Alexia Fernández, a synopsis writer at Netflix, spoke to Eckerd students early this month. Photos by Ashlyn Fransen ’24
Chatter filled the faculty dining room on Oct. 19 as writing students and career advisors explored “careers in writing” over bowls of noodles.
The Eckerd College Career Center invited Alexia Fernández, a creative writer and storyteller, to present on the trajectory of her career. She has worked as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and People magazine. She currently is a synopsis writer on the creative writing strategy team at Netflix.
In her presentation, Fernández emphasized the importance of being a lifelong learner. In her own life, she does this by taking acting classes in her free time to honor her childhood dreams.
“When you think you know everything, you get stuck in a rut because there’s no room for growth,” she said.
Allison Kern, a first-year student from St. Petersburg, Florida, wants to major in creative writing or film studies. As an aspiring screenwriter, she wanted to learn more about Fernández’s position at Netflix.
Students listen attentively to Fernández’s presentation.
Eckerd students plan to stay in touch with Fernández over the coming years.
“The way she talked about rejection was inspiring to me,” Allison says. “I’m an emotional person, and for me, rejection is the hardest thing about being a writer. Alexia’s story reminded me that it isn’t personal; it’s just a learning experience.”
After the presentation, Allison connected with Fernández one-on-one, and they talked about Fernández’s own goals of being a screenwriter. They exchanged emails and plan to keep in touch in the coming years.
“All of my job opportunities have come from connections I’ve made along the way,” Fernández said. “It’s important to me to pay it forward.”
