Granite Telecommunications is a valued partner of Roger Williams University, offering students a clear and accessible pathway to careers that shape the world around them. Granite has deepened its relationship with RWU students through a continued presence on campus participating in Career Fairs, every Spring and Fall, year after year showcasing their dedication to our students by not only being involved regularly, but also through regular hiring of our Hawks! Through their extensive network of professionals, including many RWU alumni, students gain access to valuable connections, mentorship, and firsthand insights into the sales industry, empowering them to make informed decisions about their future career paths. 

The Center for Career and Professional Development had the privilege of hearing firsthand from RWU Hawk Meaghan Holmes about her transformative experience at Granite. 

As an incoming senior Marketing student, Meaghan interned with Granite over summer 2025 as a Business Development Sales Intern, leading to a full-time offer last August which she accepted without hesitation. Meaghan described a bit of her experience and its positive impact on her professional trajectory. 

“We went through the entire sales cycle in 10 weeks. We trained and developed our skills and strategies in cold calling and researching outside companies and organizations, as well as learned about the general sales process. Granite offers something called Cold Calling Granite University where we develop our cold calling skills and engage in mock cold calls to employees within Granite to practice. It really helped us learn about the sales procedures and I really enjoyed it. It was super fun!” 

I first started the process of finding an internship through the CCPD. I met with my Career Counselor Michelle a lot, who mentioned Granite would be at the Career Fair. She helped prepare me, and then I met Nicole and Greg from Granite at the fair. I got their contact info and applied for the position after working with Michelle some more to prepare and doing my own independent research on the organization. After three interviews and a site trip to the office, I was offered the internship position. On the last day of my internship in August, they offered me a full-time position in the sales department and I accepted right away. They were so welcoming the second we walked in. It was such a fast-paced team environment, and Granite does so much to give back to the community. They never made us feel like ‘the interns’, but fully fledged employees like the rest of the team. Now I’ll be starting full time this upcoming August and it’s really exciting.”

– Meaghan Holmes | Class of 2026 | Bachelor of Science in Marketing | Mario J. Gabelli School of Business  

Nicole Destefano, Campus Recruiter and Branding Specialist at Granite, spoke about what makes RWU students stand out and why Granite Telecommunications likes working with them. 

“Every time I go to Roger Williams’ campus for hiring events and interact with candidates, it’s been an incredibly successful experience. Roger Williams students do their research on the company and the position ahead of time, ask really great questions, and engage in phenomenal follow-up. They have great understanding of the positions they’re applying for. 

The past 6 years I’ve worked with Roger students, I’ve noticed that they bring skills such as being coachable, a willingness to learn, and a want for growth. Especially during internships—they ask questions, put their best foot forward, and they stand out as interns. We have around 21 RWU alumni currently working with us. Over the years we’ve had a great relationship with the university and want to add even more RWU students to our team.” 

When asked about hiring RWU students for full-time positions, Nicole stated: 

“We’re really excited to have Meaghan—she killed it at her internship and really thrived at Granite. We also met RWU senior Margot Tenney at the latest career fair and offered her a full-time position which she accepted. We’re looking forward to adding her to our team as well!” 

Margot Tenney, a senior Marketing major with a minor in Psychology, networked with Granite professionals at the recent Business Career Fair in March and successfully engaged in the standard application and interview process, landing an offer as a Relationship Development Associate at Granite. 

Following Margo’s acceptance, the CCPD had the privilege to speak to her about her process for securing her position at Granite and why she decided to work with them. 

“I went to my first Career Fair last year. I met with my career counselor, Michelle, to prepare and work on my resume ahead of time. She broke down the process and made it into a streamlined and organized process, which was really helpful. At the Spring 2026 Career Fair, I knew I wanted to talk to Granite because my roommate had interned there and loved it. She had even accepted a position at Granite full-time. 

At the Career Fair, I went right up to the Granite table and met with Nicole. We really hit it off and she introduced me to the Relationship Development role at Granite, which seemed right up my alley. Afterwards, I emailed Nicole to follow up, applied for the position, and took a phone call interview with Greg, another Granite professional. I then met the team in person a week later at Granite and met with two other employees who interviewed me. After that, I was able to go to Granite for a day to tour the facility, shadow the team, and ask questions to see what their day-to-day was like. The overall application and introduction process was a great experience with no bumps in the road—everyone was so nice and extremely helpful! 

As far as why I chose to work at Granite, their communication is so great—everything about the process was amazing. They are also close to my house, and the office space is really nice—I could really see myself working there. After speaking to Greg and seeing potential career pathways through Granite, I saw that the work you put in is brought back to you in sales, which I really liked. Talking to leadership helped me center my vision and career pathway of choice and figure out what I can learn at Granite and where there’s room for me to grow.” 

Granite Telecommunications has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to Roger Williams University students, providing invaluable opportunities for learning, growth, and career development. Through intentional engagement, Granite enables students to apply their classroom knowledge in real world settings, strengthening both their personal and professional skill sets. 

We are grateful for Granite’s partnership and look forward to continuing to build on our shared commitment to our students and seeing more Hawks join the Granite team!