Digital Marketing Specialist Deja White Details Her Journey

Q1: I read from one of your prior interviews that you wake up at 4:30 AM. How on earth are you that disciplined? When did you first start waking up so early?

Haha correction: I used to be that disciplined. Now it’s more like I go to bed at 4 A.M. I’m the kind of person that really gets into the work that I’m doing, so naturally I’ve had more than a few late nights. But to answer your original question, I used to go to a 5 A.M. HITT workout class before work. I did it on and off for about a year. I really enjoyed my instructor, and that was the only time she offered her class. So I just sucked it up and woke up early in the morning. I also found that doing high-intensity workouts in the morning gave me an extra boost of energy during the day. It’s a high that everyone should experience. Once I set my schedule and I got used to that routine, I didn’t even think about it anymore. I just did it!

Q2: Exercise seems to be a fairly important part of your daily routine according to prior interviews. How important is exercise to maintaining a high energy level? Is it a necessary part of your daily routine?

Ah I kind of got ahead of you and answered this previously! Haha. But yes, I think it’s extremely important. I’ve played sports my whole life, so I think I’ve gotten used to being active all of the time. This shows up in all parts of my life. So a good way for me to stay sane and manage all of this energy is through exercising. In terms of exercising everyday, I think that’s too much for me. I’m active, but still semi-lazy. 😂

Pre-pandemic, I picked a handful of days and a couple of different high energy classes (i.e. HITT, Zumba) to attend, and that worked for me. Now, I go for walks in my community and do more calming exercising (i.e. Yoga).

Q3: You use coding in your profession. When did you decide to start honing this skill? Did you always know this is how you wanted to apply it? Would you consider coding an area of expertise for you?

I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I took my first coding class in high school. That’s where I learned how to build basic websites. I didn’t realize how big of a deal this was! Especially coming from an all Black high school. Without even knowing it, my teacher was single handedly equipping us with the skills of the future. Whether or not everyone took advantage of that is another story.

I never lost the skill of frontend designing because I started using what I learned to customize my Tumblr and Blogger blogs. Naturally I’d also always been a designer. For class projects I was always the one to make some kind of blog, magazine, powerpoint presentation, artsy video, etc. So I just thought of coding as a gateway for me to be creative.

In college it started to click that I could actually continue to use these skills in my profession. My major was film and tv production, but I started to feel like I could be doing more. Especially when startups like Uber and Tinder were just starting to make waves. I didn’t even realize that working in tech with my skills could be a possibility.

I started taking courses to obtain a certificate called “New Media” at my school. I like to say that this program was the creative version of computer science. We learned about UX/UI (product) design, we learned the basics of building apps, and we were allowed to get as creative as possible with new technologies. It was so funny to me though. A lot of our classes were taught by trained media professionals who happened to be tech enthusiasts. So I like to say that they were learning along with us.

That program is where I started to really pay attention to all of the things I could do with my coding. This was around my 2nd or 3rd year of college. This is also when I started heavily considering working in tech full-time. I wanted to be a full-time product designer, web designer or some kind of hybrid media tech professional.

That’s funny that you say expert. By no means am I an expert. When it comes to frontend development (html, css, javascript) I’d say that I’m better than most. But if you’re talking about backend development, or any of the new languages that have sprung up, nope! Haha. I’ve found myself moving away from coding, and haven’t really sat down to understand what’s new. So until I really do a deep dive, I’ll just call myself an advanced enthusiast!

Q4: What does a Digital Marketing Specialist have to know to excel in the field? Are any of the skills required exclusive to academia or can someone be self-taught to a degree?

This is a tough one to answer because the world of Digital Marketing is HUGE. You have to consider things like your industry, your company, your team, and your day to day tasks. Once you do an inventory of all these things, you’ll start to see what the company/team values. That’s how you’ll know what skills you need to focus on to be successful.

For me personally I work at a media company, focusing on sports and entertainment. For them, ratings and fan engagement is the most important thing. My day to day consists of me building and executing email and digital ad campaigns. So because we work with a ton of brands, my team operates like an in-house ad agency.

