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Zach Levy ’17, Business

Campus Connections lead to Career Opportunities

Zach Levy

After co-founding the cycling club at NVU-Johnson, Zach Levy ’17 established a relationship with the owner of Untapped, a small business based in Richmond, Vermont, that produces maple syrup as a natural fuel to energize athletes. Zach originally saw the connection as sponsorship for his club but realized he admired the Untapped business model and asked the owner to take him on as a student intern.

Hands-on Learning

Zach learned about advertising, sales, and market research in his business classes at NVU, but used his internship at Untapped to gain skills in search engine optimization, writing, and social media. “NVU-Johnson gave me a strong baseline in business that I used to break into the internship and industry,” says Zach who concentrated his business classes in marketing.

Now at Press Forward, a public relations firm in Middlebury, Vermont, Zach is responsible for a handful of accounts and all digital advertising for their clients. “It’s a very collaborative work environment, but I still get to own my projects,” says Zach.

One of the accounts he works on frequently is Untapped, the same company he was a marketing intern at while at NVU. “That exposure to the industry as an intern was super valuable,” says Zach. “If I had just graduated with no experience it would’ve been hard to find a job.”

On top of Zach’s experience, his networking abilities have pressed his career forward too. Toward the end of his time at Untapped, Zach’s boss was launching Press Forward and asked Zach to join him for another paid internship opportunity. After graduation, Zach became the firm’s third full-time employee.

Campus Views that Inspire

As a student, Zach found time to enjoy life outside of the classroom and office. He represented NVU-Johnson around New England as a competitive cyclist and worked as a resident assistant.

Zach, who mainly came to NVU-Johnson because of the stunning view of Sterling Ridge from campus, still finds time to cycle, hike, and enjoy Vermont. “I couldn’t do my job well without being to integrate outdoor activities,” says Zach.