CAREER KICKOFF

Mon. Feb. 23, 1 – 4 p.m. | SoC Courtyard

This event is designed to help you take your career development to the next level. Based on your major, you’ll receive one-on-one support to strengthen your resume and portfolio, optimize your LinkedIn profile, and visit The Advice Spot for personalized advice from faculty and senior students who’ve been in your shoes.

Receive personalized feedback at each of the Career Kickoff stations:

Bring 2-3 printed copies of
your resume for review

Create or update your LinkedIn
profile for review

Bring your laptop to showcase
your portfolio or reel

USING AI IN CREATIVE WORKFLOWS

Tues. Feb. 24
School of Nursing, S.H.A.R.E. Auditorium
5030 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146
Social hour with light bites: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Panel discussion: 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

This panel will bring together professionals from a range of creative industries who are incorporating artificial intelligence into their work. Panelists will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how AI is shaping workflows across media, design, and storytelling. You’ll hear firsthand perspectives on how these tools are being used in practice, along with the challenges and considerations that come with them. This panel will provide valuable insight for anyone interested in how AI is influencing creative industries.

CINDY WONG
Staff Product Designer
Ex-Meta

Cindy Wong is a Principal Product Designer who led early-stage AI incubations at Meta, bringing new AI ideas to life from scratch. Her work shaped Meta AI, the conversational assistant within Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, now used by millions worldwide to get answers, create content, and discover information.

At Meta, she designed AI integrations for social feeds and content creation tools. Before Meta, she designed early conversational AI at Microsoft, exploring emotional intelligence in AI years before ChatGPT made it mainstream.

She believes the best AI amplifies human creativity, starting with understanding what people actually need, not what technology can do. She’s a University of Miami journalism alum who previously worked in newspapers.

AUSTIN STANBURY
CEO and Co-Founder
Augmented Info Systems

Austin Stanbury is CEO and Co-Founder of Augmented Info Systems, where he develops XR applications for neurodivergent support and public sector training. His work spans AI-driven immersive experiences, from VR vocational tools deployed across clinical networks to AR installations exploring synthetic subjectivity and machine creativity. Austin has published in ACM CHI, VRST, and CSCW, and has spoken on AI and immersive design at MIT, Parsons, and AWE. He holds an MA in Digital Arts and Sciences from the University of Florida and organizes for HarvardXR.

LAURA SARMIENTO
Sr. Creative Operations Manager
Miami HEAT

Laura Sarmiento is the Senior Creative Operations Manager for the Miami HEAT, where she oversees end‑to‑end creative workflow, strategic planning, and production processes that support the organization’s brand and content initiatives. With experience spanning creative project management, cross‑functional collaboration, and operational optimization, she ensures the HEAT’s creative teams deliver high‑impact work across digital, social, in‑arena, and marketing platforms.

She is a proud University of Miami School of Communication alum, where she earned her degree in Strategic Communication. Laura is passionate about helping emerging talent understand the real‑world dynamics of creative careers and the intersection of sports, media, and operations.

CINDY WONG
Staff Product Designer
Meta

Cindy’s career has been where storytelling and technology intersect. She likes big picture thinking and design for impact. Even better, she likes to have fun where delight, utility, and beauty meet.

As a strategic, vision-forward design lead, Cindy has led multiple initiatives, acting as a growth accelerator to drive successful product launches from Facebook Gaming Services, Cloud Gaming to setting the vision for Meta’s Play Together across the Family of Apps and Metaverse initiatives. She’s an industry influencer whose work was highlighted in strategic product partnerships from Xbox to Facebook’s acquisition of Unit 2 Game Studio.

She is dedicated to building positive, inclusive communities in tech, both through leadership roles in programs like Women@Gaming and Women@FB to coaching underrepresented design candidates at Meta. For Cindy, creating great products isn’t just about delivering success, it’s about creating a better world for all.

AUSTIN STANBURY
Co-Founder
Augmented Info Systems

Austin is a scholar and software developer working on practical applications of extended reality technologies. His work primarily focuses on XR in classroom education and hospital settings. He is also interested in ubiquitous small robotics, including wearables and environmental augmentation.

​The question that challenges Austin most: in a world filled with compelling computer augmentation, what is left of “the real”? When lifelike, persistent, ubiquitous augmented content fills our daily life, will we continue to distinguish between real and virtual things?

LAURA SARMIENTO
Sr. Creative Operations Manager
Miami HEAT

Laura Sarmiento is the Senior Creative Operations Manager for the Miami HEAT, where she oversees end‑to‑end creative workflow, strategic planning, and production processes that support the organization’s brand and content initiatives. With experience spanning creative project management, cross‑functional collaboration, and operational optimization, she ensures the HEAT’s creative teams deliver high‑impact work across digital, social, in‑arena, and marketing platforms.

She is a proud University of Miami School of Communication alum, where she earned her degree in Strategic Communication. Laura is passionate about helping emerging talent understand the real‑world dynamics of creative careers and the intersection of sports, media, and operations.

EDDIE GOMEZ
Group VP, Experience Design at Razorfish and University of Miami Lecturer

EDDIE GOMEZ
Group Vice President, Experience Design at Razorfish and University of Miami Lecturer

Eddie Gomez is “The Dude” of User Experience with 20+ years in the digital industry. His superpowers are tackling complex problems, motivating teams to excel, adapting to change and leading award-winning solutions that deliver on the bottom line.

Eddied is passionate about connecting the right mix of data-drive insights and customer-centric design solutions to craft focused experience that are valuable to the business and meaningful to target users.

Eddied builds trust and confidence with clients and his teams to establish a culture of shared ownership, empathy-led team collaboration that enables desirable and viable great experiences.

He has a masters degree in Human Computer Interaction from the School of Information in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a bachelor of science in Microbiology from the University of Michigan.

Eddie is a big advocate of building UX community in Miami as an Adjunct Professor and teacher of 14+ years at the following institutions:

  • University of Miami School of Communication
  • Florida International University School of Journalism and Mass Communication
  • Miami Ad School
  • Co-founder of IXDA local chapter

COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT FAIR

Wed. Feb. 25, 1 – 4 p.m. | SoC Courtyard
Attire: Business Casual

At the Communication, Media & Entertainment Fair, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with a diverse group of employers looking for talent. This event is your chance to explore internship and job opportunities, network with industry professionals, and gain valuable insights into different career paths. Whether you’re just starting your career or looking for a change, this fair will help you navigate the job market and connect with potential employers.

Bring 5+ printed copies of your resume for review

Dress business casual. Here are some examples!

Research the companies

Practice your interview skills. Find tips on how to prepare.

Current, full-time students can have their headshot taken in the Interactive Media Center during the fair on a first come, first served basis.

QUESTIONS?

Contact the Stein Family Career Office at comcareers@miami.edu