Travel has been an education for Alyssa Lentine ’23, ’24MBA, who took every opportunity offered in high school and college to explore the world and immerse in new cultures. Those choices provided a roadmap for the recent Bryant grad to land her current job as the events marketing manager for the Travel & Adventure Show, one of the top travel marketing conventions in the U.S.
Lentine, who double majored in Marketing and Psychology before earning her MBA with a concentration in Business Analytics, lived in Germany for three weeks during high school as an exchange student; her family also hosted a German student in their Wallingford, Connecticut home as part of the program. Marketing was an early interest for Lentine — she took classes in the subject in high school and promoted events as part of student government — and Bryant quickly made its way to the top of the list when she was looking to attend business school after graduation.
“I wanted a smaller class size, a beautiful campus I could live on, and to be involved in Greek life, and Bryant had all of that,” she recalls.
As an undergraduate, Lentine joined Delta Zeta, where she chaired the social and sisterhood committees. She did several marketing internships, including with a New York-based company similar to Airbnb but for longer-term stays. As a junior, Lentine traveled to Florence, Italy, joined by one of her sorority sisters for a study abroad program.
“That was honestly the most amazing experience of my whole life,” she says, citing her exposure to Italian food, culture, and history. “I wake up every day wishing I could go back, and I'm trying to a plan a return trip as soon as possible.”
Studying abroad in Italy "was honestly the most amazing experience of my whole life."
In class, Lentine also had the unique opportunity to study the history of the Mafia from an Italian perspective: “I remember thinking, oh, they learn about this here? That was super cool.”
Getting her MBA immediately after graduating with her four-year degree was always part of the plan for Lentine.
“I did look at other schools, but after missing part of undergrad because of COVID, it felt like staying at Bryant was my chance to make up for lost time,” she says. “I couldn't imagine another school being a better fit, because I already had such a great experience at Bryant. Everything that they offered, like offering the one-year, full-time MBA program and having a bunch of different specializations that I could pick from, really helped me.
“Getting my MBA in business analytics and not marketing helped me learn so much more that I was able to bring to the table when it came to applying for jobs,” she adds.
The MBA program was also another opportunity for Lentine to travel. As part of the school’s Global Immersion Experience (GIE), she visited Prague, Berlin, and Dresden, mixing cultural tours with visits to local companies to broaden her understanding of international business.
“That was so much fun and I learned so much while I was there,” she says.
The knowledge gained overseas, combined with the education and experience she gained at Bryant, positioned her well for her interview at Unicomm, LLC, the Milford, Connecticut company that produces the Travel & Adventure Show. The interview came after an extensive job hunt that included sending out more than 180 applications, says Lentine.
“Bryant made me so well rounded, with all of the opportunities they give you like helping you get internships and getting your resume reviewed, all of the clubs you can join and how involved you can be,” she says. “And my MBA definitely helped me: They talked about that a lot in my interview, how impressed they were, especially being able to get it right after school.”
In just a few months on the job, Lentine’s responsibilities at the Travel & Adventure show have grown from managing social media campaigns to helping to implement an AI strategy for the company’s sales team, running e-mail campaigns, producing a monthly newsletter, and managing partnerships for the annual shows that the company produces in Seattle, Washington, D.C., New York (where it replaced the well-regarded New York Times travel show), Phoenix, Chicago, South Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Denver.
The position puts Lentine in touch with virtually every corner of the travel world, from destinations to tour operators, hoteliers, cruise lines, and airlines — plus consumers looking to plan a dream vacation of their own.
“It's really cool having all this responsibility,” she says. “I love going to work every single day. I can't rave enough about my job and everyone I work with.”
“I love going to work every single day."
Lentine has worked a few trade show booths in her short time with the company and is looking forward to the upcoming show season, when for the first time she’ll get to travel to attend the shows that she markets.
“I'm so excited for it,” she says. “Even if this job didn't have the travel aspect, I would still love it. But it's the travel that really drew me in.”
