Reach. Impressions. Engagement. Joe Mancuso ’24 relied on these metrics every day – and for good reason. Mancuso served as a social media intern at the Buffalo, N.Y., based Merchants Insurance Group. As such, he was responsible for developing, promoting and monitoring content for the company’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Through his work he assisted Merchants’ leaders in building relationships with prospective clients, increasing the company’s visibility and sharing their professional expertise. It was a natural fit for a digital native like Mancuso, who is majoring in marketing and risk management and insurance (RMI) through Le Moyne’s Madden School of Business.
As the world faces the impact of a global pandemic, climate change, cybersecurity attacks and economic uncertainties, one thing is abundantly clear: The field of RMI has never been more critical than it is today. All organizations, whether they are large multinational corporations, medium-sized or small businesses, or governmental or nonprofit entities, need people who are able to identify, manage and mitigate risk. The opportunity to study risk management and insurance is what drew Mancuso to the College in the fall of 2021 as a transfer student. Yet, the deeper he dove into the field, the more and more he realized how poorly understood it sometimes is. He latched onto the idea of linking his knowledge of risk management and insurance with his passion for marketing in order to make RMI simpler and easier to understand.
That pairing served as the centerpiece of his internship. Mancuso’s time at Merchants was “transformational,” he said. In addition to supporting the company’s social media presence, he helped prepare an extensive digital marketing report for the company’s leadership, worked on an infographic campaign promoting general liability insurance and, perhaps most important, learned to stretch his creative muscles. His work earned praise from the organization’s President Charles Makey III.
“Merchants Insurance is proud to support the McNeil Academy for Risk Management and Insurance at Le Moyne College,” Makey said, “Each year we offer internships to students who wish to get experience working within an insurance company. Interns have the opportunity to gain insight into several facets of the insurance business. Over the past three months, we had the privilege of having Joe Mancuso intern at Merchants in our marketing department.”
For his part, Mancuso said that he was appreciative of the chance to catch a glimpse of what the future may hold for him.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities my internship gave to me,” he said. “It pushed me to be my best self.”
Above: Joe Mancuso '24 (second from right) is joined by Merchants Insurance Group President Charles Makey III (right) and members of the company's marketing team.
This story is part of a series on Le Moyne students who completed internships in a variety of fields, including politics, risk management and insurance, and media, during the summer of 2022. Le Moyne's Office of Career Advising and Development works closely with students to help them find these kinds of opportunities, which will serve them well post-graduation.