Originally published in the inaugural edition of Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Read the full issue here.
The bottom-dwelling monkfish surely won’t be winning any beauty pageants, but it can still earn rave reviews when whipped up into a Thai coconut curry stew. Plus, it’s sustainably fished. That’s what Morgan Santaguida, MCAS ’25, wants Boston College dining hall patrons to know, in her role as a student ambassador for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), which promotes collaborative solutions to ocean challenges.
Morgan Santaguida, MCAS '25 (left) and Victoria Newton '23
In an effort to get more students to enjoy local, sustainable seafood options, and realizing the power that students have in influencing their peers, Boston College became one of five New England universities to partner with GMRI in 2021. Santaguida, a marketing minor, leapt at the chance to get involved in a cause she was already passionate about. With family members running a bait and tackle shop on the Jersey Shore and a lobster fisherman uncle, she’s no stranger to the challenges surrounding coastal ecosystems.
Santaguida began her work with market research, using surveys to understand the target audience and why students might or might not gravitate toward seafood available in the dining halls. Student ambassadors also worked with dining staff to explore adding menu options that were both affordable and easy to work with, like ethically farm-raised salmon ranchero and that curried monkfish stew.
After taking Principles of Marketing this year, Santaguida was especially interested in putting lessons on branding into practice, with the use of social media and flyers posted in dining halls. “There are so many different steps in getting seafood on people’s plates,” she says. “I think one of the main takeaways, as someone who’s really interested in sustainability and marketing, is how to figure out why things are the way they are and how to create change within institutions."
