Some people graduated alongside her, some know her as a co-worker and some consider her to be one of their favorite artists.
Emerging Latina singer-songwriter Adriana Olivas Ureno, or Eydrey, is juggling a full-time job and expanding her career since she graduated from UTEP. Eydrey concluded her academic career in the fall of 2021.
In an exclusive interview, Eydrey addressed an important topic, the dilemma of chasing your artistic dreams or securing a job that will pay the bills.
“I think, as many of us (UTEP students), I come from a Mexican family,” Eydrey said. “My mom was adamant about me getting my education before pursuing anything.”
Eydrey is thankful to her mom for instilling education as a priority because she attributes her success in the professional workforce to that.
Today, her job helps Eydrey support herself and her younger brother, who live alone together.
“Right now, my plan A is my 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job,” Eydrey said. “Until I feel comfortable enough to say I can make a living off of music, I’m keeping my job.”
Besides the stability provided to her by her job, she takes pride in it because it has shaped her identity as a versatile individual.
“I am responsible (for) who I want to be as an artist, but I am also responsible (for) the professional woman in the work force that I am,” Eydrey said. “Because I am both of those things.”
Eydrey was raised in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and moved to El Paso, Texas at 16. She obtained her high school diploma from El Paso High School and then continued her education at UTEP, where she majored in marketing and minored in information systems.
In the last summer of her undergraduate career, she interned at the company where she now works as a content strategist.
Throughout college, Eydrey managed to find the motivation and time to work on her music outside of school. It began when she posted her first video singing a cover on YouTube. Music has always been within reach for Eydrey.
“When I would wake up, my dad would be singing. I would go to sleep, and he would sing me to sleep,” Eydrey said. “So, I grew up in that environment. And when I was three or four, I started asking my parents for a little brother through a song. My parents say that was the first song I ever wrote.”
When the day to graduate college came, Eydrey was ecstatic to have more income and free time to focus on her artistic career.
On her graduation weekend, she posted a TikTok video saying, “Things I did this weekend: graduated and released this song,” promoting her newest single “Solo Tú,” which has reached over a million streams on Spotify.
Today, Eydrey has accomplished multiple career milestones including being invited to and attending the YouTube Music Suite at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas.
To everyone graduating, Eydrey has a word of advice.
“The world is scary only if you let yourself be afraid,” Eydrey said. “It’s okay to be scared and accept those feelings but the world needs a lot of artistic people. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot do both.”
You can find Eydrey’s music on all streaming services. She focuses on bilingual Latin-Urbano music.
She considers her music a representation of her identity as a bilingual and bicultural Latina.
Eydrey would like to thank her family, Denisse Olivas from the UTEP College of Business Administration, and her former coworkers from the Business Administration advising center for supporting and rooting for her.
Josie Avila is the audience and engagement editor and can be reached at [email protected]; Joseline Avila on LinkedIn.
