It was like any other Tuesday night, I was at work folding clothes, talking with my coworkers on the slow weeknight. I got a text notification from my Her Campus group chat to see if anyone was interested in attending a zoom meeting with Sofia Carson. I, of course being a huge Disney stan, couldn’t help myself and begged my president to give me the link to attend.
The 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale native was first introduced to us on the big screen for Descendants. She has been in other movies such as Feel the Beat, A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits, and Songbirds. Even though her work is widely known and praised, the majority of us were first introduced to her work in Descendants. Descendants came out in 2015 and was instantly a hit. It’s based on a book by the same name detailing the lives of the children of Disney’s most iconic villains, like Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella De Ville. It details them going to the same high school as the children of the prince and princesses of their respective counterparts. As you can see, this movie became an instant success, quickly following two movies continuing the story. These movies had so much to do with our upbringing. As the final Disney TV movie I cared about before thinking they were for little kids, it holds a special place in my Disney kid heart. Sofia Carson played Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen from Sleeping Beauty. This is not surprising because she’s the literal embodiment of beauty in real life.
On the following Wednesday morning, I had breakfast, got dressed in actually presentable clothing(instead of the hoodies and sweatpants that consume my wardrobe), and did my makeup for real(!!). I hopped on the Zoom call 5 minutes before the designated time (because of manners, duh). Then there I was, on a Zoom call in the presence of Sofia Carson. She was rocking a purple leather number with her long black hair just flowing, and her makeup was astonishing. A low-key nude lip and eyeshadow look with light contour, perfect for a quick Zoom call.
The Zoom call began with different media outlets asking questions about her title of Global Ambassador of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. This foundation’s goal is for advocating, promoting, and increasing awareness of the Foundation’s mission and educational programs. She is the first female to be presented with this honor. Her title entails changing people’s lives by cosigning scholarships for the Berkeley college of music. She continued by stating that she wishes to close the gender gap and with the scholarship, she co-signed to introduce more people. This is so inspiring to see someone, especially a fellow Latina, feel so driven to help others accomplish their goals.
Another question was how is she able to balance it all? Being an artist, actress, producer, and activist, and balancing her personal life. She answered by stating she kind of “had” to find the balance. “My work and my career just require me to wear the hat of both a businesswoman who is making career decisions daily while also being creative”. I believe that especially as someone who has their public personality so outspoken should make sure to ground themselves in their true self.
Overall, this experience has been so eye-opening and intriguing. It taught me a lot about the media community and how press conferences can be conducted in our Zoom era.