The People in the Logo  

WSC Sets Graduate Firmly on Her Career Path

Brittany Rheault

Brittany Rheault ’07 was looking for a college with a women’s basketball team and a business program. “I went on many college visits, and Worcester State College seemed to fit me best,” she recalled.

What also impressed her about Worcester State College were the campus layout and the nature of her first campus tour. “I liked that the academic buildings were on the lower campus and the residence halls were on the upper part of campus,” she explained. During her tour, “I sat in on some classes” with one of the women’s basketball players. “This is one of the few schools that do that,” she added.

Brittany immediately enrolled as a business administration major, but when she decided it was not the right fit, she changed her major to communication and decided to minor in business. “It was right on the money. I excelled more. I also think it’s more versatile,” she said.

Among her professors who “pushed me to my limits and were always very supportive of my athletic career” were Dennis Moore and Bonnie Orcutt, Ph.D., in the Business Administration and Economics department. Julie Frechette, Ph.D., in the Communication department “was the most inspirational,” and the two are still in contact.

“I played basketball all four years, and in my junior and senior year, I played softball, too,” Brittany said.

Were it not for playing on these two teams, she would not have traveled to San Francisco, Hawaii, Bermuda, Tennessee, and Florida. Women’s Basketball Coach Karen Tessemer “would make sure we got everything possible out of each location. We went to many more places than a lot of other teams in Division III got to go,” Brittany said. 

She also took advantage of the variety of opportunities at WSC. She worked in the Office of Institutional Advancement for four years and the Athletics Department for three years. She served as a student orientation leader for three years, as co-director of orientation for one year, on the Judicial Review Board for a couple of years, and on the Student Athletic Advisory Council. “I spent many summers working in the Alumni Office, at sports camps, and at orientation,” Brittany recalled.

Brittany received The Paul ’57, ’59 and Barbara ’71 Davis Scholarship in 2005 and 2006—and made family history. Brittany’s father had Paul Davis as a professor when he was a student at Worcester State. At the Scholarship Donor and Recipient Luncheon in 2005, she said, her father brought some of his work to show his former professor.

The College’s internship program set the stage for Brittany’s first position with the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation/Bay State Games. She was an intern there her junior year. Four months after graduation in May 2007, Brittany was offered a full-time job as special projects and finance coordinator. Today, she is the organization’s director of operations.

Brittany remains closely connected to her favorite sport. Since 2008, she has been the assistant coach of Wentworth Institute of Technology’s women’s basketball team.

All along, Brittany has pursued her ultimate goal: a career in sports management. She is now working to tie her experiences together in Northeastern University’s master’s program in sports leadership.

“Everything I did at Worcester State helped me get to where I am now,” she said.