Alumni Spotlight: Matt Grilli '19

By Grace Whittam ’24

While navigating across the DeNaples Center, Brennan Hall and the lacrosse field during his student days, Matt Grilli ’19 fell in love with the sense of community he found on The University of Scranton campus. Today, he charts a new course through the business world as an account executive on the sales team of SiriusXM Media, a broadcasting corporation with over 5,800 employees.

“There’s never a bad day in Scranton. There may be a rainy one, but never a bad one,” Grilli said.

Grilli, 26, of Chatham, New Jersey, graduated from The University of Scranton in 2019 with a degree in marketing. His interest in marketing and advertising was initially piqued during his junior year of high school by a guest speaker at a school event.

“Marketing was a good mix, in my eyes, to work in business, which was interesting to me, but (being) on the more creative front of everything and helping brands’ success through advertising was my true interest,” Grilli said.

A scion of a family where nearly everyone studied at a Jesuit university, Grilli said his family’s commitment to Jesuit education helped narrow his search for the right college. Early into that process, Grilli found that he gravitated toward a smaller school environment, which made Scranton a great fit.

“From my two visits, I knew that I would fit in with the student body,” he said. “The people at Scranton are welcoming, whether you are on the hill, in the classroom, or out and about on campus. It’s a great feeling to know that people have your back around campus, and somehow I felt that the moment I stepped on the campus.”

The Kania School of Management at The University of Scranton and its dedicated professors exposed Grilli to a variety of knowledge in and out of the classroom. This included studying investment strategies through the Bloomberg Terminals, marketing and advertising techniques, and even exploring the various religions of the world. Grilli appreciated the uniqueness of Jesuit education’s commitment to learning about all types of faith traditions, including those outside of the Catholic and Christian realms.

“Going to a school that had these values, that put emphasis on having smaller classes and a true focus on education, is so evident at Scranton, and it’s such a special part of the education,” Grilli said.

During Grilli’s time in Scranton, he became involved in various activities, including the business club, the marketing society and the Men’s Lacrosse team, which he played on for the entirety of his college experience. Additionally, he participated in entrepreneur society events and community service programs, and he never missed a dinner on the third floor of the DeNaples Center.

“Third floor was an every evening thing for us after lacrosse practice,” Grilli said. “You’re sharing and breaking bread with your closest friends all in one place.

“It’s really a special place.”

Men’s Lacrosse was instrumental in forming Grilli’s deep sense of community while at Scranton. A four-year goalie on the team, Grilli took underclassmen under his wing as he grew older, serving as a mentor on and off the field. Some of his favorite memories originated from the team’s spring break trips, where the bonding that occurred often made up for missing Scranton’s parade day festivities.

“Being able to leave college and be friends with not only people who were in my graduating class, but with people who were two, three or four, even, years younger or older than me was really important,” he said. “I was still able to feel close to the school four years after I graduated because I still had friends and teammates there.”

Every year around Thanksgiving, the lacrosse team assisted local food shelters with delivering prepared meals for Thanksgiving Day feasts. Grilli and many of his teammates were recruited by Rev. Daniel Sweeney, S.J., assistant professor of political science and faculty athletic advisor, to join the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization. Grilli said the sense of community he loved at Scranton evolved even further through the volunteer events he participated in with the Knights of Columbus and through Fr. Sweeney, who said occasional Masses for the team on Sunday mornings.

“(Fr. Sweeney) was very close with the team,” Grilli said. “Being able to have a priest and that element of faith active in our team and larger community was so great.”

During his senior year, Grilli utilized the connections he’d made through networking to explore whether a career in advertising might be a good fit for him.

“I think it’s important to use your network and to be guided to help solidify your interests and passions,” he said. “I’m feeling really good about the career so far, and I owe it all to the people who (helped) me my senior year and my first year working on the agency side.”

Grilli began his career in advertising work at an agency called Essence shortly after graduating. After nearly nine months in the workforce, however, the world drastically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Zoom meetings and remote work became the new norm, that sense of community Grilli valued began to diminish, making it harder for him to establish himself as a new employee in the workforce and build relationships with clients and colleagues.

“It's easy to be the first one in and the last one to leave when you can see everyone, but it’s a little harder when you’re online,” Grilli said. “The Covid situation made me work a lot harder.”

About two-and-a-half years ago, he transitioned away from advertising and took a position on the sales side of operations with SiriusXM Media. Since starting with Sirius, Grilli has been happy to be back in the office, where spending time with his coworkers in a collaborative environment has rekindled the sense of community he found he sorely missed during the height of the pandemic.

“It may be more difficult to commute into an office, but once you are there, I think it is very rewarding from a business and mental health standpoint,” he said.

Grilli said he appreciates the culture and environment within SiriusXM Media, which he compares to the comradery he found walking the halls of the DeNaples Center.

In terms of advice for seniors, Grilli emphasized the importance of trusting that Scranton is helping seniors get to the place they want to be in their career. As long as they are putting in their best effort, students should trust that the first job or school acceptance will come.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” he said. “Make sure to have a super fun senior year, but have as many conversations as you can, whether that be by connecting on LinkedIn with different alumni or other connections.

“Getting on the phone with those people already in the workforce is something I would say is really important if you’re having doubts about what to do next.”

Also, he encouraged all seniors to broaden their social circles by proactively meeting at least 10 new people during the course of senior year, a practice he said significantly enhanced his college experience.

“Keep those special relationships close in the years after graduation and be sure to see those people as much as you can,” Grilli said.