Business major Cameron Famiglietti was so impressed by the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute during her college tour of UMass Lowell that she wrote her application essay about the campus-wide entrepreneurship program.
“I toured a lot of other colleges, and no one else had a program like DifferenceMaker,” the Billerica, Massachusetts, native says. “I thought it was the coolest program. They care about their students enough to literally award them money to start their own businesses.”
Famiglietti wasn’t interested in fielding a team and pitching an idea to DifferenceMaker judges, however. She was more interested in developing her marketing skills by working for the program.
“It’s a perfect fit,” says Famiglietti, who has served as DifferenceMaker’s social media co-op since the start of her junior year. “I'm so happy because I have learned so much and I've met so many new people.”
Besides promoting events on Instagram, LinkedIn and other channels, Famiglietti helps run the program’s Summer Boot Camp and orientation sessions for incoming first-year students. She also represented the program at the Deshpande Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona — an experience that she says shifted her mindset heading into her senior year.
“I felt like a professional and less like a student,” says Famiglietti, who had never traveled out west before. “I dressed like a businessperson and learned how to talk to businesspeople attending the conference. It was an experience that you can't really get from sitting in the classroom.”
A commuter student, Famiglietti enjoys taking fitness classes at the Campus Recreation Center with friends.
“Starting college during COVID wasn’t ideal, but I’m trying to put myself out there a little bit more,” she says.
Famiglietti chose to major in business after participating in DECA in high school.
“I like to think I’m pretty creative, and numbers weren’t really for me, so I chose to concentrate in marketing,” says Famiglietti, who has enjoyed courses with adjunct faculty member Kevin Willett and visiting lecturer Bill Yelle.
After continuing for her MBA through the Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program, Famiglietti hopes to land a social media marketing position in another state, preferably Florida.
“I've always wanted to move far away and experience living in another state,” she says. “I'll probably end up moving back to Massachusetts at some point, but I want to explore a little bit.”