Education & Experience
Education
Boston College '16
Finance & Entrepreneurship | International Studies
As a first-generation college student, I didn't really know where to start when it came to applying to college. I ended up applying to 18 schools and definitely spent more hours on essays and financial aid forms than planned! Looking back though, I'm really glad I did it because I'm not sure I would've added Boston schools to the mix on a shorter list.
BC changed my life. I know that sounds clichè, but it's the best way to sum up the incredible people I met and experiences I was able to take advantage of. I would not be where I am today without BC and the folks who supported me along the way. Below are a few of the clubs and programs, both on campus and off, that I enjoyed being a part of:
- University College Dublin: Study Abroad (blog)
- AHANA Management Academy: Co-President (site)
- Winston Center for Leadership & Ethics: Student Director (site)
- Portico: First Generation course & Teaching Assistant (site)
- Harvard Business School: Summer Venture in Management Program 2015 (site)
- Arrupe Service Immersion Program to Belize (site)
- PULSE Service Learning Program: Boston Scholar Athletes (site)
- Social Media for Management course (blog)
- Field study courses: Silicon Valley, Ghana, Colombia & Chile (blog)
Conservation Photography Workshop
Learning from the Best
Karine Aigner and Nick Kanakis are two of the best in the conservation and wildlife photography business, and I had the good fortune of learning from each of them during this workshop. I learned what makes a great image, how to think about composition, the importance of being deliberate when making a photo, how to bring images together to tell a story, what it means to be a conservation photographer, and so much more.
Supporting Center Work
Sea Turtle Inc. is a nonprofit rescue and rehabilitation center doing essential work to save the world's most critically endangered sea turtle species. It was an honor to volunteer and shadow the team behind the scenes - a special shoutout to Tess, a Field Conservation Supervisor, who made my experience remarkable. The community education, medical care, conservation work, and research Sea Turtle Inc. facilitates is a model that should be replicated.
Making Impactful Images
By the end of the workshop, I took nearly 10,000 photos - just 20 of which I could showcase for the final project. As impossible as it first sounded to narrow these down, it was actually a lot of fun. It was amazing to see my images, as a relatively new photographer, come together to tell a story. The final title of my project was "Life, Death, and Everything In Between", and I am proud to showcase the photos here.
Work Experience
HubSpot
I joined HubSpot in 2016 as a part of the Leadership Rotational Program. At the time, the company was around 1,000 people. By the time I left in 2023, we had over 7,000 employees spread across 14 offices globally. I feel like I was part of an HBS case study on how to scale a SaaS business, and I had the good fortune of being on several cross-functional teams along the way. I started in Customer Support, rotated into Global Cross-Sell Marketing, and then joined the Platform Marketing team for a few years. Ultimately, I moved to Dublin, Ireland as a part of the Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy team, with a focus on International Strategy.
I was fortunate to experience "The Internship" in real life - ironically enough, the summer after the movie came out. Prior to Google, I had worked at JP Morgan Chase and learned that I wanted to give tech a try. Google was a fantastic place to learn, grow, and meet very talented people. I was on the international education marketing team and enjoyed my experience. I realized tech was the place I wanted to be, but after two stints working at very large companies, I thought it might be nice to work somewhere that was more of a scale-up. That's what led me to apply to HubSpot.
Isgro's Produce Stand
My dad, brother, and I founded Isgro's Produce at my grandfather's (Mario Isgro) farm. We farmed several acres in the back fields, as well as sourced produce from a local New Jersey farmer at his wholesale auction. We were open all summer, 7 days a week. This experience was not only valuable work-wise, but it also helped me pay for my first two years of college at BC (I'm proud to say, with a lot of hard work, we generated over $53,000 in revenue and $18,000 in profit). The stand also allowed me to spend lots of quality time with my family, which, in hindsight, was the most valuable thing of all.
Field Studies
Ghana
Before arriving at BC, I had flown on a plane exactly twice in my life. Thanks to the Tech Trek Ghana field study course, I found myself heading to Accra, Ghana for my third-ever flight. In this course, I analyzed the role of technology in catalyzing entrepreneurship and market development in sub-Saharan Africa. I studied and visited large US multinational firms, as well as Ghanaian firms, meeting with in-country leads and CEOs. Looking back, I realize that this experience sparked my interest in so many topics that would shape my collegiate and early professional journey: technology, traveling, and learning from a diverse set of perspectives - just to name a few.
Chile and Colombia
After my Ghanaian experience, I knew I wanted to participate in more field studies. When spring break came along, most folks were looking at booking flights to hotels in Cancun or the Dominican Republic. I found myself deciding between a beach town vacation or an international business and cultural immersion course. I decided on this field study in Santiago and Bogota, and it ended up being a great choice. It was my first time in South America, and I once again found great passion in the combination of traveling internationally, learning about cultures and business outside of the US, and meeting new people (blog).
Silicon Valley
During my time at BC, Tech Trek West was a staple in any student's experience who was remotely interested in working in tech after graduation. It sounds like the course has changed over the years, but I will be forever grateful to Professor John Gallaugher for facilitating it (along with Tech Trek Ghana aided by Professor Betty Bagnani). This field study exposed us to everything from BC startups, to venture firms, to the titan companies of the tech industry. It connected me to countless alumni across the valley and beyond. I learned a lot from the course, but the best part was the community of awesome individuals that were a part of it.
Interested in checking out more of my work?
Click below and you'll be directed back to my home page where I link out to images, blogs, and more.