After graduating in 2012 with a B.A. in Political Science, Christopher Arena moved to Washington, D.C., with no job offer and a few hundred dollars in his pocket. He took the first job he could get and said yes to any opportunity that came his way. By 2015, he worked in political campaign management and had managed a successful D.C. council race. “It was then,” he says, “I realized I wasn’t in politics for the politicians. I had studied Political Science because I was interested in the way power structures and systems were set up at the macro level. I wanted to tell stories, too.”
Arena left political management and was recruited by a large D.C. tech agency. This new environment allowed him to apply political and activist lenses to help brands be more conscious, strategic marketers. The political side of technology, “specifically how we adapt to one another and have a relationship with the powers-that-be through technology,” fascinated him. He was doing what he loved.
In the midst of his success, Arena fell suddenly ill. Within six months, he was in the hospital thirteen times and partook in clinical trials through National Institute of Health in an attempt to diagnose and mitigate the mystery sickness. Doctors eventually found he had an autoimmune condition, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS), which had surfaced almost overnight due to stress. He had also been living with undiagnosed Celiac Disease. “Being bedridden, losing the ability to work,” he contemplates, “those things set off something in you and let you prioritize things the way you normally wouldn’t. Sleep, self-care, and loved ones became my driving factor.”
After the diagnoses, he learned the ins and outs of his illness and how to live with it. “I regained my sense of self,” he says. In 2016, he started GFTB Digital, the acronym for which stands for: Guide Forge Test Build. The agency helps clients—namely brands and nonprofits—combine political and community organizing online and offline with brand strategy and marketing. The company has worked with Smithsonian, Kroger, and other major clients, including several Fortune 500 companies.
Arena is determined to discuss his experience with illness and the inspiration he found through that trying time. “URI was a primer for my experience with illness,” he articulates, “and taught me how to manage my time, be independent, and apply my personal resilience into the real world.” He credits Dr. Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, a Political Science Professor, for presenting him with opportunities to network in a policy setting and for helping him envision and prepare for life beyond the classroom. “I learned responsibility and agency, and that I am my own best advocate.”
To students, Arena offers some words of wisdom: “Career isn’t a linear path anymore. It is about skill transfer.” There are countless opportunities to create a unique and individual career, and Arena advises that young people find what intrigues them and forge something from that passion. He emphasizes: “When you find success, pass the microphone to others. That makes me happiest. Political Science taught me so much about power and privilege…The only way to break down oppressive systems is to, when you get an iota of success, remember those who don’t walk through the door with the same privileges you do. Share your power with others.”
-Written by Chase Hoffman ’21, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major