Alexandra Gioia
Staff Writer ‘23
Nick and Kristin Faivre are a married couple who met at Merrimack. They both graduated from Merrimack in 2008 during the Great Recession. Although 2008 was a difficult and stressful time to graduate and enter the workforce, these Merrimack alumni still succeeded.
Nick graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Kristin graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics. While at Merrimack, they both played on the soccer team.
Kristin went in undecided and ended up taking a class in economics. During this class, she fell in love with the topic and ended up declaring it as her major. She was on the student athlete advisory committee while studying at Merrimack. After graduating from Merrimack she worked at a company called Amergent, which helps with fundraising programs. She worked her for about 9 years and had a number of positions. She started out as Executive Assistant and ended as a Senior Account Executive. Kristin now works at Phillips Academy as the Assistant Director for Annual Giving Marketing, Stewardship, and Operations.
Nick first went in undecided as well. He then thought he might want to major in sports medicine. He had an internship experience in that area, which he really enjoyed, but ended up deciding that it was not the path for him and became a Communication major. While at Merrimack, he worked at the post office. After college, Nick accepted a position at Forester as a Research Specialist after his friend introduced him to the company. He ended up working there for 11 years and ended as an Account Manager. Through working at Forester, he found that he has a passion for sales. Recently, Nick became an Account Manager at Fuze, a cloud-based communication platform.
In thinking about what helped them succeed in their careers, Kristin recommends students use the O’Brien Center for Career Development. They helped her review her resume and cover letter when looking for an internship. She said they really helped her boost her confidence.
Nick and Kristin also emphasize the importance of networking with Merrimack alumni. They said that alumni, including themselves, love to connect with Merrimack students. Students never know who they might connect with and the possible relationship you could build.
“Build friends and networks. Don’t be afraid to use alumni,” Kristen said when discussing how she loves giving back.
“Definitely leverage alumni, get on social media and connect with someone,” Nick agreed.
Nick and Kristin even recommend that students build up their connections through LinkedIn. Not only will this help students with finding internships, but also maybe a career after graduation.
