Bringing Global Learning to Others: UFIC & AMA

Working at UF’s International Center has given me the opportunity to support the kinds of experiences that have shaped my own life. As a Marketing & Communications Student Assistant in the Office of Global Learning, I help communicate opportunities to students and faculty through newsletters, social media, digital campaigns, website content, and promotional materials.

My work spans faculty-facing initiatives, the International Scholars Program, and promotion for UF in Mexico City and UF in Sorrento. Each area requires a different approach. Faculty need clear information about opportunities relevant to teaching and global learning. Students need to understand what a program offers, how it connects to their goals, and what they need to do to participate.

That variety has helped me understand that communication starts with the audience. A design can attract attention, but the message also needs to answer the reader’s questions. My own experience as an international student helps me think about how unfamiliar terms or processes might feel to someone encountering an opportunity for the first time.

Across my communications work, I reach 1,600+ students and 800+ faculty. My efforts contributed to increases in impressions, followers, posting frequency, and program enrollment. These results give me a way to see the practical value of communications, while reminding me that the goal is to help people discover and engage with opportunities.

I have also advised 150+ students on e-portfolio strategy. Those conversations have strengthened my understanding of reflection. Students may have meaningful experiences but struggle to explain what they learned. Helping them identify skills has also encouraged me to examine my own experiences more carefully.

As Director of Global and Cultural Intelligence for the American Marketing Association at UF, I helped members explore how culture shapes marketing, business, and communication. Through presentations, events, and discussions, I brought international perspectives into the organization and encouraged students to think beyond the markets and audiences they already knew.

During my time in the role, I presented at several AMA general body meetings and other events, sharing ideas about international marketing and cultural awareness. I also created and led events that gave members opportunities to explore these topics together. My goal was to make global marketing approachable and relevant, connecting broader concepts to decisions we could face in our future careers.

A central part of my role was encouraging members to question assumptions. A message that feels clear or appealing to one audience may be understood differently by another. A campaign that succeeds in one country may need a different approach elsewhere. I brought these questions into our conversations so that understanding an audience became part of the creative process from the beginning.

My experience as a Brazilian student living in the United States gave me a personal connection to this work. Adapting to a different language and environment had made me more aware of how context influences communication. I brought that perspective into my presentations while recognizing that my experience was only one of many. I wanted members to have opportunities to share their own perspectives and learn from one another.

One example was the International Marketing GBM I led during AMA Marketing Week in collaboration with ALPFA UF. We explored how companies adapt their strategies across countries, and members created Starbucks campaigns for different markets. The activity gave students a practical way to consider how culture and research could influence their marketing choices. Learning from ALPFA UF’s perspective on Latin America also reinforced the value of bringing different voices into the discussion.

Across my responsibilities, I developed my ability to present ideas, engage an audience, and turn topics into activities that encouraged participation. Creating events required me to think about both the content and the experience: what members should learn, why it mattered to them, and how they could apply it. Presenting in different settings also helped me become more comfortable explaining ideas and adapting how I communicated.

This role taught me that leadership can mean creating space for perspectives that might otherwise be overlooked. It strengthened my interest in marketing and market research, where understanding people is essential to making good decisions. I continue to carry those lessons into my work: asking better questions, listening to different perspectives, and using research to develop strategies that connect with the people they are meant to reach.

Together, these roles have moved me from participating in global learning to helping others engage with it. They have also clarified my professional interests: I enjoy work that combines understanding an audience, developing ideas, and creating communications with a clear purpose.