Meet Raylynne Perez - Promotions Assistant/ Screening Host & Social Media Editor for the Houston Film Fanatics for Clear Channel Radio

Photo Credit: Raylynne Perez (Raylynne with Evan's Blue)

Raylynne and I go way, way, way back, all the way back to our high school days at Clear Lake High School. Another Y2Ker...LOL! Raylynne was and still is one of my closest friends today. We had our click, which consisted of Raylynne, Claire (Baby Spice was her nickname back then), Amanda and myself. We always had good times when we were all together. We all did the senior musical together (Carousel) and our prom consisted of us and our dates. I won't bore you with the pictures. Fun, fun times is all I can! Raylynne has one of the coolest jobs. She is the Promotions Assistant/ Screening Host & Social Media Editor for the Houston Film Fanatics for Clear Channel Radio. Prior to her promotion, she worked promotions for 94.5 The Buzz. If you are or have been a Houstinion, you know that that is our alternative and rock station, and MY favorite radio station. No wonder Raylynne and I got along so well. Read about Raylynne below!




Photo Credit: Raylynne Perez (Raylynne with
Wes of Puddle of Mudd)

1. Name: Raylynne Perez

2. City and State: Spring, TX

3. What is your educational background? (Include colleges/universities and degrees attained)
Bachelor Degree in Applied Design Visual Arts from UHCL 
Associate Degree in Commerical Art from San Jac
4. What types of courses does your degree require? (If no degree, put "N/A" or list certificates) Web design, Advertising Design, lots of photoshop a nddigital imaging courses and plenty of English writing courses.

5. What were the most challenging classes you took and how did you overcome those challenges? (If no degree, put "N/A" or list certificate classes taken) The most challenging classes were things like the computer animated design, because you were always doing group projects, so it was a lot of learning how to use everyone's strengths to their fullest extent and get the most from your projects by the deadlines.

6. Did you complete any internships/co-ops during school? If so, where did you intern or co-op? (If you didn’t complete any, put “NA”)
N/A

7. What company do you currently work for?
Clear Channel Radio

8. What is your job title?
Promotions Assistant/ Screening Host & Social Media Editor for the Houston Film Fanatics (HFF)

9. What are your day to day tasks?
Setting up contests, talking with listeners, working movie screenings, managing the Facebook page for HFF, as well as, handling the prize giveaways on the regular clear channel websites (Sunny, Buzz, arrow, etc) for HFF, plus about a hundred other things that could come up at the drop of a hat.

10. Do you work independently or in a team environment? Which do you prefer?
I work mostly independently, which I prefer, since I am kind of picky as to how I like things done.

Photo Credit: Raylynne Perez (Raylynne with a

co-worker and Adam Gontier of

3 Days Grace)

11. What type of skill sets are needed for this job?
You have to be organized and punctual. When you have clients paying thousands of dollars for your time, you need to be there when they ask you to and have everything ready to go. You need to be good an multi-tasking, thinking on your feet and public speaking. At any given screening, I am speaking to crowds of 200-500 people so you need to be comfortable with that and confident, because it shows.

12. Did you have a mentor? If so, what was the most important lesson he/she taught you?
My former boss was sort of a mentor for me. He showed me the best way to get my job done and since I learned that, I haven't looked back. I have adjusted and changed a few things over the years to improve my performance and make the most of my work.

13. What do you believe to be your greatest strength?
I am hard working and confident.

14. What do you believe to be your greatest weakness?
I can be very picky when I work about how things should be done, which I have a hard time turning off when it comes to having to let others handle certain things for me.

15. What are some of your accomplishments? What accomplishment are you the most proud of? HFF right now is my biggest accomplishment. I have always been passionate about movies, and now I have finally gotten the opportunity to create something that is all about promoting movies. It has given me the chance to interview actors, meet tons of great people and attend events I used to dream about. It is still growing, but everyday is better than the last. I created and built that following, so I am very proud of it. Three of us started HFF and now there are just two of us left, and even with losing that one person we are still growing and expanding more and more everyday.

16. What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?
Work, go to the movies, travel as much as I can, read, hang out with my family and play video games. (Yes I am a total game nerd).

