Alum in the Spotlight: Alex Fusaro
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” LIHSA alum Alex Fusaro embodies that concept.
Growing up in Huntington, Alex attended Elwood Schools, a district that started sending students to LIHSA just in time for his senior year. He attended LIHSA as part of Elwood’s inaugural class, studying Drama and graduating in 2012. As part of the program, he studied Dance and learned he enjoyed honing the discipline required for Ballet.
When he was fourteen, Alex began to DJ because he was inspired by what he saw at parties he attended. The DJs and MCs were always making people feel good, lifting the energy in the room, and getting everyone dancing together. Alex felt a powerful pull toward that ability to shape the mood of a crowd and create happy moments. That feeling of connection and joy made him want to learn how to do it himself, so he saved up from doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to buy his own decks and eventually started developing his skills behind the turntables.
He was booked throughout his high school years as a DJ for parties and local dance club events for teens. He continued DJ-ing after high school when he attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut. He was often booked for fraternity and sorority parties, campus events like fundraisers, alumni day, freshman orientation, and at local clubs. As a performing arts management major, Alex’s ambition was to be a radio DJ, so he also began working at the campus radio station. He worked his way around the station, hosting shows on-air, acting as the station business manager, and running station events. One of his favorite events was the Silent Disco. Alex shared, “We rented a bunch of wireless headphones and went to the parking lot outside the late-night dining building. People put on the headphones, and we had two DJs playing at once, hooked up to different transmitters so people could toggle back and forth. It’s how we got around the campus police’s noise ordinance. You would come outside the dining building and look around and see a crowd of people dancing to complete silence—and then you put the headphones on and suddenly you’re in the middle of the most energetic party on campus. We always sold out those shows. I’m pretty sure they’re still running it today. It was a big hit.”
After graduating from college, Alex returned to Long Island to work for JVC Media in Ronkonkoma (Long Island’s WPTY Party 105.3, WJVC My Country 96.1, and WRCN 103.9), realizing his dream of being on the radio. Once on air, he realized he had a bigger impact in a behind the scenes role, so he landed a job as the stations’ assistant director, then eventually taking over as program director, leading the station, creating programs, booking guests, and planning events. While working in broadcast media, Alex continued DJ-ing and became successful with events in tri-state nightclubs on Long Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and beyond.
While DJ-ing, he started creating flyers and other marketing materials to promote his events. His graphic design work got noticed, and club owners, promoters, and other DJs began asking him to design their flyers as well. He found he loved design work, so he left Broadcast Radio and worked at first for Digital Marketing companies in New York City, before establishing his own marketing company that continues to grow today.
As his focus shifted from media to marketing, he started to get more creative, layering fine art on top of graphic design pieces to create wall art. “It started as a way to step away from the computer during the pandemic.” This resulted in finding a style that brings 3D elements to his 2D graphic work. “It gives the work more soul,” he shares. Alex starts with a photo in Photoshop, prints it out, then uses acrylics, watercolor, oil paints, and other materials to create a beautiful, vibrant finished piece. His subjects range from flowers to landscapes to recognizable icons like Audrey Hepburn or Mike Meyers as Austin Powers.
Starting this summer, Alex will have several month-long exhibits of his work at libraries throughout Long Island: Hampton Bays, Huntington, East Northport, and Commack, among others. Check his website alextric.com for dates and details. He looks forward to sharing his art and hopes to continue to grow and expand his art shows.
Andy Warhol is an artist Alex looks to for inspiration. He loves his art work and multimedia, but also appreciates that he was an entrepreneur and the positive atmosphere Warhol provided for friends and visitors of The Factory. Alex also finds inspiration in Pablo Picasso’s quote, “ “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Alex reflects, “I find it important to allow the child inside to lead you, and let the adult inside only guide you.”
Alex has kept in touch with LIHSA over the years and returned to perform scenes at the Faculty Alumni Gala. His favorite memory is an inter-arts scene he did with alum Jakeim Hart where they recreated a combat scene from Pirates of the Caribbean. He remembered working on it for weeks with Jakeim and faculty member Michael Tester. It was a hit, so they recorded it for the senior video yearbook. These are very fond memories for Alex.
While most of Alex’s current focus is on continuing to expand his art shows and marketing business, he also nurtures his health. Going to the gym and healthy eating are high priorities for him as well.
Alex offers this advice for current students, “The only thing holding you back from accomplishing your goals is yourself. We’re so lucky to live in a time where information, research, and all these tools are available to us—use them. Hone your discipline. Read books. Go to therapy. Work with a life coach. Journal. Do whatever it takes to understand who you are and what you want. Once you truly know yourself, you’ll realize that every resource you need to build the life you dream of is already within reach. All that’s left is to show up, stay consistent, and do the work.”
Wherever your journey takes you, Alex, we hope you find success and happiness! We’re looking forward to following your first art tour. Keep scrolling to see photos from Alex’s career.
