedar Sinai, and Legal Sea Food. I now work for my dream company, Madison Square Garden. I work in the Marketing Strategy department. Sports marketing has always been a dream of mine, and now I work for the Knicks and Rangers.”  I couldn’t imagine working for famous sports teams!

Later, when asked if she would like to live in North Arlington or eventually move, Desiree said, “I would like to move as soon as I’ve paid off the cost of college. New York is expensive but it is where opportunity is!”, which is oftentimes true.  Many of us might want to go back in time and revisit our years in high school.  Others, like Desiree, feel like they wouldn’t.  She enjoyed her time at NAHS and didn’t want to graduate.  She noted, “I would not trade the experiences and growth I endured during college for the world. I don’t feel ready to leave college either, but I’m reminded of the opportunities that presented themselves once I left high school, and I’m excited for more.”

Although COVID-19 has affected many students going to school, Desiree has most of her classes in person at Fordham.  The school has been very stringent regarding New York’s protocols.  She feels extremely lucky to be able to go to a school that values everyone’s health.  The oddest thing to her about working from home is that she never had the opportunity to meet her coworkers.

Among Desiree’s wishes for 2021 is a hope that she will be able to travel again soon.  She spent her Spring 2020 semester in London and adored every second.  She was sent home early because of COVID-19 but would love the opportunity to travel Europe once more in 2021.