By Amanda Friedman, Journalism senior‍

When Sofia Portugal looked at UF’s website for the first time as a high school student in Bahia, Brazil, she couldn’t imagine attending college anywhere else.

“It just felt right,” Portugal said.

The now 23-year-old graduate completed her Bachelor's in Advertising with a minor in Business Administration in May 2023. She started her master’s degree program at UF in Information Systems and Operations Management with a concentration in Data Science in August 2023.

Despite struggling with self-doubt at times, she has leveraged her passion for advertising and her international background to secure leadership roles in on-campus organizations and internships with the prominent entertainment companies Netflix and Spotify.

While she began at UF as a pre-med student, her path eventually pivoted toward UFCJC’s Advertising program after a psychology course sparked her interest in consumer behavior. After switching her major, she became more invested in advertising following a research project she worked on under the leadership of Juliana Fernandes, an assistant professor in the College’s Advertising Department. The research, which explored the impact of COVID-19 on the global advertising industry, was presented at the American Academy of Advertising in March 2024.

“The College captivated me,” she said. “The best decision I ever made was to come here.”

Her newfound passion set the stage for her involvement with The Agency, UFCJC’s student-staffed strategic communications firm. Portugal started off as a data analyst when she joined in 2022, later becoming the lead data analyst in May 2023. Her dedication and talent led her to become part of the Executive Leadership Team, where she currently serves as an account and operations supervisor.

She views the organization as a critical steppingstone in her college career.

"If it wasn't for The Agency, I probably wouldn't even be doing my master’s right now because they brought my attention to research and strategy development,” she said. “Back then, I didn't really know what data was, so [The Agency] completely changed my life regarding that.”

Portugal also made her mark on UF's Brazilian community as an undergraduate student, having been the marketing director and president of the UF Brazilian Student Association.

Portugal’s journey extended beyond the university as she took on internships at Netflix and Spotify.

For her Summer 2022 Spotify internship in Miami, Portugal focused on collecting consumer insights for the company's LATAM Artist & Label Partnerships team, which targets Latin American markets. Her proficiency in Portuguese and familiarity with Latin American culture helped her connect with Spotify's Brazilian team and allowed her to play a larger role in projects aimed at engaging Gen Z Latin American users.

Portugal then served as a marketing intern at Netflix during the industry-wide writers' and actors' strikes in summer 2023. While unexpected, the strikes forced her to learn how to adapt quickly to unplanned circumstances. As a Brazilian, Portugal’s diverse perspectives contributed to the success of multiple Netflix projects, such as Tudum, a global fan event that took place in São Paulo, Brazil in June. She also worked on the marketing campaigns for several Netflix originals, including the “Swamp Kings” docuseries, and the movie “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

Although she was working at some of the largest entertainment companies in the world, she said the teams she worked on only included a few people, giving her a strong sense of responsibility.

“You see your work,” she said. “I had to do things that I had never done before.”

Yet, Portugal’s journey wasn't devoid of challenges. Portugal battled imposter syndrome and low self-confidence throughout her internships due to insecurities associated with her international background, such as English not being her first language.

Today, she's realized her unique perspectives as an immigrant and Latina make her an asset to the technology and entertainment industries.

“What I thought was my biggest weakness was actually my biggest strength,” she said.

“No dream is impossible with passion and hard work,” she said. “If you’re at UF you already have so many tools in your hand to succeed.”

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