Fresh from walking the stage to receive her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Digital Data-Driven Marketing and U/X Management, alumna Krista “Aia” Pescalia took not only a unique path on campus, but a quick one; she finished her undergraduate and graduate degrees quickly thanks to the Fast Track program. Despite a challenging curriculum, Aia was highly active on campus, serving as Vice President of Marketing for the Student Union & Activities Advisory Board (SUAAB) and Program Director for UTDTV. In this interview, Aia reflects on her time as a self-described “proud Comet” and looks forward to a bright future putting a fully customized master’s degree to use as a marketing professional.
First things first, where are you and your family from?
I grew up in Paris, Texas. It’s a little whatever small town in Texas with a mini Eiffel tower — super underwhelming — with a cowboy hat on it. There’s really nothing else notable about it, other than the fact that I grew up there. I spent pretty much all my life until college in that small town. So going into college it was super important to me that I really branch out and explore who I was beyond what I did in high school.
Why did you choose UT Dallas?
The reason I choose UTD is kind of a convoluted story. I honestly didn’t have a lot of direction in my life. I think the only idea that I’ve had throughout my whole life is that I’ve wanted to be happy. So any college I felt that I would be happy at were the only colleges that I considered. I only applied to UTD. I also just wanted to stay closer to my family who also lived in Texas. My grandma also lives here. I love my family so I always feel that I can be happy here.
Why did you choose Interdisciplinary Studies?
It’s kind of a funny story. I started my college career in computer engineering. Obviously that’s a completely different route than I currently am in now. In saying that, I decided to go into interdisciplinary studies because I wanted a good balance between business and the front end development side which looks like coding and all of that.
I decided to go into Interdisciplinary Studies because I wanted a good balance between business and front end development.
aia pescalia
What’s your favorite thing about Interdisciplinary Studies?
I think the IS program has been so accommodating in my journey and I’ve been just super happy with it. I’ve met so many amazing professors that I wouldn’t have been able to if I were only in one specific major.
Do you have a favorite course or instructor?
I actually have so many that I could list off maybe like my whole career, but I’m just going to name a few that come to my mind. xtine burrough and Kenneth Starzer – they’re both Arts, Humanities, and Technology (AHT) professors, and they both really helped me feel very proud of my work that I’ve been able to do in an artistic sense but also utilizing that in web design.
Do things that make you happy. Sometimes it’s okay to jump on the bed. I just think it’s okay to keep that little whimsy about you.
aia pescalia
What are your plans after graduation?
To go into the entertainment industry, to be in marketing management, whether that’s in a marketing position or a U/X role or a web development role. I just knew that I wanted to be in business and I wanted to be in the entertainment industry.
What advice would you give other students?
Being an adult feels so complex, and it feels like you never have your stuff together, and you don’t know what’s going on ever, and there’s so many reasonings behind why things turn out the way it went, and it all feels so confusing. I think it took me so long to realize that while this point of life and what you take away from it in the end is very important, it’s also so important to stay true to the kid that you were in the very beginning, prior to how complicated life has been — going through it, maturing through it, and learning everything you needed to learn. I think all the principles that you learned growing up still apply, and it can just be as simple as don’t bite people. Don’t be mean to people. Just smile, and it’s okay to cry sometimes, and just do things that make you happy. Sometimes it’s ok to jump on the bed. I just think it’s okay to keep that little whimsy about you. I think it’s what got me through being so confused about life: being grounded in who you’ve always been.