New Grad Q&A: Jake Pearce
EA Staff
2013-05-22
In this week's installment of our New Grad Q&A series we hear from Jake Pearce, a journalism major who will be working as a Social Marketing Manager for EA Games Label after graduation.
How did you find out that you would be receiving a scholarship?
I was tricked into thinking I’d be receiving a pretty ordinary call about some work things. When I answered the phone, they sprung the scholarship on me. I don’t think you could’ve found a happier guy in Wisconsin that day.
What was the most valuable part of your EA internship?
It was definitely valuable for me to see how a big company like EA works from the inside. I’ve learned a lot in my years at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, but the experience of working on important projects that directly impact the entire company and everything that comes along with that process is something you can only learn on the job. I’ll carry that knowledge with me for the rest of my career.
What has surprised you the most about working at EA?
How passionate everyone is about what they’re doing here. I’ve been working since I was 16, but those were just jobs that paid the bills. I hadn’t really found something that made me want to go to work every day until EA. Being surrounded by all of these gamers and intensely creative people provides great motivation to always improve, and every day is another exciting challenge.
What are you working on now and what’s your favorite part of the job?
Right now I’m working on my last semester of college, but I’ll be back at EA soon enough. One of my favorite parts of the job (besides the occasional free bagel) is brainstorming with the brilliant people I work with. Being able to explore new ideas among other passionate gamers is wonderful. But my absolute favorite thing is when we finally get to share the awesome stuff we’ve been working on with the world. There’s nothing better than being able to share the excitement I have for the games I love with everybody!
Tell us about your career aspirations.
I’ve wanted to work with video games for most of my life now, so this is already a dream come true. I’m very excited to work in the online community area of gaming. Like I was saying earlier, there’s nothing I like more than sharing the excitement I have for games with all of the wonderful people out there who play them. Beyond that, I’ve always had a strong interest in the storylines of games. I think games provide an incredibly unique way to tell stories and explore new worlds. That’s why, one day, I’d love to be part of the creation of storylines and dialogue.
What lessons have you learned since joining the team?
The list of all the lessons I’ve learned here wouldn’t fit in this interview, but I think the most important one is to push myself every day. It’s something I picked up from everyone on my team – their passion is something I aspire to match. Working with games is a special thing to me, and I plan on giving it my all.
As a new graduate, what do you think you bring to the table that may be different than a veteran?
I hope I can bring fresh ideas and a new perspective to the table, along with a bit of youthful enthusiasm. After spending the entirety of my life in school up to this point, I couldn’t be more thrilled to tackle a new and entirely different challenge.
Interested in learning more about EA's University Relations? Follow the team on Twitter at https://twitter.com/URinTheGame. And be sure to check out the other Q&A's in this series here and here.
