A member of the women’s track and field team, double major in marketing and business administration, campus employee, student organization leader, and intern, Zinnie has spent her college career learning how to balance a lot while figuring out where she wants that experience to take her.
This past summer, a six-week internship in medical sales gave her an answer.
After making high-volume outbound calls, connecting with health care decision-makers, and shadowing a senior manager in the field, Zinnie realized she had found the career she wants to pursue after graduation.
Growing With Institutional Advancement
Long before she stepped into a medical sales internship, Zinnie was already learning how much relationships matter in the professional world.
Through her work with Flagler’s Office of Institutional Advancement, she has spent the past three years supporting annual giving and donor engagement, gaining experience in fundraising, data analysis, and project management while also learning how the College builds relationships with its donors.
“Working on campus in the Office of Institutional Advancement has been one of the most valuable parts of my time at Flagler,” Zinnie said. “I've supported annual giving operations and donor engagement, which gave me hands-on experience with fundraising, data analysis, and project management.”
Working alongside professionals has also helped Zinnie become more comfortable with building relationships in a professional setting. Her boss, Director of Annual Giving Daniel Harris, has encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone, introducing her to new people and encouraging her to build professional connections of her own.
“He showed me how to build connections instead of just telling me to,” she said.
That lesson has become particularly valuable as Zinnie prepares for a career in medical sales, where building relationships and understanding the needs of clients are central to the work.
Putting Experience to Work
This past summer, Zinnie completed a six-week medical sales internship with Legacy Imaging Solutions, a company that sells Samsung medical devices. She made high-volume outbound calls to health care practices, qualified leads, identified key purchasing decision-makers, and shadowed a Senior Territory Manager during client visits and live ultrasound demonstrations.
The cold calls quickly taught Zinnie that medical sales is more than knowing a product. Zinnie had to earn someone's attention, understand what they needed, handle rejection, and find a reason to keep the conversation going.
“My internships have taught me the skills I'll use throughout my career,” Zinnie said. “At Legacy Imaging Solution, making high-volume outbound calls taught me to communicate clearly, stay resilient through rejection, and quickly identify the right decision-makers.”
She got a chance to see those skills pay off when she connected with pregnancy resource centers and convinced them to consider her company's ultrasound equipment.
“The accomplishment I'm most proud of is producing sales from my cold calls during my internship,” Zinnie said.
The experience also gave Zinnie a closer look at what happens after a lead becomes a conversation. While shadowing a senior employee, she saw how medical sales depend on understanding a client’s needs and showing how a product can address them.
“Shadowing a senior territory manager showed me how consultative selling works in practice: listening to a client's needs first, then showing how a product solves their problem,” she said.
By the end of the internship, Zinnie had more than a new line on her résumé. She had tested herself in the field and found that she enjoyed the pace, competition, and relationship-building that came with the work.
“It confirmed that I want a career in medical sales because the pace of this job was exactly what I'm looking for,” Zinnie said.
Balancing It All
Medical sales may be where Zinnie is headed, but getting to that point has meant making the most of opportunities across nearly every part of her college experience.
She has balanced two majors with a demanding track and field schedule, work with Institutional Advancement, internships, student organizations, leadership opportunities, and community service.
On the track, she competes in hurdles, 200-meter dash, and heptathlon. In the classroom, she has earned a place on the President's List every year so far.
“Being a student athlete has taught me discipline, time management, and resilience,” Zinnie said. “Between practices, meets, and classes, I've had to plan my time carefully and stay consistent even when I was tired or busy.”
That schedule has forced Zinnie to become intentional about how she spends her time. She plans her weeks around practices, meets, classes, and work, communicates with professors and supervisors ahead of time, and uses the small gaps in her schedule to stay ahead.
“I learned that being busy isn't the same as being productive, so I started planning my weeks ahead, prioritizing what mattered most, and being more intentional with my time,” she said. “That taught me time management and discipline, and it also taught me to ask for help when I need it.”
Her involvement has stretched well beyond the track. Zinnie has also been part of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Society for Advancement of Management, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Financial Investments Club, Student Accounting Society, and Green Bean Environmental Club. She has also volunteered with the Unity Pink Ride, ALS Walk, MS Bike Ride, Jailbreak 5K, and St. Augustine High School Track Team.
“The Student Athlete Advisory Committee has been the most meaningful organization for me at Flagler,” Zinnie said. “It gave me a chance to get to know athletes from other teams and to be part of something bigger than my own sport.”
All of those experiences have given Zinnie a chance to learn something different about herself. Track taught her how to perform under pressure. Her campus work taught her how to communicate and build professional relationships. Her classes gave her a foundation in business and marketing. Her internship gave her the chance to test those skills in a career she was considering.
Now, as she enters her final year at Flagler, those pieces have started to come together.
“I came in as a student athlete, and I'm leaving as someone who knows what I want and how to go after it.”
