Since she was in high-school, Isabella Frias has dreamed of working for the Miami Heat. Now at 21, she’s seen her videos displayed on the jumbotron at three Heat games.
Frias, a public relations major studying advertising and applied communications at Florida International University, is the youngest person working for the Miami Heat’s multimedia department.
The quality of her work prompted her boss to put it in front of fans at the team’s 20,000-seat arena in Downtown Miami. Two of her videos played during regular season games, the other during a playoff game.
“The feeling is just surreal, just having my work being showcased in front of the entire arena,” said Frias. “It’s indescribable because I worked so hard on it and then to see other people watching it and expressing their emotions while watching the video.”
Watching the crowd react to her video and get energized from watching it has been the highlight of her job but earning that rewarding feeling did not happen overnight.
Frias was 19 when she began interning for a job she’d wanted since high school, and she said she has been overachieving since her first day.
“Even if I’m not assigned any specific task to do while I’m working, I just come up with something on the spot that I want to do, whether it’s just editing a small little recap video of an event that I produced or if it’s just a highlight video of a specific player from the Heat,” said Frias.
When she is not working for the Heat, Frias freelances as a photographer, videographer, and editor.
Valentina Rivera, a friend since middle school, said they were both part of their high school TV production team where they worked on music videos and news packages.
“Isa always said she was going to work for the Heat,” said Rivera. “Ever since she started working for the Heat, I have seen her grow so much as a person and as a creator.”
Lisa Blanket, the multimedia department’s associate producer, said that Frias knows how to take direction on the job.
“I know I can always count on her or rely on her even though she is an intern, she’s very knowledgeable and she’s an asset to the team,” said Blanket.
When Blanket began working for the Miami Heat a year and a half ago, Frias was the one who taught her the ropes.
Frias has worked for the Heat for two seasons and is now looking to start her third. Frias said she would like to turn her internship into a full-time job.
“I would hire her right now but she still has to graduate. We all want her in our department,” said Jeanette Farach, the Heat’s senior producer and editor.
Farach has worked for the Heat for 22 years and said she sees her younger self in Frias.
“She’s going to be a great example for other girls that are starting in the business,” said Farach.
Frias’ persistence has caught the admiration of everyone in her department.
“You walk in and it’s like this little spark in her and she’s always ready to learn. She’s always smiling,” Farach said.
