#UShine

Meet Amalia Gangotena, a senior Public Relations and Psychology double major from Ecuador!

Amalia was the PR Director for UM’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and a news anchor for UMTV's Spanish-language news show, UniMiami, last year. She was also in the Dean's Circle of Students for the School of Communication! Amalia is part of Kappa Tau Alpha (KTA), the national honor society for journalism & mass communication, and a Tau Sigma National Honor Society member for transfer students.

Last summer, she was one of three students to work under Professor Jack Miller for the Miami Beach Air & Sea Show, where she worked closely with dignitaries and managed all the protocol elements for them at the event! While interning at The Dana Agency, Amalia learned the ins and outs of media tracking and helped bridge the gap between clients and the media. She also conducted psychology research under PhD student, Dr. Cherenack on the stigma and impact of coping strategies for HIV-positive gay Latinos. Currently, Amalia works at Streann Media as a broadcasting personality and a digital PR specialist!

After meeting with Toppel, Amalia learned about Jobscan, "What Can I Do With This Major", and Interstride, which have been beneficial to her as an international student. She also says that Toppel helped her through her current internship by introducing her to SkillSurvey, where she was able to receive feedback from her employer to help her learn what she needs to work on.

Piece of Advice:

“The only way to get things done is by doing them...there is no way around it, but your discipline and effort will pay off. Your reputation matters - who you are will go with you wherever you go, and this world is smaller than you think. Rely on your support system and surround yourself with people who are willing to vouch for you!"