Michael Valanzola '07
Selectman, Wales, MA
Since a young age, I've had an interest in public service and always knew I wanted to run for office. When a position was opening up on the Board of Selectman in my hometown of Wales last May I decided to go for it, even though I was still a student at Emmanuel.
It wasn't easy running a campaign from 90 miles away, but I made it work by turning my dorm room into campaign headquarters, and with help from the Emmanuel community. It really felt good to know I had surrounded myself with such great people. In the end, all the hard work paid off: I was elected to a three-year seat on the board.
My education also uniquely prepared me for my new full-time position at EMC Corporation where I was offered a job as a revenue operations analyst after interning as a student. There is no doubt that Emmanuel has been the key ingredient to my success.
