‘I am Fully Engaged and Have Learned So Much’

I have a strong determination to finish my degree early to save money, which is why I am on track to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in business management in just three years. I am a full-time student, and I am also working three part-time jobs to support myself through school.

My first job is as a nanny caring for beautiful one-year-old twins. I also work at Dixie Donuts as a server, and I am a manager at Snap Fitness. I enjoy all my jobs and everything I learn from them. Since most of my courses are online this year, not having my typical two-hour a day commute has allowed me to work and study even more than last year.

What does a day look like for a full-time Pompea College of Business commuter student? Let me tell you…busy! I usually work mornings at the donut shop, and, from there, I go to my nanny job until 6:30 p.m.. During this time, I create time for my Zoom classes and engage in topics such as human resources, business analytics, multinational management, nutrition, design thinking, and behavioral economics.

I am currently the project leader for group projects in my human resources, behavioral economics, and design thinking courses. For our human resources project, our group is analyzing whether Lowe’s has created strategic HR policies and if it follows good employee management that aligns with the company’s mission and vision statement. My behavioral economics project entails investigating a research question to determine if Best Buy should consider changing its business model to fully online retail due to the decrease in demand for brick and mortar stores and determining if the switch would be feasible.

Lastly, in Dr. Brian Marks’s extraordinary design thinking course, we are working on course content delivery methods for universities and determining if design thinking can be implemented to update these methods. Even during the pandemic and learning mostly online, I am still fully engaged and have learned so much from all of my professors. A day in the life of a college student is stressful and busy, but it will always be worth it when you land your dream job.

After Commencement, I hope to go to graduate school in London in 2022 to study project management or executive leadership. Then, from there, I hope to find a role in the field and to travel as much as possible. My ultimate goal is owning and operating my own winery – it would be called Hacksaw Wines, in either New Hampshire or in upstate New York. I would like to have a house on a lake with a boat and to live a simple life with lots of hiking and outdoor activities.

Meredith Zamperini ’22 is a business management major at the University of New Haven.