Finding a career that aligns with both your skills, and your values can be incredibly rewarding. For one Bridgewater State University alumna, a degree in Communications, hands-on internship experience, and a passion for giving back led her to a career in healthcare philanthropy. Today, Nora Sperling ‘26 works as a Philanthropy Coordinator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Connecting donors with opportunities to make a lasting impact on patient care and community health.
Majoring in Communications, she built a strong foundation in messaging, branding, and audience engagement. Her summer internship with WaterFire in Providence as a Development Intern introduced her to fundraising and donor relations, inspiring her to pursue a career that combined communications with mission-driven work.
Along with her internship experience, classroom group projects and campus involvement helped prepare her for the position. The strong writing, organizational, teamwork, and project management skills she developed continue to play an important role in her work today.
She credits her success to being intentional during her job search. By tailoring her application materials, leveraging her internship experience, networking through LinkedIn and attending BSU career fairs, she was able to share a clear story about her skills during interviews, she was able to stand out and land her role at BIDMC.
For current students, her advice is simple: “Start gaining experience early, even if it’s through unpaid internships, volunteer work, or campus organizations. Don’t underestimate the value of networking, reach out to professionals, ask questions, and learn from their experiences. Also, focus on building transferable skills like communication, time management, and adaptability. Lastly, be patient with the process. I found myself in the early stages of the application process getting discouraged to not hearing back from companies, or hearing “we have decided to move onto other candidates. All I can say is give it time and keep applying. The right job will find you!”
