First-generation creator aims for influence in film, feminism and family

Karla Vasquez is cranking out content.

A prolific TikTok creator, she also heads up closely followed accounts for UCLA Center For Community College Partnerships, Her Campus UCLA and the Burbank International Film Festival.

"I started posting on TikTok just for fun," Vasquez said, "and I enjoyed it. I felt like it was such a good outlet for me to express myself."

Expression of an artistic spirit has been a part of Vasquez's academic journey, bringing a sense of fulfilment and, at times, indecision. She considered interior design, photography and marketing before setting her course toward a degree in communications studies.

After graduating from Anderson Clark Magnet High School in her hometown of Glendale, California, she earned a communications (associate) degree at Pasadena City College. It was a deliberate course that set her up for success.

"I started college in the pandemic era, and I wanted to stay close to home," Vasquez said. "I didn't want to jump into a big institution right away."

The jump came a couple of years later and wasn't without challenges.

"It was intimidating at first," she said. "In my second semester, I connected with the UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships. I worked with a peer advisor who had also transferred from PCC. That made everything much more attainable."

Vasquez has attained what no other woman in her family has: a four-year degree. The daughter of immigrants, the accomplishment is meaningful on multiple levels.

"It's a really proud feeling," Vasquez said. "Most of the people in my family are men, and women don't really get acknowledged as much. I get to show the other women in my family, the future women, that this is what we're capable of."

A film studies minor, Vasquez will combine her artistic eye, work ethic and creative flair on social media production. She's especially interested in film-related content, like the campaign she's producing for the Burbank International Film Festival, which is set for August.

"To other first-generation college-bound students, I want to say that everything will align," Vasquez said. "I did it. Many before me have done it. We're capable of reaching this point."