UF students and staff explored careers in fun during a visit to Fun Spot America-Orlando and The Villages Recreation and Parks in February.
During our visit to Fun Spot America – Orlando, students explored areas like social media, sales, and marketing. Students also got to explore the park and learn about its history and career opportunities. Meeting with social media managers Rachel and Brianna, the group learned about how Fun Spot engages parkgoers and influencers with creative content. They shared how they manage their online communities, keep up with trends, and capture highlights from rides, special events, and other happenings in the parks.
Next, students met with Adrianna, a sales manager who organizes visits to Fun Spot ranging from small groups to park buy-outs. She shared how she builds client relationships and provides top-notch customer service to ensure guests choose Fun Spot for all their group outings. Frank, an HR manager, then led students on a tour of the park and highlighted Fun Spot’s employee benefits and opportunities, including annual bonuses and internal promotions. Frank also surprised the group with a visit to Gator Spot, an outpost of Orlando’s Gatorland park, and a ride on Freedom Flyer, Fun Spot’s suspended steel roller coaster!
To close out the visit, students networked with all Fun Spot team members over lunch, including a marketing vice president and park manager.
After leaving Fun Spot, the group headed to The Villages Community Development Districts, where they met with members of the Recreation and Parks team and toured the community, including several recreation properties and venues. The Villages, located in Central Florida, is the fastest-growing metro area in the U.S. and is often proclaimed as “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.” Voted as Florida’s Safest City in 2023, The Villages is a master-planned retirement community that spans parts of Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties, but it operates more like a fully functioning township — complete with healthcare facilities, hospitality venues, entertainment, media, public safety, construction, and more.
The Villages offers robust and well-rounded internship programs and full-time jobs designed to give students and young professionals hands-on, real-world experience. These programs are tailored to both undergraduate and graduate students, with opportunities offered in the summer and year-round. Internship opportunities students learned about during the Career Trek included:
- Marketing & Communications
- Social media strategy, content creation, public relations
- Brand development and campaign execution
- Working with The Villages Daily Sun (newspaper) or local radio/TV outlets
- Hospitality & Recreation
- Resort-style club management and event planning
- Recreation programming for residents (fitness, arts, lifestyle events)
- Golf course operations and food service management
- Healthcare
- The Villages Health, a patient-centered healthcare model
- Opportunities in administration, public health, wellness outreach, and health communications
- Construction & Development
- Real estate development and project planning
- Civil engineering, architecture, surveying, and land use
- Green building practices and community design
- Public Safety & Government Operations
- Working with community watch, EMS, and local governance
- Emergency planning and community engagement initiatives
- Education & Youth Programming
- Despite being a 55+ community, The Villages operates The Villages Charter School system
- Education majors can work on curriculum development, classroom support, or administrative functions
For students looking for a place that offers diverse professional experience within one ecosystem, The Villages is a hidden gem. Students attending the Career Trek learned about an array of opportunities available. To cap off the visit, students got to see community members gathering at Sawgrass Grove for an evening concert, part of the nightly entertainment offered across town squares throughout the community, and explore the nearby marketplace food hall.
Career Treks offer a unique opportunity to visit leading employers. Each Trek includes tours, organizational overviews, insights from employees about their roles, career journeys, and job search experiences, and information about internships, jobs, or other career opportunities. Visit our events page to learn about upcoming Career Treks you can join!
