Meet Alice Cho

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alice Cho. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Alice with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

Ever since I was a little girl, I would watch my dad leave for work in the morning and get home from school at night. I remember struggling to stay up, seeing him come home from his 12-hour day, and wishing him a good night. He was always the prime example of “I can achieve whatever I want, as long as I keep working hard”.
My father immigrated to the United States for a college education; he spent years learning the language and worked his way up to an education at UCSB. Despite being a full-time student and a full-time employee, he never showed my brother or me a single sign of struggle. He always tried to be present in our childhood, and he never failed to make sure that his weekends were reserved for his kids.

Now, having graduated from college myself, I understand the labor and sacrifice that went into supporting me and my family. My father is consistently one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever known in my life. 

Going after what you love is not easy. But anyone would be able to achieve their dreams if it were easy. I am constantly inspired by my dad’s work ethic. Through him, I have learned how to push and persevere – even at my lowest.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Alice Cho; I am a Paid Social Media Manager at Live Nation and a dancer.

I started dancing in my Freshman year of college. Like many others, I fell in love with KPop at a young age, and KPop led to the start of my dance journey. I began dancing at a later age than most. But – my passion for dance was bright, and I was hungry to grow.
I danced throughout college, won multiple competitions, and lived out my dream as a performer and entertainer. Little did I know that, soon after college, I would stop pursuing my passion because I thought I had to. For most, it was just something they did in college or it was just an hobby. I didn’t realize that dance was much more than that for me.

Growing up, I was told that I had to love my job, and the job was not worth doing if I was not passionate about it. I started my career in social media marketing through an internship I acquired during my senior year of college.
Like many of us came to see once we became adults, it was nearly impossible to get a job that we loved and were passionate about. I was not passionate about my work. However, it was the first job I acquired after graduating, and I was grateful for any opportunity to work a full-time job. So, for years, I conformed to the standard 9-5 lifestyle solely because all the people around me were living the 9-5 lifestyle.

Once COVID happened, I went through the beautiful thing that all 25-year-olds experience – a quarter-life crisis. I remember looking at my work computer and thinking, “I cannot do this for the rest of my life”. I was depressed. I had nothing fueling me to go day after day; I had nothing to look forward to. In a desperate attempt to feel like myself again, I tried to dance.
All the passion that I had suppressed for years had spilled out of me. I suddenly felt like myself again. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I knew that dance was a prime component of my life. I was willing to fight to keep it in my life.

As corny as it is, everything does happen for a reason. I was able to gather the experience and skills needed to do the job I have today.
Since the summer of 2022, I have been working full-time at Live Nation in their Digital Marketing Department. I have a job that has made me more passionate in my artistic endeavors, and it has been such a sweet journey.

I have the opportunity to work in entertainment, both in my full-time and part-time endeavors. I can now help support my family through my work and my passion. That was the moment I knew I had achieved what I didn’t know was possible.

There are many days when I don’t get much sleep, and there are many times when I work myself to the bone. Regardless, I do not regret my decisions at all. I can confidently say that I am the happiest I’ve ever been.

I stopped myself from reaching my fullest potential by thinking I had to go with the flow and follow what everyone else was doing. I soon recognized that I was not meant to live the same life as everyone else since I was not like everyone else.

I am a Paid Social Media Manager at Live Nation, working to advertise upcoming tours and concerts performed by talented artists all over the country. I am also a dancer, having worked with many reputable companies and artists.
I am so lucky to live this life, and I am thankful for all the opportunities and experiences I have been gifted. I know luck is a draw – but I hope everyone’s chance comes soon and is worth it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three things I consider the most impactful to my journey are: perseverance, optimism, and community.

With perseverance, what matters is the journey as a whole. One day might not seem as good as the day before, and my progress should not be determined by my performance that day. Progress is not linear.
If I take one small step every day towards my goal, though it may not seem like much at the moment, I will still be much closer to achieving my goal – as opposed to fixating on what I didn’t do today in comparison to yesterday.
It’s easy to compare one day to another, but all that should matter is that I’m working towards what I want – which is why I think perseverance is such a valuable component of my journey.

With optimism, this is something I need to practice myself; I am my biggest hater. Especially in a field as critical as dance, we are constantly put up for judgment. Whether it’s our judgment or someone else’s judgment – our artistic abilities and creations can be determined as good or bad.
The person who matters the most is me. The only opinion that should matter is my own. The way I view myself is the way that other people will view me, so I should look at myself with a bright light and a touch of optimism.
It took me years to figure out, but no one truly cares about me the way I care about myself. You are not being judged the way you think people are judging you. Look kindly upon yourself because that can also help take you far.

With community, it is vital to surround yourself with people who support and care for you. I am so incredibly grateful for the community I have around me.
Some of my friends are like me in that they are pursuing a dance career outside of their standard 9-5. They understand and, sometimes, share my niche struggles of pursuing two careers. I can communicate any frustrations or struggles, and my like-minded friends can relate to me in a way that not everyone can.
Being understood is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated feelings, especially when you feel alone in your struggles. Who better to understand you than your people?

It is not easy to choose yourself and pursue your dreams. But, no dream worth achieving is done with ease. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible! Getting somewhere is still moving closer to where you want to be, so keep going!

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

My biggest area of growth and improvement in the last 12 months is my amount of self-love.

I have developed a greater appreciation for myself. Progress is never shown in a day, and I remember how hard I struggled to make both of my careers work at first. It was a bigger mental game than a physical challenge. I wanted to be so much closer to my dream without doing the proper work to get there.

But – I am finally starting to see the fruits of my labor. I am slowly progressing in my corporate career, but I am now achieving things in my dance career. In these past 12 months, I was able to book my first professional dance opportunity. For the first time, I was able to use money from my dance paycheck to send my parents on the trips they had longed to go on since I was a kid.

It was a big milestone for me, and it helped me appreciate myself more. I take better care of myself since I can tell that all my efforts amount to something.

This is not to say I have it all figured out; I am constantly navigating this life, and every day is different. But, my outlook on life is so different. I am more appreciative of the efforts I make for myself. I show myself more grace to recover from a tough day. I give myself grace for continuously showing up for myself. In the past 12 months, the love I have for myself has grown immensely.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hypecho_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/choalice7/