In addition to earning his Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Zachary Bernheimer learned the importance of networking while he was at the University of Miami.
Despite not speaking a word of Spanish, Zachary landed a fantastic opportunity in the Finance Early Leadership program at Univision, the top Spanish-language network in the United States and has interned at Sony Music’s Latin Branch and main headquarters, and for the Late Show with David Letterman.
How did he do it?
As Zachary tells it, “A professor in one of my music business classes had speakers come in every now and then. One person was an executive in Sony Music’s Latin branch. After hearing her speak, I introduced myself and said that I was interested in interning for them. She said to send her my resume, which I did, and a short while later I was hired.”
“From there, I worked hard and when my semester was nearing its end, my boss wanted to know what I was doing over the summer. I said that I was heading back home to New York. She used to work there, and asked if I would be interested in working in the headquarters. I immediately said ‘yes!’ Right there, she called up her old co-worker and asked if they needed an intern for the summer,” Zachary said.
“I was hired in two minutes, and have interned for three semesters at Sony Music -- all because my professor had a speaker come from the company when I was a sophomore.”
His job at Univision came through the UM Toppel Career Center’s hireacane.com website. After attending career fairs and workshops at Toppel, and using their resume review service, Zachary was offered two jobs, and chose to work at Univision because he will get to experience multiple facets of the company, including radio, film, TV and the corporate environment, in Miami, Los Angeles and New York.
Zachary will spend the next month backpacking around Europe before settling into work and putting those network skills to greater use. He has maintained friendships with other interns he met while working, and at UM, and knows those will come in handy down the road.
“It is so important to value your friendships with people!” he said. “It makes life more enjoyable, and knowing that your friends will always be there for you is a great feeling!”
Zachary will be graduating with General Honors, and will be recognized by the Department of Business Law as the Outstanding Legal Studies student.
Annette Gallagher can be reached at 305-284-1121.
