Meghan Dearing

When Governor Maura Healey announced a $400 million initiative to support research in Massachusetts, business major Meghan Dearing was there at the State House, capturing social media content for UMass President Marty Meehan ’78.

As a communications intern for the UMass President’s Office in downtown Boston, Dearing has had an unexpected front-row seat to state politics.

“I’ve learned just how closely connected we are as a public university with the state,” says Dearing, who is from Dracut, Massachusetts. “That’s what’s really unique about this internship: I’ve probably been to the State House more times this summer than most people have in their lives.”  

Dearing’s paid, full-time summer internship will continue part time through her senior year, allowing her to grow her skills in strategy and storytelling while completing her double concentration in marketing and management. She also serves as president of the Marketing Society.

“Having that hands-on work experience is so different from being in a classroom or reading a textbook,” says Dearing, whose work includes scheduling content, writing posts that amplify faculty and student achievements, updating web content and analyzing system-wide data across the five UMass campuses and the UMass School of Law.

“It’s a dream to be in college and have a job in Boston,” says Dearing, who commutes by train to the city three days a week for the hybrid role. “A few of my friends have internships in the city, too, so we’ll hang out and have fun after work.”

Dearing’s internship builds on a six-month cooperative education (co-op) job at Enterprise Bank in Lowell, where she managed community-focused social media content and developed back-end web skills. That experience, she says, prepared her for the high-level communications work she’s doing now.

“I didn't have a great understanding of what a co-op was coming into college, but the Career and Co-op Center helped me so much,” she says. “My co-op put me in the position that I’m in now, and I think it’s going to lead to some great career opportunities.”

Dearing’s interest in business began in high school, where she ran the school store and worked at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. When it was time for college, UMass Lowell checked two key boxes: It had a strong business school with leadership opportunities, and it was close enough to home so she could commute. Her mother, Maura (Porter) Dearing ’97, is also an alum.

Although she initially felt disconnected as a commuter, Dearing quickly got involved in student organizations, including Joy Tong Women in Business, the International Business Association and the Management, Finance and Marketing societies. 

“I made a lot of friends in the business school, and that’s what makes me love the school. I really feel included here,” says Dearing, who also served as a student ambassador for the Manning School of Business and studied abroad in San Sebastián, Spain, through the Honors College.

Dearing hopes to pursue a career in brand marketing or public relations, blending strategy, creativity and communication. She’s also learning the programming languages Python and R to strengthen her digital skill set.

“I never thought I would like communications this much,” she says. “But the writing and research really interest me. I want to manage the big picture someday — not just post on social, but lead the strategy behind it.”