Meet the 19-Year-Old Who Founded USM’s Women in Business Club
May 26, 2026
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by Vivienne Predock
When Aja Marzilli signed up for a women in business networking panel hosted on campus during her first semester at the University of Southern Maine, she planned to get there early enough to find a good seat. She didn’t expect that part to be easy — she was one of only three students who showed up.
Surrounded by faculty and empty seats, Aja took note. She was there because she wanted to be — she’d been searching for this kind of opportunity from the moment she arrived at USM that fall. An hour and a half later, she walked out having networked with three successful business owners, their LinkedIn connections saved in her phone, and already wondering why more people hadn’t come.
The conversation that sparked a plan
Aja had come to the panel with a specific goal in mind. She’d seen women in business clubs at other schools and imagined that would be part of her USM experience — she was hoping the panel might point her towards something similar on campus.
As she was leaving, someone caught up to her. It was Joanne Williams, dean of USM’s College of Management and Human Service. Aja mentioned she’d been searching for a women in business club at USM. Dean Williams broke the news: there wasn’t one — but if Aja wanted to start it, she’d be the one to help.
“I spent the entire weekend thinking about it. Monday morning, I immediately emailed her and set up a time to meet,” said Aja. “She asked me what my vision was for the club — that’s when it hit me: oh, we’re doing this.”
Building it to last, not just to launch
From the start, Aja had a vision for the Women in Business Club — something that would go beyond the typical model. Rather than keeping things internal and campus-oriented, she wanted outreach, real industry connections, and a direct line to the professional network in Greater Portland, ready to be tapped into. It was part of the reason she chose USM.
“We have such a valuable network here,” she said. “There’s so much opportunity for growth and connection in Portland.”
Dean Williams encouraged her to start small — recruit a founding team first, work out the structure, then launch. Aja formed the team deliberately, shaping each role to meet the strengths of the person filling it. The result was a much larger leadership than most clubs have: a president, vice president, and heads of professional development, marketing, and events.
“I love that there are so many roles — the more leadership, the more outreach we have,” she said.
The club’s first year ran three events, each one bigger than the last. Their launch event brought in Sara Spugnardi, a lead talent acquisition partner from L.L.Bean, to speak about authenticity in professional settings. A LinkedIn After Hours with Stacy Stewart from USM’s Career and Employment Hub walked students through the steps of building out their profiles from scratch.
“We had about 15 people come — half of whom had never had a LinkedIn before that night,” she said. “It’s been really great to see them grow and establish more connections on it since.”
The third, and largest yet, was a formal networking event that brought 50 women into the room: 25 students and 25 industry professionals, each pair matched intentionally by major, interest, or personality — giving every student a direct connection to someone who could genuinely help them.
The club’s reach was also extending beyond campus. After meeting Aja at a School of Business networking event, Mark Jones, president and CEO of Saco and Biddeford Savings Bank, came on as a sponsor and later featured her in his newsletter, calling her “a true gem.”
All of this happened during Aja’s first year on campus — a first year that looked different from most of her classmates’.
A junior on day one
Born and raised in Orono, Aja was drawn to USM for its location. Portland, she figured, was where she’d find the most opportunity — the networking, the industry connections, and the professional community she wanted to be part of. She arrived ready to hit the ground running. There was just one thing that set her apart from the other freshmen: she was coming in as a junior.
In high school, Aja took advantage of a dual enrollment program through United Technology Center and Eastern Maine Community College, earning her associate degree in business management before she ever graduated high school. The credits transferred to USM, and she arrived as a junior — not because she was in a rush, but because she’d already done the work to get there.
“I didn’t want those two years of buffer where I was taking courses outside of my major. I tried not to just skip past them, but rather to do them early and very affordably.”
Aja Marzilli ’27
“And coming in as a junior, I was able to do things like start this club. I don’t think it would have taken off the same way if I’d been a freshman.”
Although she was technically an upperclassman, Aja chose to live in Upton-Hastings — USM’s freshman residence hall on the Gorham campus. She wanted the full first-year experience, even if her academic track looked different from her neighbors’. Her roommates were freshmen figuring out college for the first time. So was she — just taking upper-level courses and founding a club along the way.
Working through the growing pains
Aja will be the first to tell you the club didn’t come together exactly as she’d planned. Her original vision was always there — going beyond a traditional student group, and establishing a valuable resource instead. She just didn’t anticipate how much structure it would take to get there. She’d imagined something more organic and member-driven, students naturally finding their way to it. The reality required more than that: a constitution, a voting process, and consistent encouragement to get people in the door.
“I expected students to instantly be engaged. I thought that people would hear ‘women in business’ and come running. But that didn’t necessarily happen,” she said.
When students did show up — and stay — the change was hard to miss. For one member of the team, it started with something as basic as learning to hone a professional handshake. By the end of the year, she had attended every networking event the club hosted, built out her LinkedIn, and started carrying herself differently — the way she spoke, the way she dressed. She credited all of it to the club.
“She says her life has changed in this one semester,” said Aja. “She joked that it’s become so natural to her, she’s going to go home and shake her dad’s hand by accident.”
Aja credits her own growth to the club too. Leading it has changed how she communicates, how she networks, and how she thinks about her own future.
“I’ve changed a lot because of it,” she said. “It’s even changed what I think I want to do.”
Looking ahead to the fall and beyond
Going into her final year at USM, Aja is already mapping out the fall for the Women in Business Club. A room in Payson Smith is booked for biweekly meetings, and the calendar is filling up: a CEO panel, a dress-to-impress workshop, a CliftonStrengths session, and an L.L.Bean Lobby Night — and that’s just the start. The event she’s most looking forward to is in October: a three-school networking mixer bringing together Women in Business clubs from USM, UMaine, and UNE at the McGoldrick Center.
“We can really learn a lot from one another, and students from all three clubs can come and tap into this Portland network that we have,” she said. “All of these connections are invaluable — especially if you want to stay and work in Maine.”
This summer, she’s interning in public relations and marketing at NS Giles Foundation. Beyond that, she’s already thinking past graduation — running the Women in Business Club pointed her toward a master’s in project management, and as it happens, she doesn’t have to go far to find it.
“There are so many opportunities for education in the Portland area,” she said. “And getting a master’s is something I now know I want.”
For the students who see themselves in her story, Aja’s advice is simple: get involved, and take it seriously.
“A lot of people are scared of putting themselves out there,” she said. “But if they take it seriously, carry themselves well, and choose to show up, everything else follows.”
She’ll graduate next year with a degree, a club, and a network she built from scratch — and knowing Aja, the rooms will keep filling.
Bonus: What song have you had on repeat lately?
The Place That Makes Me Happy
The Moss
