Samantha Puleo
How a Communication Master's Degree Helped Her Find a Niche, Build Skills and Land a Job
A Double Warrior who earned her undergraduate degree in Communication and Media before enrolling in Merrimack’s Master of Arts in Communication, Samantha Puleo currently works as a Marketing and Proposal Development Coordinator at Mabbett & Associates Inc. In her estimation, her graduate degree and the experience she gained as a graduate fellow directly contributed to her ability to stand out to employers during the job search.
While completing her master’s program, Samantha served as a Communication Communication Fellow for Merrimack’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “I was their Communication and Social Media Manager,” she explains. “That piece of experience was very influential towards my skill set and was a quintessential part of how I got the job position I have today.”
“The number of interviews I had received from various companies due to seeing that I had an M.A. in Communications was unbelievable. They commented on how impressive a degree like this is. It’s a very unique thing to have and I’ve discovered that companies take note of that.”
Samantha further credits the Master of Arts in Communication for allowing her to find her niche in a wide field. “I chose to get my master’s to further expand my knowledge of the communication realm,” Samantha recalls. “The field of communication is so broad, with so many diverse industries, and after graduating with my bachelor’s, I had not narrowed down my interest in a specific industry yet. So, getting my masters not only gave me a more in-depth experience within the world of communications, but also gave me the chance to learn even more about what I was really interested in and passionate about. Which turns out to be primarily media marketing.”
Reflecting back on why she chose to stay at Merrimack for her master’s, she points to the school’s supportive faculty as the decisive factor. “The main reason why I chose to get my graduate degree at Merrimack was the professors. I had learned from, and essentially grown up with, these same professors throughout my undergraduate career at Merrimack. They really care and do everything they can to ensure their students succeed.”
For prospective students considering the communications graduate program, Samantha offers the following advice:
“I’d say 100% go for it. You’ll be getting a great education at an incredible school, with extremely dedicated faculty who truly care – not only about your education, but also you, yourself. Yes, it’s a lot of work but it’s so worth it in the end. You come out of it with not only a degree but also amazing experiences and lifelong friends.”
