Hi, I’m Adrian, and I help make things happen!

I’ve never been one to let a cool idea remain an idea simply because I didn’t know how to make it happen, both in my professional life, and my personal life. When I’m working on a project, I can’t help but to think about it from every angle and do everything in my power to make it the best it can be.

Below is a perhaps somewhat disparate collection of projects I’ve supported. They range wildly in terms of team size, industry and purpose, but what unites them all is my penchant for tossing myself directly into the fire and coming out the other side stronger for it.

Make-Out Monsters

Creative Director (‘24-’25)

Make-Out Monsters began as an assignment for the Game Design 1 course at the NYU Game Center. Following a well-received prototype, the game took on a new life as the development team decided to continue production with the ultimate goal of a limited printing to bring to conventions.

Transitioning from a student project to full-scale development, without the structure of a course supporting it, was difficult, to say the least. It required constant negotiation among the team about what our goals and expectations were, and how much we were willing to do to accomplish them, especially given that we were a team of students with limited income streams. I supported this transition via the creation of a Working Agreement, and the assignment of formal positions for each our our team members. The document wasn’t intended to be solve every problem we might encounter, nor was it meant to be legally binding. Rather, the intention was to begin a dialogue, and instill in everyone the idea that we were taking this work seriously—we were accountable to one another for the success of the project. In that regard, it was a resounding success.

The project and team went through numerous iterations over its lifetime (7 total iterations across 3 separate development cycles, each with their own unique permutation of the overall team of 7). At each stage I maintained our development artifacts and documented our iterations. Though originally far more involved with the design and development of the game, as we progressed in our work, it became apparent that managing our task backlog and conducting business development tasks (such as writing copy for our Sell Sheet and reaching out to publishers) was too much to juggle alongside development contributions, leading to my taking on the role of Creative Director. In this role, I supported the team in defining concrete goals and assigning the work necessary to achieve those goals.

This isn’t to say that I was the only one pushing us forwards. One of my favorite parts of leading a team is figuring out how to harness the innate passions and interests of your team for the project. One such opportunity presented itself when one of our designers, Caelan, discovered an opportunity to showcase our game at PlayNYC, the gaming show floor of the larger AnimeNYC convention.

While I was initially hesitant about our ability to showcase, the team was incredibly excited, so I felt it prudent to disagree and commit. I acted as logistic support, only chiming in to remind the team of our existing commitments and budget/timeline constraints. The result was actually quite a surprise. Despite our fair share of hurdles and last minute miracles, we pulled off an incredibly successful showing, growing our social media presence, and even recouping most of the costs of showcasing through sticker sales. I think of the experience as a worthwhile reminder that being able to listen to your team and their ideas will bring far greater results than assuming you know best in all things.

The OpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge invites university students to design and create new approaches for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The initiative was started by Matt Parker, one of my professors at the NYU Game Center. The challenge is still in its infancy, putting on its 4th in May 2026, but given my lack of specific technical knowledge that would be required to combat climate change, this felt like an amazing opportunity to contribute in some small way. 

Outreach Coordinator (‘25-Present)

I conduct many day-to-day operational tasks, including communicating with the student teams, our volunteer judges, and our mentors. I also maintain our website on Wordpress, a tool which I had never used prior to this. Given the nature of the work, and the fact that the organization is a non-profit, I’m frequently in the position of needing to figure out a way to make things happens that I’ve never done before. The experience has been a rollercoaster to say the least, but the results have been endless rewarding.

Grupo Folklórico de USC

Secretary (‘19-’20), Vice President (‘20-’21), President (‘21-’22)

Grupo Folklórico de USC is a student organization at the University of Southern California dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Mexican culture through dance. Each semester, we would put on a showcase open to the public in the USC Village. 

The group was reinstated by Evelyn Lopez in the Spring of 2019. As a dancer with 15 years of experience, my support helped the group thrive during its infancy, including a period of online operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I designed many of our operational procedures, including our process for auditions and our elected board positions.

The biggest learning I take from my time with GFUSC is actually knowing how to rely on your teams. I had this misguided conception that because I was in charge it meant I needed to be doing everything on my own, and that simply wasn’t the case. In fact, in the Spring of 2022, my insistence on doing everything on my own nearly resulted in our showcase being cancelled—or so I thought. After being convinced to bring the issue to the board, not only were they able to secure alternative sources for seating and venue, but also our Event Chair, Evelyn Marquez, was able to reach out to a contact at the Events Office and push through the paperwork I had submitted earlier, resulting in everything proceeding as planned! I was too stuck in my head to see the bigger picture, but I’ve gone to great lengths to ensure that never happens again.