Adrianna Empaynado is a Marketing major and Communications minor graduating in May 2025. During Adrianna’s undergraduate career she quickly grasped the importance of networking, noting “Every conversation you have is possible a connection”. Adrianna was highly involved in the Business Connections Learning Community during her first two years at UConn, as well as Women in Business and now serves on the Executive Board of the student-led organization. “Both of these organizations motivated me to start my career search early, explore my passions, and grow my network.”, She shares.

Adrianna currently works as a Marketing and Communications Intern for Steel Sports. While she has been in this role since June 2023, she had worked for the company for three years prior. “I was familiar with the company, their values, and the staff. I didn’t experience a normal interview process with Steel Sports due to the networking I had done previously while working my summer job. My boss recommended me for the internship and I was quickly directed to HR and onboarding.”, Adrianna recalls.

Adrianna’s responsibilities include managing the Steel Sports Instagram and Facebook accounts though posting, making graphics on Canva, and working on branding strategy. She has weekly meetings with her boss, Nathan, to stay on task as well as the branding team to brainstorm social media campaigns and other branding techniques. However, Adrianna’s tasks highly depend on the sports season, camp schedules, and tournaments that Steel is a part of.

Adrianna’s favorite professional experience so far has been connecting with professionals at Island Records. “My dream is to work in entertainment, but more specifically the music industry. I was able to connect with SVPs this summer in New York. Meeting with them one on one was an amazing experience that offered so much insight into the industry. It was really eye opening and definitely confirmed that music is the industry I want to be involved in.”, She shares.

Adrianna’s greatest advice is to keep your options open and never stop networking: “You never know where your next opportunity will come from. I never thought about going into the sports industry, but the company I ended up interning for was right in front of me for years. I kept my options open and I gained great foundational experience that is very applicable to my other roles and future opportunities. Keep an open mind and connect whenever possible!”