DJ Bernadotte poses with his sticker-covered skateboard on the steps of the Judy Genshaft Honors College.
Dimitri “DJ” Bernadotte’s skateboard tells the story of his four years at the University of South Florida.
Its surface is covered in stickers commemorating the people, places, and experiences that shaped his undergraduate experience — from meeting lifelong friends in the Judy Genshaft Honors College Living Learning Community (LLC) to interning with USF Athletics and participating in countless student events.
Bernadotte can pinpoint the USF memory behind nearly every sticker. In many ways, the skateboard represents Bernadotte’s approach to college: he came to USF looking for something different and then took a chance on as many opportunities as he could.
Branching Out
A Fort Lauderdale native, Bernadotte chose USF because he wanted an experience that felt distinctly different from what he had known before.
DJ Bernadotte parties with friends at the Honors Living Learning Community "Honors Prom" event.
“During my senior year of high school, I visited here, and I really fell in love with the campus,” he said. “It was just so unique and original to me. I just really fell in love with what felt like was going to be something new, not a repeat of high school, not a repeat of anywhere else in Florida.”
That sense of possibility continued as a member of the Judy Genshaft Honors College, where Bernadotte quickly found a community through the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC). He lived alongside other Honors students, took courses with them, and participated in professional development opportunities, like resume writing workshops, together.
More importantly, the Honors LLC became the foundation for some of his most lasting relationships at USF.
“I have so many long-time friends from the LLC. I met my best friend there my freshman year,” Bernadotte said.
With that foundation of supportive peers and a dedicated space to grow, Bernadotte began exploring what his future might look like.
Getting in the Game
Bernadotte had always known he wanted his career to involve sports. Growing up, he watched the Miami Heat with his father, and when he arrived at USF, he pursued opportunities that would put him closer to the industry. He decided to major in marketing at the USF Muma College of Business, excited to embed himself at the intersection of sports and marketing.
DJ Bernadotte serves as an intramural basketball referee at the USF Recreation Center.
He interned with USF Athletics, volunteered as an intramural sports referee through USF Recreation & Wellness, worked as a sportswriter for the USF Oracle, and built connections with professionals in sports marketing.
“As a USF intern, I got to go behind the scenes with the basketball team, the football team, volleyball, soccer, all the sports,” he said. “I really got to learn how to balance all those responsibilities.”
But the experiences also taught him about the changing realities of college athletics.
Through his work, Bernadotte learned about constantly shifting issues surrounding name, image, and likeness (NIL) and the business surrounding college athletes. While it was close to what he had envisioned, it didn't quite fit into his vision for the future.
“It was similar to what I thought I wanted to do,” he said. “But it wasn't really.”
Unexpected Discovery
His real breakthrough came unexpectedly during a trip to Boston.
While exploring the area around the TD Garden arena, where the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins play, Bernadotte noticed the area beyond the stadium itself. The arena was surrounded by apartments, restaurants, bars, businesses, and public transportation — creating a neighborhood that remained vibrant and active even when there wasn't a game.
He saw an opportunity that excited him.
Bernadotte receives an award during his internship at the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.
“I realized that I, while I want to be almost adjacent to sports, I really want to help create those districts, create those living and breathing areas,” he said. “I want to be involved in the creation of those neighborhoods.”
Another trip to Atlanta, where he saw the development surrounding the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, reinforced the idea. He wasn't interested solely in sports anymore, but how sports can serve as an anchor for entire communities.
That realization gave new direction to the professional experiences he had begun building at USF.
An internship at Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority introduced Bernadotte to professionals in real estate and development, eventually helping him secure an internship with the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. There, he gained firsthand experience with work affecting downtown development, housing, and infrastructure.
The experience opened the door to his next chapter: Bernadotte secured a full-time position as a downtown development coordinator with the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. In his role, he will attend meetings with the City Council, Chamber of Commerce, and his company’s board; research land use, parking, and zoning; and manage communications materials.
Giving Back to Tampa Bay
His experiences around Tampa Bay have also shaped the kind of work he hopes to pursue long term. Bernadotte sees an opportunity to help the region become less dependent on cars by expanding public transit-oriented development.
Bernadotte poses for a graduation photo with friends at the USF Tampa campus.
“I feel like Florida really has the potential, especially with our landscape and just the fact that we're growing so quickly, to start implementing transit and transit-oriented development in the state,” he said. “That's the kind of the niche that I'm trying to fall into.”
For now, Bernadotte hopes to take what he has learned in Tampa Bay and eventually expand his perspective by working in a larger city such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., or New York.
His ultimate goal isn't to leave Florida behind, but to bring what he learns back home.
“My goal is to move to a bigger city to learn about those processes and the complexity of those real estate deals and then bring that knowledge back to Florida,” he said.
Bernadotte’s USF experience gave him the space to explore career possibilities he didn’t know existed. Now, he’s sitting at the table with the leaders shaping Tampa Bay’s future — and he hopes to use what he learns to help impact the region for years to come.