Natalie Ippolito

Natalie Ippolito ’20

Business Administration

Why ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯

When I was a kid, my family used to vacation on Hills Beach. I was so young then that I later didn't even remember that there was a college campus right there. When I was looking around at different colleges, my mom said to me, β€œWhat about the one we used to pass by?” I remember looking into ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯ then, but I wanted to go to UMass Lowell because that’s where a lot of my friends were going. Then one day I was hiking with my brother, and he told me that I should challenge myself to go somewhere that none of my friends were going. I took that challenge, and it led me here to ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯.

We have a very different setup than other schools because the Business Department is small compared to the health science majors here. It’s close-knit because of that. All of the professors tailor their classes to the students and what the students want to learn. I think that is the coolest part. Rather than just following a set curriculum, they'll see what the students are interested in and try to engage us more.

Welcoming Community

Everyone is very friendly here at ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯. When you pass by people, you don't even have to know them, they’ll smile and wave. I think that's really cool. It’s a very welcoming environment, and I really appreciate that. It's very much geared toward getting students involved in different things, and I think that allows for a lot of freedom and opportunity.

I learned a lot about myself from being here at ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯. I remember coming into college…I thought, β€œOh, I'm just going to do my classes, study hard, and not do anything aside from that.” I got sucked into the culture, though. There is so much community here. It started with my involvement in [the undergraduate theater club] ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯ Players and went from there.

I remember when I first came to ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯, I thought it was pretty, and I liked it here. It was a shallow interpretation of the place. After a few years at ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯, though, I have a much deeper connection. I think that ³ΙΘΛΦ±²₯ Players helped me feel that way and find my place. I developed friends through participating in the plays.