Introduction about Zara Mendes

    My name is Zara Mendes. I'm a first-year student at The University of Tampa majoring in Communication, Media, and Culture. I'm half Portuguese and trilingual (English, Portuguese, and Spanish). I spend all of my summers abroad seeing friends and family which has impacted me greatly in how I see the world. After completing my undergraduate degree, I intend to study Digital Marketing in London. I've always wanted to study communications because my mother did. I'd say I change my mind fairly frequently, so I chose a major that would allow me to take a diverse range of classes and experiment with a variety of courses. I've enjoyed every class I've taken as part of my major requirements, and I believe Digital Media will be one of them. 

    Digital Media had been a class I've wanted to take since I first read the major requirements. Since society has undoubtedly taken a deeper dive into the digital world, I believe classes like this one can benefit any student. Understanding media/technology is important because it has a greater impact on our lives than we would like to believe. I've always wanted to learn about the design and thought processes behind digital media, as well as put my creative ideas into action. 

    I've worked with a variety of brands, and I'm currently working as a campus marketing manager for Bumble. My first experience was with Hollister during my senior year of high school. Forty students from across the country were chosen to represent the brand in this teen program. This experience changed my life for the better and only served to support my ultimate goals. I was able to design my own clothes and travel to headquarters and New York City for a showcase. I learned about career paths that I had never heard of before. I was even featured in magazines like People Magazine and Vogue Business; even photographed by Getty Images. This broadened my horizons and reinforced why I wanted to study communications. 💞