Have you ever wanted to work in video games? Many EA interns go on to grow their careers at EA, and we’ll be looking at a few new faces that have recently joined EA in this series.

Ashley Alpizar used to finish her homework in time to play The Sims, a hobby that helped uniquely prepare her for her internship with EA.

Known for her work ethic, supportive attitude and willingness to jump in to get any job done, Ashley was a big part of helping to launch Origin’s new digital gaming store while she interned.

Outside of work, Ashley makes it a priority to stay active in her community. She volunteered with Service for Peace in high school and helped build a classroom for disadvantaged children in the Dominican Republic. She’s also involved with the Children’s Miracle Network.

We’re so glad to have Ashley be a part of the team at EA. She returned to the fold as a New Grad in May 2014.

Where were you doing when you found out you would be receiving a scholarship? I was home in Miami with my family having just returned from studying abroad in Florence. I received a call from the Director and VP of Origin Merchandising thinking it was just a “Welcome to the team!” call, but it was actually to congratulate me on winning the scholarship. It was a great feeling.

What are you working on at EA? I work on the Origin Global Merchandising and Promotions team as an Online Marketing Specialist. I’m currently responsible for the planning, execution, and performance analysis of a merchandising channel we refer to as “Promo Manager” that lives within the Origin Client. Through this channel, we are able to run compelling offers on front-line titles and let our users know about engaging campaigns across franchises.

How did you first get interested in videogames? I’ve been interested in video games ever since I was a kid, having grown up with an older brother and cousins who made it their life’s goal to collect as many games and consoles as possible. I had a ton of exposure to all kinds of games given their broad collections.

Some of my favorite memories are getting together with them in our garage turned game room and playing Nintendo 64 for hours. As I got older, I became interested in action games like Call of Duty, Gears of War and Halo. Working in the industry now, I’m able to learn about EA games and gain knowledge about the industry itself every day, which is awesome.

What have you had the most fun doing at EA? The most fun I’ve had at EA was during the summer of 2013 as an intern on the Origin Global Merchandising and Promotions team. I was able to support my team in executing Origin’s new global content strategy.

The opportunity to work independently on projects that impacted the business was really fun and challenging. Gaining experience in running an e-commerce website was a huge plus too.

What’s your favorite part of the job so far? My favorite part of my job is providing merchandising insights to my team. We all work very hard to optimize our channels and run the best offers and engagement campaigns, and it’s great to be able to provide those best practices on a monthly basis to ensure we’re consistently optimizing our site and keeping our users active.

I also love working with cross functional teams on Origin, as they are all so passionate about their work, which is very motivating for me.  

Lightning round: One-word answers, please! Favorite videogame of all time? Call of Duty.

What do you do after work to relax or distress? Music.

Where did you go to school? FSU.

How do you play? (Console, PC, mobile, etc) Console.

What’s the first game you remember playing? Super Mario.  

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