The day Claudia Prado (MBA ’19, BBA ’16) started college was the same day she began her career at Univision – a career that’s lasted nearly a decade.

As senior director of corporate responsibility, she manages Univision’s social impact campaigns, overseeing their efforts to connect with and help Latino immigrants. It’s an important role, and one of Prado’s many impressive accomplishments, including her selection as a 2020 South Florida Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honoree and five Emmy awards. It’s a journey that has led to five different positions at Univision – all part of her effort to find the best match between her skills and her professional and personal goals.

She began as a production coordinator for Univision’s public affairs team in 2011 because of an interest in media production. That became her first opportunity to discover her passion and refine her goals.

“I fell in love with community outreach and the public effort side,” said Prado. It was then when she began majoring in business, which pushed her to work as a sales and research analyst.

“I thought that my career needed to be aligned with what I was studying,” Prado said. Though that job wasn’t the perfect fit for her, it opened the door to working in corporate social responsibility. She stepped into the role of operations manager for corporate social responsibility in 2014, and in 2021 became senior director, her current position.

Although she’s not working in a typical business-side setting, her education from FIU Business has helped her.

“Like any other corporation, Univision also has a marketing team, they need a strategy, budgets,” said Prado, adding that directing a philanthropy team benefits from accounting and other business skills.

Prado’s humanitarian work also extends to the Univision Foundation, a  501-C3 entity that does more short-term projects, focusing mainly on emergency relief and education. For example, when Mexican band MANA wanted to create scholarships for students, she stepped in to organize and promote it to students who truly needed the help. She also volunteered as a translator with Rise Against Hunger, a global organization working to end world hunger.

A unique opportunity in giving back.

Going to school and working was a busy time for Prado, but she learned a lot through it.

“It was one of the best decisions I made, because it taught me so much, like time management and resilience,” said Prado. “It gave me a different perspective on what I’m capable of doing.”

Her current role as a member of FIU Business’ alumni board gives her an opportunity to experience some of the campus activities she may have missed, while helping today’s students.

“Because I was going full time to work and school, I didn’t have the opportunity to be involved as much or have the traditional college experience,” said Prado, “and that’s actually the reason why I’m now involved in the board.”

Being a young female professional also shaped much of her experience in the field.

“You have to work extra hard,” she said, “to make sure that people know that you have an understanding of what you’re talking about.”

As an immigrant, Prado understands the pressure to pursue an education and career, which fuels her drive for her work in empowering immigrant and underserved communities.

“Everything that I can do volunteering-wise, and any guidance I can give to organizations on how to get information and resources to these communities….I’m happy to do it.”