So if you’re working in a similar structure like the one I mentioned above, I’d say that you’d need:

Project Management / Time Management Skills: Staying organized and up on your daily tasks is number one. You can learn this on the job, but you can also go to school to learn specific project management skills and get an official certificate for it.

Technical Skills: There’s no way around this. Digital Marketing usually consists of building some kind of campaign, executing it, and then reporting on how well it did. If you’re on the side of operations like me, then the building piece is your responsibility. So you’ll need to know which technologies to use. You can usually learn this on the job. However, the world of Digital Marketing is very siloed. Meaning that most people know how to do 1 or 2 things really well, and they have blindspots. You can go sign up for a certificate course or grad program to pick up a few extra skills that you may not learn at work.

Communication/Writing Skills: A lot of cooks are usually in the kitchen if you’re working for a large company. Meaning you’re going to have to communicate with a lot of different people to make sure you have a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered. You can learn this on the job.

Design Skills: You’ll be given assets, and tasked to give opinions on the look of some campaigns. Most of the time you won’t be the original designer, but having a designer’s eye could come in handy. You can watch videos online or take a basic design course to learn more.

Like I said depending on what side of digital marketing you’re on, the skills will vary, but the ones I listed above are the basics. I’d also add that you have to make sure you understand why you are doing things. Why are you using certain technologies, why is this particular person making this business decision, etc? Marketing in general is a very creative field but it all ties back to a larger business goal or objective.

I’m a big believer of college. I think it opens up so many doors and helps take your thinking to the next level. But to be honest in the world of marketing and media, traditional schools are always a tad bit behind because these industries move so fast. So I’d say if you do want to go to college, really use it to make strong connections with your peers, and build up your portfolio of work. If traditional college is not for you, then you could learn everything on your own! There are a ton of free online courses, and even paid bootcamps you can go to.

I’ll also say, don’t underestimate real world experience. To be honest, most of the tools and skills I use today I learned at my current job.

Q5: I am sure you’re asked this all the time but I have to ask for our readers, how did you land your role at Warner Media? How long did you prepare for your initial apprenticeship role there? What qualities did you display to Warner that made them say “we need Deja on our team.”

Lots and lots of self-discovery work. So I’ve actually been working in corporate environments since I was a sophomore in high school. So I’ve had a lot of practice with interviewing, communicating, working around professionals, and honing in on my strongest attributes. I also took classes like journalism, video production, coding, and yearbook in high school. So even before I went to college, I knew what industry I wanted to be in.

The key to my success was figuring out what I was good at early on, and then finding opportunities to strengthen those skills.

When I got to college, I was nosey. I looked everywhere for opportunities! And when you’re in college, opportunities are literally everywhere, you just have to be willing to look for them.

I found big organizations to attach myself to in college. For example, I was a student judge for the Peabody Awards. Through that opportunity I went to NYC 2x and worked as a production assistant during the filming of the award show. That was an opportunity for me to network and learn more about how the entertainment industry worked.

I also worked on-campus jobs that made sense for the career that I was pursuing. So for example, when I decided that I wanted to work in tech, I took a job as a student web developer on campus. So as I joined organizations and worked jobs that made sense for the journey that I was on, I started to gain a ton of skills outside of the classroom.

I also took advantage of my career resources on campus. Most schools have a career center that helps with resume writing, interview prep, etc.

By the time I graduated, I already had a job lined up because I put in the work as soon as I stepped foot on my campus as a freshman. I had fun, but I was also about my business!

I actually interned for a bit before getting the job at WarnerMedia, so I was able to continue to sharpen my skills. I cold applied to Turner Broadcasting (now WarnerMedia). I didn’t have any connections. I just had my skills, a portfolio and the confidence that I knew what I was doing. I truly believe that my coding skills and a few of my previous internships helped me land this one too! So staying up on skills that are trending in your industry is important too.

