Alumni Have Their Back, So Business Students Give Back to Community

Like a lot of UML students, members of the Joy Tong Women in Business (JTWIB) student organization arrived on campus this fall with brand new backpacks.

In their case, 500 of them.

The business students are selling the black Swissgear backpacks, which typically retail for around $50, for $25 this year to raise funds for their organization. They are also donating a portion of the proceeds to Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell, a nonprofit that the students support.

The backpacks were donated by industrial management alum John Pulichino ’67, ’14 (H) and his wife, Joy Tong ’14 (H), who own and operate Group III International, a Florida-based global travel goods company. 

“It was such a generous donation, and we are so thankful for it,” says JTWIB President Sarah Curley, a senior accounting student from Salem, Massachusetts.

Although she never attended UML, Tong actively supports its students – particularly women in the Manning School of Business.

She and Pulichino have committed more than $4 million in scholarship funds for UML business students over the past decade. Their names are on the Pulichino Tong Business Center, and the student organization is named in her honor.

But Tong wanted to do more.

“I’ve been able to share my know-how and mentor students, but I wanted to provide a hands-on experience for the group,” she says. “I want them to use this vehicle, the backpack, to learn how to start a business. I want them to develop this kind of experience before they get out in the world.”

The students worked with UML’s Advancement office to set up an online donation page to handle the cash-free transactions. They sell the backpacks, which are embroidered with the organization’s logo, at various locations across campus, with members volunteering to work the tables.

“Managing everything has been a really good experience,” says JTWIB Vice President Aliya Kaufman-Daniel, a senior finance and international business student from Washington, D.C. “We’re learning how to reach our target audience: college students.”

The students sold around 30 backpacks during the first week of the semester, and they hope to reach an audience of alumni during Homecoming in early November.

While Tong hoped the students would gain practical business experience by selling the backpacks, she is happy that they also decided to donate funds to Girls Inc.

“I don’t have a say on that, but I want them to do it. I want them to be in charge and manage the whole fund,” she says.

Since January, JTWIB members have been volunteering at the nonprofit on Wednesday afternoons, teaching girls ages 5 to 18 about financial literacy and introducing them to business concepts such as marketing and entrepreneurship.

“Who better than us to give back to the community while teaching them things that we’ve learned about in college?” says JTWIB Director of Community Service Nicole Wilson, a senior finance and management student from Westford, Massachusetts.

“So many people at UMass Lowell do so much for us, so it feels good to give back to people that don’t necessarily have that mentorship,” she adds.

JTWIB members have also started a pen pal exchange with the girls this semester.

“If clubs have the membership and means to do so, it’s really important to support something they feel passionate about,” Curley says. “For Joy Tong Women in Business, it’s showing female empowerment.”