Nicole Cosmo
Bethpage, N.Y.
Class Of: 2012

Campus: Old Westbury
Major: Marketing, B.S.

As one of NYIT's student ambassadors and certified student leaders, Nicole Cosmo relishes her role as "the face of the school."

"I like the family aspect of NYIT," says Cosmo, who transferred to the Old Westbury campus in her sophomore year. "When I came here, I met people from different places around the world and made so many friends. It's also close enough to home, so I can be there for all of my Nonna's Sunday Italian dinners and still get a taste of living on my own."

Though she admits "it was a culture shock," Cosmo now rooms in an off-campus apartment with NYIT students from Egypt and Cyprus, and enjoys meeting others from places she's never been.

This exuberance suits her well as a student ambassador. She gives campus tours to high school seniors, helps out at events such as Open House and Preview Day, and assists with proctoring placement exams. Cosmo's favorite places to conduct tours are the distance learning rooms and Student Activities Center.

In addition, she handles public relations for the college's law society. Cosmo's latest role is intern for NYIT's Office of Communications and Marketing, for which she conducts research and acts as a liaison for promoting student events. She plans to parlay these experiences into her future career.

"My dream is to become a buyer for Bloomingdales," Cosmo says.

This was not always the case. Before transferring to NYIT, Cosmo was studying to be a veterinarian. Her love of animals inspired this career path—from age 12 to 16, she was an award-winning, competitive horseback rider.

Cosmo trained at Bethpage Stables near her family's home and rode an oxen horse named Spartacus. The pair competed in—and often won—speed barrel races, which are designed in the shape of number eights with barrels placed at various points.

After taking biology courses at SUNY Farmingdale, Cosmo realized veterinary science was not her forte. Marketing, on the other hand, suits her personality and plays to her love of fashion—a realization reached with the help of her father.

"He convinced me to always pursue my passion," Cosmo says.

She counts her father among her inspirations for always "walking a good line between parent and friend," and her 25-year-old brother, Joey, who is in the New York Police Academy. In NYIT's School of Management, she has taken several marketing classes taught by another mentor—Veneta Sotiropoulos, assistant professor of marketing.

"She's relatable and understanding as a teacher," Cosmo says. "She knows what it's like to be a student."

And, of course, there are all the people she's met along the way at NYIT.

"What I like best about NYIT are all the amazing people I've met," she says. "The college has provided me with so many opportunities."