Ms. Dayami Alvarez began drawing and painting at the age of five. Although she initially studied graphic design, she quickly became bored of “drawing resumes and designing business cards”, leading her to enroll in the Miami Ad School. The first class she attended was taught by Lee Clow, an unfamiliar name at the time. When she asked her friend who he was, she discovered that he was the mind behind the Macintosh advertising. Immediately humbled, she truly learned what advertising was then. After taking a class on the Hispanic section of this industry, she fell in love. 

     At the age of 23, she began working at a Hispanic advertising agency in Chicago named Lapiz, a division of Leo Burnett, and was shocked when she entered the male-dominated field. Nonetheless, she was still filled with a great feeling knowing she was being paid to make art. While working at this agency, she had clients such as Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, Toys R Us, McDonald’s, Volkswagen and many more. She recalls the funniest experience she had while shooting a Coca Cola commercial: “In these commercials, everyone is always drinking a coke and at the end they share a coke, and in order to make the coke fizz throughout the whole shoot, they add alka seltzer. The models have to pretend like they’re actually drinking it, so that was interesting.” Another memorable experience she shared was working for Disney World and Disneyland. “You see the behind the scenes, who the characters are, how they’re cast, how they have this perfect world working but behind the scenes it takes an army to get these things done and to create magical memories for the public,” she recalls. 

     However, Alvarez reveals that the most difficult aspect of the industry is the competition. “You have to understand that there are a billion artists and art directors, and they buddy up or rub elbows. So unfortunately, the industry is cutthroat and you have to be really good at your craft, really good at coming up with new ideas and working in a team in order to survive and make it.

     When the tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred, she says the world went still but she held on for 6 months in Chicago until she got laid off. Once she came back to Miami, she was not happy at the agency she was working at, which is when she encountered her old friend and past principal at Mater Academy who offered her a job. Responding in confusion and rejection, her friend encouraged her to try it out, and she fell in love. “I loved the fact that I had these high schoolers who wanted to learn and wanted to get into the business I had been in,” she explains. Now, her past students work for companies such as Royal Caribbean and Burger King, and one has even started his own agency. 

     Once moving to Doral Academy, she handled being the Activities Director and teaching Ceramics as well as AP Art & Design. Alvarez shares that she feels an immense amount of accomplishment in her AP classes when she brainstorms and “picks at their brains” until she sees a lightbulb go off, showing that they have a direction to go in for their portfolios. 

     For individuals who want to go into the advertising industry, she shares the following advice: “If you want to go into the business side, by all means, there’s money and it’s a fast paced life. Those who want to get into the creative side of it, you have to really love your craft. You have to be truly passionate and at the same time, you have to live with pretty much looking over your shoulder, to see what’s gonna be better out there and who is going to be better out there.” She preaches that there is nothing better than waking up each morning and wanting to go to your job. Describing the industry as a playground, she says each day is completely different from the next due to the diverse clients. 

“It is fabulous and amazing. You learn so many things, it is a roller coaster ride. You don’t know what to expect but always expect the best, and before you know it, you’re having the time of your life.”