Lauren Lozano Vogt(she/her)

Lauren Lozano Vogt is a Latina professional from Seattle who built a career in digital sales and influencer marketing — an industry that barely existed when she graduated college. She works as a senior brand manager at a company called Linkia, where she connects brands with social media influencers to run performance-based marketing campaigns. Her job sits right at the intersection of sales, marketing, and the social media world you already live in every day. Lauren's path was anything but straight. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in global and international studies — with zero idea what she wanted to do. She sold wine, worked in payroll software sales, tried pharmaceutical sales, and finally landed at Twitter, where she discovered digital advertising. Each job taught her something new, even the ones she hated. When an opportunity at Linkia came through her network, she was ready because she had been building real sales skills the whole time. One of the biggest things Lauren talks about is how much of her career came through relationships — friends, former colleagues, and people she stayed curious about. She cold-called her way into rooms, asked people what they did for work, stayed open to recruiters even when she wasn't actively job hunting, and never fully closed a door. That network-first mindset kept opportunities flowing toward her even when the job itself wasn't perfect. Her story is especially relevant for students of color and first-gen students because she is honest about not having a plan, not using her degree directly, and figuring it out as she went. She also breaks down the money — a base of around $120K with commission potential of up to $240K — in a field you can enter from many directions, including by building your own social media presence. You don't need a perfect resume or a prestigious company name to get started. Lauren's core message is: stay curious, stay open, and don't wait until you have everything figured out. The digital marketing and influencer space is still young and growing, which means there is real room for people who are willing to learn, build relationships, and take chances on themselves.