Meet alumnus James Malfitano, a 2007 history major graduate. Originally from Toms River, NJ (Ocean County) and now residing in Naples, FL, Malfitano works as a Sales Account Executive for Rave Mobile Safety. Today, he will share with us his most memorable experiences while attending Rowan University and how his degree in history has helped him be successful in the world of sales.
After seeing how much his older brother Nick enjoyed Rowan his freshman year, Malfitano decided to apply to Rowan. “He had such a great experience his freshman year and it was the only school I really wanted to look into,” said Malfitano. “In addition, they had an excellent history program with tremendous professors. I really learned a lot from them during my time at Rowan University.”
For Malfitano, Prof. Lee Bruce Kress really taught history in a special way. He found his teaching style to be extremely thorough and liked how he would make students think quickly on their feet — and how he made sure all his students were engaged in his lectures. “That is why I took him for multiple classes,” said Malfitano.
Attending Rowan impacted and changed Malfitano’s life in a positive way. He’s made lifelong friends that he truly treasures up to this day.
“I still have lifelong friends. A lot of them were groomsmen in my wedding. I worked on campus at the financial aid office as a student worker and I met one of my friends there, and he was one of my groomsmen. I was part of a fraternity at Rowan, and a lot of those guys were part of the groomsmen party,” said Malfitano. “It has really given me lifelong friendships that I treasure up to this day. We are talking about friendships that have lasted up to this point about 15 to 16 years. So, I think that is one of the big things I carry with me.”
After graduating from Rowan in 2007, Malfitano moved to Massachusetts where he got his Master’s of Operation Management. He has been in sales for a little over 10 years. Even though his bachelor’s degree is different from his current career, he says that his degree in history has been extremely helpful in what he does today.
“If there’s one thing that studying history and writing about history has taught me is that you have to be really detailed. You can’t miss out on any details, and I have integrated that into sales. When I’m speaking to folks who are looking into purchasing the products I sell, I make sure to learn as much about them as possible,” said Malfitano. “That is really how my history degree has helped benefit my career in sales, even though it’s two different professions.”
Malfitano is currently a sales account executive at Rave Mobile Safety, which is the current provider for Rowan’s critical communications capabilities. “So, let’s say Rowan is closing due to a snowstorm. The texts, the emails, the voice calls that all go out simultaneously, that system is the solution we sell,” said Malfitano.
Malfitano never thought that his current company would be working with Rowan. “When I was first told by the company, ‘We have a big presence with higher education’ and then I look and I’m like, ‘Wow they have been working with Rowan since 2014.’ I never thought my job would tie back to Rowan.
“But it’s welcome because for me I’ve always been so passionate about my school,” continued Malfitano. “I have such great pride that I went to Rowan University. I still keep tabs on the school, and it’s really amazing how much the school has developed since I graduated back in 2007.”
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Iridian Gonzalez, senior journalism major
affordability. Although, once here Joseph quickly realized that the professors were another strength Rowan held. “The professors are all extremely accessible,” Joseph continues, “and they make themselves available beyond what I would consider their duty.”
cases involving children at risk of abuse or being cared for by unfit parents. “Through working here I have the opportunity to see the behind the scenes action; being a part of the process that most people aren’t witnesses to.” Joseph explains, “Gaining this experience further prepared me for more intense and involved work.” Through Joseph’s hard work and assistance from his professors at Rowan he gets to be a real help to children who aren’t in the best situations.
associated with cancer treatments and compare them to the cost of transitioning to more environmental-friendly methods. Overall, Joseph clearly has a mindset a strong ambition to make the world a better place for everyone to live in.
Around the time she discovered the article, Jo was part of a class called New Ventures Development, where students expand on an idea for a potential startup business or product, and experience the process of bringing it to life. “In that class, I came up with the concept of a personal filtration system within a water bottle, called RefresH2O,” Jo says. “Wherever you are – hiking, spending time outdoors – you can scoop up water from a nearby body of water, and it will be filtered fresh. This will alleviate our plastic usage, and make us wiser about how we source our water.” Another class, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, helped Jo finalize the marketing plan and details for her product, including the target market and purpose. “I wanted to make a product that even a three year old could use. Everyone needs clean water — it’s a human right, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that,” she explains.
Her future plans include owning her own environmentally sustainable holdings or manufacturing company, and possibly even attending graduate school for a degree in engineering management, to continue to grow. She advises freshmen coming into the field to not let the idea of ‘perfection’ interfere with your goals. “‘Good’ is good enough; just get your name and idea out in the world and continue to work on your idea as you progress,” she says. “And keep track of your commitments! Juggling school work, being on the track team and my internship, senior year has been the most challenging year yet, but planning it all out and prioritizing made it a lot better.”
“Participating in social activities is the best way to make friends,” says Ahmad Kindawi, a first-generation college student (now graduate!) from Syria, who rents a house off-campus, within walking distance of campus. Ahmad graduated with a master’s degree in history from the 
programs, courtesy of the Exploratory Studies program, I decided to pursue a 
Coming in as an exploratory studies major really helped me to solidify what I wanted to do as a career.
