Linda Price
From UMass Amherst pre-med student to sport management major, Linda has found success as the co-owner of a health-focused ad agency.
We had this idea for a new type of agency, and that was Neighbor. And Neighbor was really established with the idea that we could do marketing differently, and working with brands that are in this healthy lifestyle space. So it's really trying to understand that consumer a little bit more, to connect with them in a valuable way. My UMass education means a lot to me. When I first applied, I was pre-med. But I wanted my discipline to be a little bit more creative-focused, which led me to the sport management program. What that really helped me realize what I like this interaction with clients and brands. It taps into the thirst to bring creative ideas to the table. And I liked that it let me merge business and creative. The background from the sports management program, some of the skills I learned in trying to figure out how do you take a brand and a property and put them together, come to play every day when I'm writing a presentation or trying to pitch something to a client. When I graduated, I definitely benefited from a really strong alumni network within the sport management program. My first step out of college was interning for Steve McKelvey, who is currently a professor at UMass. He went back. He was actually my first boss. And he was an alumni of the Sports Management program as well. So it was really this tight alumni network that was very connected. And most students that have come out the program can really rave about that. I'm Linda Price, and I'm the president and co-pwner of Neighbor. I stand for curiosity, and I stand for UMass.