As the Engineering Design and Development (EDD) team optimizes their efforts for the upcoming 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition, Team Captain senior Marilyn Gan has invited user-generated content (UGC) creator Phillip Szeto to help the team improve their outreach efforts through social media and introduce the team to potential creative careers to pursue in the future.
Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area and now living in Los Angeles, Szeto has previously worked with prominent companies such as Nike, Electrolyte, Oakley, and JD Sports to promote their brand images.
Speaking in front of EDD, Szeto outlined the importance of perseverance in creative careers.
“I started my career about 12 years ago, way before Instagram and TikTok. [Success isn’t something] that’s just gonna automatically happen overnight; it takes time,” said Szeto.
Elaborating on his point, Szeto explained the difficulty of working as a freelancer before his work with major companies.
“As a freelancer, your work is very run and gun. It’s all about going out there and trying to make connections. A part of finding work is luck, but a lot of it involves building relationships,” said Szeto.
Szeto’s journey from freelancing to working with companies like Nike was not a straightforward one. His successful creative career is a result of persistent work and beneficial connections with people.
“The most money I’ve ever made ever on a shoot stemmed from doing behind the scenes (BTS) photography for a company that I’ve never worked with again. In 2020, I was shooting BTS photography for a House of Highlights skit by Bleacher Report. I ended up meeting the director of photography and became good friends. After working with him for a while, he contacted me and said he presented my deck, my visual resume, to Jordan Brand,and they loved it. They want me to be the photographer and the rate is $12,000,” said Szeto.
Beyond his work as a photographer, Szeto also works as a stylist and image consultant. His focus on intentional dressing is a way for him to earn his clients’ trust and attract them to his other works.
“The way you dress is the way you express yourself. Being intentional, especially with the way you dress, makes people trust you more and help you in networking because it’s a natural conversation topic,” said Szeto.
Szeto’s presentation is a welcoming addition for the EDD team’s effort at expanding the creative direction of its outreach programs this year.
“In terms of what EDD does for outreach, we tried to expand it this year in terms of how many people can participate in it and having a more creative vision. We’re planning events like STEM nights at Holly Avenue and other elementary schools in Arcadia. We are also collaborating with last year’s team member Jackie Chen who is working for a non-profit in Africa called LearnServe and trying to do STEM activities in Africa. Having someone like Phillip come over who’s clearly really involved in the creative industry and knows the stuff is inspiring.” said Assistant Captain junior Annette Chen.
In addition to these programs, improving EDD’s outreach efforts could also strengthen the team financially for future competitions.
“Currently, we are mostly working on the engineering notebook and managing our social media. Expanding outreach this year means that we could attract more sponsors, grants, and other funding for the future,” said Gan.