If you’re applying to a bigger brand/company, and you get a chance to interview, my biggest piece of advice would be to be your own biggest fan. Answer the questions, but brag about your skillset in the process. Be inquisitive and admit when you don’t know something, but show that you’re willing to learn. And for heaven’s sake, be real. Treat it like a professional friendly conversation.

Q6: Talk to me about Blinded. How involved were you in the process of creating the site and app? How difficult was this?

So the initial idea for BLINDED, came from my friend. It’s essentially a blind dating app, with lots of fun little twists that really puts your personality (not your looks) to the test. I decided to join the project because it was a fun idea and the majority of the dating apps on the market don’t offer what BLINDED does. I was brought in immediately as a co-founder. My friend only had the idea, so I was the one to really put that idea down, and make it a real living thing.I took on the responsibility to do the design, create brand communications, and run business operations. So I really get to use my right and left brain.

Everything you see for BLINDED was created by me! So I designed the website, the logo, all of the app screens, the initial prototype, pitch desks, social media graphics, etc. When you’re a co-founder of a startup, that normally means that you’re on a very small team, and you have to wear many hats. You really do have the full freedom to make the company look and feel however you want.

Developing the website wasn’t hard at all. I actually developed it on a WISYWIG (i.e. Squarespace, Shopify, etc.) Most of them are drag and drop websites that actually make the barrier of entry for web development low. So it was quick to put up! Eventually, I’ll break that down and develop a fully customized site!

Developing the app prototype was tedious but not hard either. I used a free prototyping tool (Adobe XD) and designed all of the screens for the app, and put all the touchpoints on it.

It’s a design prototype so it’s not fully coded. The coding piece is definitely outside of my skill set, so I’ll be handing my designs off to a development company! But the work is never done, so I’ll be monitoring the designs very closely throughout the entire development process.

Q7: You founded Breakroom Buddha , a digital community that helps young professionals achieve their career goals without pulling their hair out. Why was helping other young professionals important to you? Where do you see Breakroom Buddha in 2026?

I love the way you described that! Haha. I’m naturally a strategizer. I love figuring out the best way to do things, without making life hard. So that’s essentially what I do on Breakroom Buddha. I give advice and tips based on what I’ve personally done and what I’ve learned.

The idea for Breakroom Buddha actually came to me after a ton of students were messaging me on LinkedIn. They were asking me about my career journey and my life outside of work. They also mentioned the problems that they were facing with getting jobs after graduation. I was still early into my career, so I could give them practical advice that they could use immediately to get to a similar place that I was in, in my career. I also found myself answering the same questions over and over again. So in Aug 2019 I came up with the idea to create a blog that detailed my personal and career journey in real-time. I wanted it to be like an advice blog where I could answer common questions that I kept getting asked as well.

I was also at a point in my life where I was feeling a bit blah. I wanted to be creative, and I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. So Breakroom Buddha served as an outlet for me to be as creative as possible too.

I brainstormed for a bit, asked for opinions from friends and family, and then put everything up in September 2019! It was actually one of the quickest launches of my life. Haha. I overthink and analyze a lot, but with this project it just felt right to launch when I did.

2026! Yikes! That’s so far away. I often get asked where I want to take Breakroom Buddha. I don’t really have that answer. I do however keep a list of ideas and things I want to implement under the Breakroom Buddha umbrella. Breakroom Buddha started off as a very personal journal so it’s hard for me to think about expanding it beyond my personal life, but I’m slowly doing it now!

This might not happen by 2026, but I could see myself setting Breakroom Buddha up as an official media company. It would be the official “side project” for students or young professionals who “want to be” in a particular profession but needs space to practice their skills before they go out into the world.

Q8: You interned for Uber! How did you come across that opportunity? What was it like?

