Shannon’s Story

by Shannon Jones

Through my time at the University of Florida, I have had the opportunity to be involved in many different clubs and organizations. I am currently an Assistant Director in Dance Marathon, a member of a Panhellenic Chapter and participate in many other clubs and organizations. However, despite being very involved and investing back in the UF community around me, I did not feel as if I was doing enough in order to prepare me for future opportunities outside of college.

Therefore, I started looking for opportunities that would allow me the chance to improve my professional portfolio and give me more insight into my future profession. That’s when I found Beyond120.

The program offers personal development material, excursions and many other opportunities for students to expand their experiences.

I also decided to apply for the Beyond120 Spring Break excursion to London so that I would invest in myself further during a week I would normally take off. I was chosen to attend the trip with almost all of the expenses paid and the experience was one I will never forget. During our time in London, we toured different companies and spoke with UF alumni about their profession and what their experience was like while working abroad. This gave me insight as to if working abroad would be something I am interested in, as well as allowed me the chance to broaden my career horizon and be more open to different career paths.

Upon returning home, I was inspired to revitalize my resume and start to apply for experiences outside of UF, using the skills that Beyond120 had given me. Because of this, I was chosen to be an intern for the State Department in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. I am thankful to Beyond120 for allowing me to confidently hand my resume to a company or internship coordinator, instead of feeling nervous about my previous experiences.

Beyond120 and Me

by Harper Self

My first experience with Beyond120 was actually at Preview when I was an incoming freshman. My major was undecided at the time, however, I knew I was interested in a lot of the majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences so I went to a presentation given by Ryan Bruan, the director of Beyond120. He gave a really interesting presentation about the resources available through the Beyond120 Program and I immediately added one of the 1 credit hour professional development courses offered through the program to my schedule! Being undecided about my major I thought it was good to at least get some tips early in my college career about the world of professional development.

I thoroughly enjoyed the class and my instructor, Brittany Grubbs-Hodges was incredible. She helped me polish up my resume, build a good LinkedIn profile and gave me a new perspective about how to succeed in the professional world. Through this class I learned about a special Beyond120 experiential learning opportunity in London. I applied and was so fortunate to be accepted. In London I not only became friends with like-minded Liberal Arts and Sciences students, but I was also able to network with UF CLAS Alumni and learn more about the kinds of career fields my degree could take me. I learned that Liberal Arts and Sciences majors are actually very desirable in the business world and fun fact - we make more money on average in the long run than students from other majors. This was interesting to me, not because I’m all about money, but I think it’s been instilled in me and many others for a long time that stereotypically you cannot do much with a CLAS degree. This trip blew my mind in that sense because there I was meeting dozens of CLAS majors from the University of Florida who have established themselves in such incredible careers abroad.

After that trip the rest was history, I decided on becoming a history and spanish major and have been involved in Beyond120 ever since. This program has been so instrumental in providing me endless opportunities to learn more professional skills even during the Coronavirus quarantine. I became a part of the program’s virtual PR Team over the summer and learned invaluable marketing and social media management skills.

Beyond120 also helped connect me with two CLAS Alumni and earn virtual internships where I was able to use these marketing and social media management skills in a real professional environment.

I think my involvement in Beyond120 has made me a better and more confident person. I no longer feel lost and confused about entering the professional world because I know I have an arsenal of essential skills thanks to Beyond120.

Muoi’s Story

by Muio Hyunh

My first experience with Beyond120 was taking two courses: Strategic Self-Marketing and The Art of “Adulting.” One of the most impactful assignments was when I had to do a financial plan project in the Art of “Adulting” class, which will significantly benefit me post-graduation when entering the workforce.  

At UF, I currently serve as the secretary in the Criminology & Law Honor Society and as the Vice President of Outreach for Beyond120 Young Professionals. 

I am passionate about helping students who lack the resources and opportunities to navigate their academic and professional development. I know that as an immigrant and first-gen in college, it was difficult navigating my own academic and professional career. Everything was self-service – entailed with confusion, being lost, and feeling stuck. I had to continually get uncomfortable to grow as a person as I attempted to navigate this ambiguous life. Even worse, as a transfer student to UF, I was frantically squirming around all the time. I thought to myself, how can I catch up with opportunities such as getting an internship while trying to figure out my brand and professional identity. UF is so big, and I feel like a small fish in the sea. I eventually overcame those daunting thoughts. 

I put to use my Beyond120 experience in an 8-week internship with Amazon as an Operations Loss Prevention Specialist. I remember on the day of the interview; I was so anxious and nervous that I was bedridden for the next two days.

Being part of the Beyond120 program did not teach me how to cope with post-interview stress and anxiety, but it did teach me how to answer interview questions and how to present myself.

A few tips that I have learned in the program and successfully applied are that at the end of every interview, the interviewer will most likely ask, “do you have any questions for me?” The answer will always be yes, especially knowing that one of Amazon’s Leadership Principles is learning and being curious. Another tip is to have a notebook and a pen/pencil and write down the interviewer’s name and essential information along the way. A benefit to this was that I learned a little bit about my internship role early on and connected with my interviewer on LinkedIn. A Beyond120 professor once said this, “amateurs forget; professionals write it down” (unless you got a great brain with excellent memory retention, which unfortunately I don’t, but that is beside the point). These are some of the tips that I learned in a nutshell, and I can go on forever, but these are the ones that I think are underrated and not mentioned as often.

Beyond120 Excursions

by Brandon Stone
As a microbiology major, I consider myself a man of many cultures.  My time is mostly spent in clubs and looking at the little things in life.  When I’m not making horrible puns in my first two sentences, I enjoy boxing and participating in student organizations. I am mostly involved in Best Buddies, child advocacy, and UF’s International Genetically Engineered Machine team (iGEM). Most of my involvement stems from an innate desire to give every individual the chance at a happy and normal life. This drive guided me toward conducting genetic engineering research so that I may help treat genetic diseases in the future. 

I was able to participate in two of Beyond120’s excursions to Tallahassee and London. Both trips were extremely valuable for networking with UF alumni and providing future career opportunities. Students in our group had various majors and career plans, with some still searching for a path to follow.  Even with such a multifaceted audience, the alumni were able to offer advice that resonated with each undergraduate. Such outreach was possible because of Beyond120’s diverse selection of alumni.

While visiting an alumnus at TransPerfect, an international translation company, we were also introduced to his co-workers. Each employee had a different background and skill set, but the one that I connected to the most was the hiring manager. He listed useful tips ranging from how to give a proper handshake to resume etiquette and how to ace an interview.  His advice was of great importance to me as it enhanced my CV and demeanor during interviews.

Overall, my favorite experience was participating in Beyond120’s London Excursion during Spring break as it also coincided with my birthday.  Despite only having known me for a few days, the other students surprised me with a signed card and sang happy birthday to me.  This, of course, was promptly followed by a night out in London. I left Florida hardly knowing anyone on this trip, but when I returned, I had a whole new group of friends. To me, that alone was worth the trip. 