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You probably know Rollins’ hometown as one of the most fun cities on the planet, but did you know it’s also one of the nation’s top cities for young professionals? It’s true: WalletHub just ranked Orlando the second-best place in America to start your career. To find out why Orlando is such an ideal location to live and work, we caught up with Mariah Haskell ’22, Reed Andary ’22, and Beatriz Olivieri ’22—three recent Rollins grads who are doing fascinating things in The City Beautiful.

The Creator

From Walt Disney World to Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando is best known as one of the entertainment capitals of the world. We promise you’ll never be bored. Having some of the world’s biggest and best entertainment companies also translates to a ton of professional opportunities for recent grads like Mariah Haskell ’22, who is a ride show engineer at Universal.

Mariah Haskell ’22
Associate Engineer of Show Control, Universal Creative
Majors: Computer Science and Theatre

What do you do as a Universal engineer? I help design and maintain the control systems that power your favorite rides and experiences. It’s a lot of project management, problem solving, and technical nitty gritty that helps ensure that our guests have a seamless, immersive experience.

What’s your favorite part of the job? It’s so cool to be part of this giant piece of art that brings so much joy to so many people. I’ve always loved the parks, and now it’s really cool to be on the other side of it—to help create all of these thrilling experiences that are going to create all these amazing memories for millions of people.

You double-majored in computer science and theatre. How did that prepare you for this role? It was that combination that landed me this job, and I don’t think I could’ve done that at another school. I needed a school like Rollins where you have the space to really figure out what you like and what you want to do—even if it’s a wild combination like computer science and theatre. Then Rollins is like ‘Go for it, we’ll support you every step of the way.’

The Changemaker

Orlando is jam-packed with thrills and adventure, but the city has a lot more going on than just nonstop fun. It’s also a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship and has been ranked among the best cities in the country to start a business. To learn more about the techy side of Orlando, we took a ride with Reed Andary, who works in business development for autonomous mobility startup Beep.

Reed Andary ’22
Founding Sales Development Lead, Beep Autonomous Mobility
Major: Social Entrepreneurship

Can you tell us a little bit more about Beep? Beep is the leading company in autonomous vehicle deployment. We were founded in 2019 and our headquarters in Orlando is the largest and longest-tenured autonomous vehicle network in the country.

What do you do at Beep? I’m in sales development, so every day I’m reaching out to municipalities, airports, universities, and private businesses to show them how Beep can help them reduce congestion and carbon emissions, increase road safety, and extend mobility. I love that I’m helping build something that’s going to have a positive impact in the world.

How do you think Rollins prepared you for this work? I was a social entrepreneurship major, and that helped me develop a lot of tools around understanding challenges and building sustainable solutions to address them. There was a big focus on presentations and research, so that really enhanced my ability to tell a story and build relationships with some pretty high-profile people—everyone from politicians to CEOs.

The Environmental Champion

Orlando’s startup credentials are undeniable, but the city is also home to some of the world’s largest companies—from Amazon to Siemens. To learn more about that side of Orlando, we caught up with Beatriz Olivieri ’22, an environmental, social, and governance business analyst at Travel + Leisure Co., one of several major companies with headquarters in The City Beautiful.

Beatriz Olivieri ’22
ESG Analyst, Travel + Leisure Co.
Major: International Relations

What’s your favorite part of your job? I love getting to see the positive impact that our ESG work can have across this really big company. Travel + Leisure has nearly 300 resorts and provides more than 6 million vacations a year, so even small changes can trickle down and create a much larger impact.

You actually got this job because of a connection you made as a Rollins student, right? Yes. I was paired with one of my current directors, Hannah Ricci ’17, through Rollins’ Career Champions alumni mentorship program. She was already working in the field I wanted to go into, so connecting with her helped me know for sure that this was what I wanted to do. We stayed in touch after I graduated, and when I finished my master’s, she helped me land this role.

You did your master’s at a school in the Northeast. Did you always plan on coming back to Orlando? I considered moving to New York City, but the weather wasn’t for me. I grew up in Brazil, so Orlando is a much better fit. It’s kind of the best of both worlds because there’s always something going on like sports and concerts, but we also have a lot of nature so you’re able to disconnect and unwind too.