Today we’d like to introduce you to Leticia Gomes Carvalho.
Hi Leticia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a 21-year-old Brazilian multimedia creative and aspiring ad strategist based in LA. I am currently a rising senior pursuing a double major in Media Arts + Practice and Public Relations and Advertising. However, my story begins in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where I was born and raised. Since early childhood, I’ve had the privilege to meet and connect with people from all around the world. One of the most interesting facts about my upbringing is that I am a polyglot. My parents enrolled me in English classes when I was five, and from fourth grade on, I studied at an Italian International School in my hometown. There, I learned how to speak, aside from Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and Latin (which I already forgot because no one speaks Latin).
Being a student at an international school contributed to shaping who I am today. The contact I had with different cultures inspired me to study abroad. I wanted to go beyond my hometown’s social circle. And I knew I wanted to pursue something related to communications. My school also helped me develop an interest in the arts, especially literature. I’ve always enjoyed writing; however, when I was a teen, I started developing an interest in video editing and graphic design, and that’s what led me to enroll in Media Arts + Practice, a multimedia design and storytelling major in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. This area of study allowed me to combine all my passions for communications, art, literature, and media creation. I’ve learned video editing, graphic design, 3D modeling, and creative coding. Across these platforms, I’ve created projects that are a mix of research and art.
Although art and media production are an essential part of who I am, I didn’t want it to be my entire career. I am also really passionate about social media, which has brought me closer to PR and Advertising. That’s why I decided to pursue a double major, so I can combine my creativity with my passion for communications.
Being in Los Angeles has been a huge influence not only professionally but also personally. Before college, I had previously visited the city, but I had no idea about what I was signing up for. I love LA. This city is just so diverse that I’ve always felt a part of it. This city embraces you as no other. Because I’m from a different country, I was scared of people being rude to me, but so far I’ve encountered so many amazing people who have made me feel welcome here. I don’t think I would’ve succeeded as much if I were anywhere else.
I found opportunities here that I never imagined. I worked at amazing places. My most notable experience has been working at the USC Shoah Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing audiovisual testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocide to educate and inspire action against hatred. I learned so much about history, heard so many stories from survivors, and had contact with inspiring coworkers who have guided me through tough times. I want to be able to one day make a positive impact on the world, and I feel this has been the first step.
Other than professional experiences, I’ve truly grown in LA. I’ve been through so many lives here. The period between 18 and 21 years old feels like a lifetime. Since being here, I’ve learned how to live alone, started paying my rent and bills, got my driver’s license, got my first car, got my first job, and much more. I also developed new hobbies and abandoned old ones. I used to love to read and dance, but now I do neither. Instead, I started long-distance running last year, and this year ran two half-marathons. I’m excited about what’s ahead. I’m still really young, but I feel I am where I’m supposed to be. I’m really far from home, but I was able to build myself a home here and am still connected to the person I left in Brazil.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In some ways, it has been a smooth road. I have had the most amazing and supportive parents and sister cheering me on along the way. However, I’ve also had many internal struggles that have impacted my journey.
Since I was 13, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. I was officially diagnosed at 16, and since then, I’ve been committed to therapy and self-care. But healing is rarely linear. There were periods when I had to pause therapy or stop my medication, and during those times, I felt the weight of it all return. So I would say my battle with depression has been in waves. Because I have been struggling since an early age, it has shaped how I see the world, how I see myself, and how I show up in my work. It’s made me insecure, unmotivated, and at times, emotionally paralyzed. But it has also made me more compassionate, more introspective, and given me the purpose to say what I want to say to the world, and to create work that speaks to the complexities of identity, mental health, and self-discovery. Introspection has made me a more careful and empathetic person. Of course, it also comes with a lot of anxiety, but I’ve been trying to stay positive. Running has actually been an amazing tool for managing my mental health. I haven’t had an episode of depression in over a year. The anxiety is still there, but it has become easier to deal with.
I think a lot is happening in the world right now, and to grow up in that environment becomes overwhelming. I am an immigrant in the U.S., and am under a student visa. However, things have been very unstable for visa holders, so the future is very unclear right now. People don’t talk about it enough, but it’s really hard to be an international student. Companies do not hire you because they don’t want to sponsor a work visa. It’s been stressful applying to over 100 jobs and being rejected and ghosted from all of them. It’s really hard to stand out.
It’s a weird time to be a student here right now. Feels like my dreams are being neglected.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I tell people I am a multimedia creative, which is an insanely broad term. But that just means I make meaning out of anything, I like to tell stories through different mediums. So I wouldn’t say I’m a specialist in anything. I just enjoy reflecting on my own life and the world through art. I like to think of my art production as a public projection of my inner thoughts. I also use it as a tool to share with my college peers what Brazil is and what it’s like to be Brazilian. We are more than soccer and samba. We are a huge, complex country with a lot of culture and history. Being abroad has brought me closer to my roots.
I’ve always been a writer. I am passionate about literature and poetry. Because of that, I’ve always used writing to express myself. I have been keeping a journal for nearly 10 years, in which I documented every major emotional event in my life: the death of family members, emotional crises, breakups, and rejections. I am currently working on how to make that public in my final thesis project that I will be developing in the Fall for my graduation (in 2026). My only public writing work is available on my Substack, which I rarely update. Most of my writing is still in drafts.
Most of my creative work has been developed in college. I’ve done collages about politics (the environment and the antivax movement), video poems about my anxiety, websites about my perceptions as a mixed-race individual, etc. None of those are published. I think that’s where my anxiety comes into play, because I am a perfectionist. I don’t want people to see the work; I believe it’s unfinished.
However, I know my objective is to make people reflect on themselves, on how to be better. Self-discovery has been such a key factor in my life, and I wish people did the same. Recently, I’ve also been imagining ways of inspiring people on how to pursue self-care. In such a fast-paced, neoliberal, and uncertain world, it’s important to focus on ourselves. One of my favorite quotes is: self-care is warfare.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Honestly, I’m not sure where the creative industry is going. AI has been an enemy to all artists, and I don’t think it’s going away. I would say the same for advertising, which has been equally impacted by it. In 5-10 years, things will be heavily automated. What I think is that we are all just going to have to adapt. I think there is no point in fully rejecting AI, we need to learn how to master it, and don’t let it take over us.
At the end of the day, we still crave human interaction. I think we will adapt. Art is never going to disappear; it’s inherent to who we are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lgomesc.myportfolio.com/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leticia.gc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leticiagc/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/m-MgIpsxN8E
- Other: https://substack.com/@legc?utm_source=user-menu
