A recipe for change: Danielle Sprague ’94

officer. In May 2014, he graduated from the Massachusetts State Police Academy’s 81st Recruit Training Troop and was appointed as a Massachusetts state trooper. Since March 2018, he has been assigned to a specialty unit under the Department of Homeland Security Investigations Fraud Identification Unit, where his responsibilities include investigating identity fraud, document fraud, and benefit fraud at the state and local level. He was appointed to Homeland Security’s Investigations Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force and works with various local, state, and federal agencies to detect, deter and disrupt organizations and individuals involved in document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes. The task force focuses on Massachusetts and works with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston on prosecuting the criminal activity.

He has been a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) since 2009 and received the American Association of Motor Vehicles Regional and International Award for Security Fraud Prevention and Detection, for a law enforcement individual, in 2020.

“Nichols College was and always will be a big part of my life/journey,” he writes in an inquiry on exchanging his State Police Fraud Identification Unit Challenge Coin for the newly minted Colonel James L. Conrad Sr.’s Challenge Coin. “I would love to be able to honor and praise Colonel Conrad for his role in both the U.S. Army and Nichols College while also exchanging and giving back a piece of the success I have received which would not have been possible without my time on the Hill.”

2006

Class Champion:

Erica Boulay

erica.boulay@hotmail.com

A recipe for change:

Danielle Sprague ’94

As a marketing major with a minor in psychology, Danielle (Troiano) Sprague found the perfect fit for her Nichols College education: advertising. She worked in creative/ print production departments at agencies in and around Boston before landing a job that offered a bump in salary but much less creative freedom.

“I quickly came to realize it was a big mistake but wasn’t prepared to make another job change so fast,” Sprague recalls. The decision was made for her. After a month on the job, the agency lost its largest client, triggering layoffs of top executives and newest hires like her. “At first it was very upsetting. I was seriously concerned over being unemployed,” she says. “I did some professional soul searching and realized this situation was actually a gift, an opportunity, a fresh chance to start over doing something I truly loved.”

Meet Chef Sprague.

Occupation: Food service manager at a non-profit private school; previously worked for a caterer, Relais & Chateaux property, country club, farm, and several unique restaurants.

Additional training: Attended New England Culinary Institute, graduating with distinction with an associate degree in culinary arts; currently pursuing a certificate in food and nutrition to increase knowledge of providing healthy foods for children.

Inspiration for the career change: “I grew up in an Italian family, always a full table of family recipes, traditional foods, only the freshest ingredients and all made from scratch. We rarely dined out, no need when you are surrounded by a family full of passionate people who loved to cook and loved to eat. So, I didn’t understand restaurant culture and diversity until after college. Working in advertising agencies, you dined out with clients and vendors quite frequently. I was fascinated by restaurants, loved reading menus and peeking into open kitchens.”

Nichols preparation: “One thing that struck me was the significant number of business and development skills I learned from my schooling at Nichols College that easily transferred to a career in food service. For example, how to connect and communicate with prospective employers or how to work together on a team of peers to reach a solution to problems or how to manage a staff in pressure situations to meet client expectations or how to calculate business costs to plan a proper budget to reach a financial goal.”

Food for thought: “I am proud of both of my careers. Nichols College set me up to not only succeed in my originally chosen career but to succeed in life, no matter how many different paths I take on the road of my professional career.”

This is the first in a series of profiles on alumni changing careers. To be featured in an upcoming edition, contact susan.veshi@nichols.edu