I strategized! Haha. When I started college, Uber didn’t even exist in my state. By the time I got to senior year, it had only been in my college town for like 1 yr. So I was smart when I was looking for post graduate opportunities. I looked at companies like Uber. It had a bit of traction but it was small enough to not have a ton of applicants. I also looked at post-grad internships instead of jobs. In my mind I felt like those would be easier to get. Plus I wasn’t ready to be a full time adult. My friend literally started calling me the super intern. 😂

So, I cold applied to be a Production Design Intern towards the end of my 1st semester of my senior year of college. The description was vague, but my design skills were pretty good and I wanted to work in tech so bad, so I thought why not.

I’d applied and forgot about it and pursued other opportunities. By the time I got the interview for Uber, I’d actually already accepted another offer at another company. I still did the Uber design challenge. Most skill based jobs especially in tech require you to do some activity before you move on to the final round of the interview. I submitted the design challenge and was almost immediately invited to the final round interview.

I took the interview. I ended up getting the offer and after much thought, I decided to intern at Uber instead. I did this because Uber was a global brand, and I knew that it would open doors for me.

I was actually in the first class of Uber design interns. I was also the first intern to hold the Production Design Intern title in the whole company. I didn’t even know this when I applied or interviewed.

I remember when I interviewed for the role, one of the first things the manager said to me was, “This is not a design internship” haha. But it totally was. It wasn’t the right role for an art student or someone who wanted to be a professional graphic designer, but it was the perfect role for me.

I loved working there because they let me work on whatever my creative heart desired. I made my internship a multimedia experience. I got to work on video editing, attended live design workshops, assisted on video shoots, got to be a ux researcher on a project, got to help with designing assets for social media, and had the chance to work on some projects on the ground level. I also had the opportunity to experience “startup” life and culture. I learned what I wanted and didn’t want in a work environment. I still find myself craving free food at work, so I’ll get back to that one day! Haha

I also got to experience a new city and cross paths with some of the most amazing and talented people. I’m still connected with a lot of them today. That was also my first time on the West Coast, and living like an “adult” by myself, so I had the freedom to do another round of self discovery.

Q9: This is ComicBookChuck so we have to ask, any nerdy or Pop-culture interests?

A9: Um yes! First off I’m the ultimate tv watcher. I’m absolutely obsessed with storytelling. I’ve probably seen at least 1 episode of like every show ever created. I’ve seen some of the most obscure shows too. Haha. So I’m really into tv shows that are just different. You all are about superheroes and comics so I’ll talk about my love for unconventional heroes. I’ve found myself liking DC tv shows like the Flash, iZombie and Lucifer. I like them because they aren’t your typical heroes. I mean the whole premise of iZombie is a girl, who also happens to be a zombie, is out helping solve murder mysteries, what!? Love it!

I also like shows/movies that are based on smaller comics like Locke & Key, Umbrella Academy, Scott Pilgrim and Kingsman. I just love characters who are flawed and are essentially big contradictions, but also have the biggest hearts and do good in the end. So a lot of what I watch reflects that.

Q10: You have so many accolades in your career. You seem to make the most of every opportunity and I am positive you will not slow down anytime soon. Who is Deja White really? What lays beneath the public’s perception? What is your core motivation for excelling at everything you do?

That’s funny you say that. I really try to stay grounded and not chase accolades. I’ve honestly tried to be a part of innovative spaces that I felt would help me become a better creative, leader and overall person. To be honest I need more sleep! Haha

I’d say that this all boils down to me not wanting to miss out on things. Because of this, I’ve always just been inquisitive and ambitious. I also try to be as open minded as possible, and have fun along the way. Oh and I’d say that me being a super talkative person, and optimistic helps me out sometimes too. Haha

If I have an idea or something that I think I want to try, I figure out how to get it done! It might not always be perfect, and I may end up hating it, but at least I had the courage and energy to try it. I mentioned before that I keep lists of ideas, so I always have something that I want to try/do.

I’m big on morals and values too, so I never do anything that’s harmful to others. I also really believe in helping others, so if I’ve already done something/ been somewhere, I try to share my experiences as much as possible.

Deja’s Personal Links:

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