AMERA A ALY
In the fifth grade, my social studies teacher handed me a Flip Video camera, showed me the iMovie icon on the dock of our school's outdated white MacBook, and introduced me to what would later become my career.
I began scripting, filming, and editing at eleven, teaching myself how to use iMovie, Final Cut Pro (before the update!), and Adobe Premiere; I am self-taught through and through. My first projects were for school - later, I edited videos for family and friends and eventually started creating my own.
I chose my major after a few semesters at Bergen Community College. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA in 2017 with an A.S. in Broadcasting and was awarded the Academic Excellence and Divisional and Curricular Award for Broadcasting. I continued my education at New York University and graduated in 2019 with a 3.7 GPA and a B.S. in Media, Culture, and Communications, receiving the Founders' Day Award. I interned for the New York film festival and Cieri Media during my senior year's fall and spring semesters at NYU, continuing to freelance for the companies after graduation.
Two months post-graduation, I spent every day applying to jobs and going to interviews with no luck. I set a goal - if I didn't get a job by [date], I'd look into another industry by way of a Master's degree. And, as fate would have it, I submitted my 100th job application the day before my deadline and began looking at colleges, not knowing my 100th job application would be the lucky one.
I began working for CSI Sports - an international combat sports broadcasting channel, in August 2019. I impressed my ultra-boxing-fan younger self by producing live events like Ruiz vs. Joshua II - an eight-hour event - and editing promos that would air on TV worldwide. They promoted fights featuring fighters like Lomachenko, who reminded me of Klitschko and watching him fight on PPV with my dad as a child.
As I discovered my love for fitness during the pandemic in 2020, I began freelancing for iFit, the parent company of NordicTrack, Pro-Form, Freemotion (and more) and created workout videos that were programmed into their fitness equipment and app. I later accepted a full-time offer, earning a Sports Emmy nomination (the first Emmy nomination in the fitness industry!) during my two years at the company.
In the meantime, I freelanced for individual or group clients, delivering short and long-form content to their required specifications.
I was a contractor for NBCUniversal (Creative Partnerships team) for ten months before being offered and accepting a full-time position. An avid Housewives-watcher, getting surprised by an ad I cut airing on Bravo during a Real Housewives of Atlanta break was life-changing.