17. What did you want to be when you were a child?
A casting director or a movie promoter.

18. If you could switch professions with someone else for a day, what would it be and why?
I would like to switch places with a director for a day. I have done extra work and seeing films from the other side is so amazing to me. It would be fun to be the person who gets to create these amazing shows.

19. What advice would you give girls wanting to go into your field?
Don't be afraid to start at the bottom. Things like working in the media are almost more about being in the right place at the right time than having a big degree. If that is what you want, do whatever you have to to get your foot in the door. Not saying that you shouldn't go to college, because you should; however, try to find a way to juggle both. Don't be afraid to speak up for what you want.

Photo Credit: Raylynne Perez (Raylynne with

Dinesh D'Souza - Writer and Director of

2016: Obama's America

My First Author Visit

Date: February 27, 2013
School: Benbrook Elementary in Houston, TX

 

 

There are many words that can describe experiencing my first author visit, but the one word that comes to mind is...REWARDING!  Knowing that all my hard work from writing my children's book, to finding an illustrator who got my vision, to creating my own publishing company and lastly, seeing the final product presented to your targeted audience is exhilarating.  Seeing all the smiling faces of the kids and their excitement during the presentation is very inspiring. What I enjoyed the most was after the presentation concluded, many of the kids came up to me, hugged me and told me that they loved the book. Even though the book is geared for girls, the boys were even telling me they loved the book.

I am a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason, with the divine intervention of God of course! Today, that was reaffirmed by my first author visit. For the first time in my life, I feel like this is the career I was meant to have. Although I've enjoyed my past job experiences, nothing can compare to what I felt today. Some of the puzzle pieces of my life are beginning to fit into place.

Puzzle Piece #1 – In 2003, I wrote a short essay titled, "Sharon - Future Psychologist," for a scholarship. Interestingly enough, my short essay was published in; get this...Authors of Tomorrow!

Puzzle Piece #2 –I had my daughter in 2005, then the next one and so on and so forth, all the way to number 4! I was meant to create strong and independent future leaders!

Puzzle Piece #3 – Upon completion of my Master’s degree (and a year’s worth of job searches), I landed a job as a Program Coordinator in the Education Office at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). My job consisted of recruiting minority high school and college students going into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields for paid technical internships. I also had the opportunity to manage the Pre-Service Teacher Institute program, which allowed pre-service teachers throughout the nation an opportunity to come to JSC for a week long workshop, where they learned to incorporate NASA approved Math and Science curriculum into their future classrooms, along with the use of different technologies. I also had the pleasure of planning and supporting NASA’s presence at the Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Conference (HESTEC), down in Edinburg, TX, on the University of Texas – Pan American campus for two years in a row.

Puzzle Piece #4 – While working at NASA JSC, I also taught General Psychology, as an adjunct professor at San Jacinto College.

There are many more puzzle piece that fit into the larger picture, but at this time, these are the pieces that stand out the most. I believe each of these components is God’s way of saying, “Hey Sharon, you keep doing your thing, but I have a better plan in mind for you.” My short essay, in a way, foreshadowed what I would do in the future. At the time, it was a means to help pay for college but little did I realize that this publication would mean more to me in the future.

My job at JSC allowed me to connect with many of the women who will be showcased on this blog. I also connected with four cohorts of pre-service teachers, many of them now in their own classrooms. Possible author visits? Yes, I do believe so!

As an adjunct, I had to prepare my lecture materials, tests/assessments, grade assignments, report metrics and present lecture materials to the students. This allowed me to firm up my organization skills and perfect my public speaking skills, which is still a learning process. I believe this was a way for me to get over my stage fright and become comfortable speaking in front of crowds, both big and small.  Don’t get me wrong, I still get nervous at the beginning, but it's taking me less and less time to get comfortable and start being my true self.

It's all about bring it all back full circle and if all these are signs that I was meant to do what I did today, then I’m glad I’m on the path that was destined for me. I have always loved children, but knew I wasn’t cut out to be an elementary school teacher; therefore, being an author and visiting schools is the best of both worlds. I get to interact with the children in a fun and enjoyable environment, and best of all, I don’t have to test them over the material. Frankly, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. =)

My life's mantra comes from Mahatma Gandhi. "Be the change you wish to see in the world."