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Business and Finance, Student Life

First advertising student selected in College of Business’ 25 Under 25

Posted by Meghan Mangrum ⋅ April 14, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Filed Under 25 under 25 program, USF College of Business

Petr Bambasek, the first advertising student selected for the USF College of Business' 25 Under 25 program.

Every year the USF of Business recognizes 25 outstanding undergraduate students under the age of 25 as a part of the 25 Under 25 recognition program; this year, Petr Bambasek is the first advertising student to be selected as one of the 25.

Students in the 25 Under 25 program are chosen based on their academics, professional development, leadership and campus involvement.

Bambasek, originally from the Czech Republic, attended high school in Prague. It was in high school that he became interested in design and compute programs.

“I discovered that it was more fun for me to actually create stuff than just to consume by way of playing video games,” Bambasek said.

Bambasek first started creating front pages of websites, but as he got more interested, he discovered blogs that helped him improve his skills.

“At first I was just messing around, trying to create websites,” Bambasek said. “I learned organically, by trial and error…it was entirely self-taught.”

Bambasek even ran a blog about Apple products that turned into an electronic magazine that reviewed tech products, which gained attention from the Apple user community in the Czech Republic.

During his senior year, Bambasek also decided he want to attend college in the United States. A family friend went to high school in Bradenton, Fla. and Bambasek saw how “enriching” that experience was for him.

Since he was interested in web design, graphic design and multimedia, Bambasek decided to major in business advertising.

“It allowed me to dive into all these creative fields at once, but also gave me the business knowledge,” Bambasek said.

Upon arriving at USF, Bambasek immediately sought out opportunities to utilize his skills. During his first semester he was hired by Student Government for a graphics design position. Bambasek also joined USF’s Ad Club, served as communications/social media chair and is now the president-elect for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Bambasek also landed a paid internship in the summer of 2011 at McCann Erickson, an international advertising agency part of McCann World Group, in the Czech Republic. During his internship, Bambasek worked with the digital section because he “wanted to explore other positions” within the industry.

Bambasek is also involved with Createch USF and last year served on the Ad 2 Tampa Bay team that created a public service campaign for a local non-profit organization.

When he isn’t thinking about his future goals to one day start his own advertising agency, Bambasek also enjoys wakeboarding (something he first did in the United States in 2007) and playing both the piano and the guitar.

After being recognized as a 25 Under 25 honoree, students have the opportunity vote on which honoree they think is the most remarkable. The winner will be recognized by the Dean of the College of Business at a ceremony at Busch Gardens.