Model, Entrepreneur and EMU Student Extraordinaire
by Ryan M. Place
Fast Facts
Major: Marketing
Favorite Book: “Eleven Minutes” by Paulo Coelho
Favorite Movie: “The Devil Wears Prada”
Describe yourself in three words: creative, analytical, determined
If you could have any superpower, what would it be: the ability to fly
Amanda Conte embodies EMU determination. She carries this off with a glowing personality, admirable work ethic and a large dose of ambition.
Born in Dearborn, she lived there until moving to Plymouth when she was five years old. Conte graduated from Plymouth Canton in 2000 and got her Liberal Arts degree from Schoolcraft, enrolling at Eastern Michigan Unversity shortly thereafter.
She’s 100 percent Italian, and says, “Both my parents are from the small island of Ponza off the coast of Rome, Italy,” adding, “I’ve been to the island, its 9 by 11 kilometers, the seafood is incredibly fresh and the natural scenic beauty of the island is breathtaking.”
She enjoys music, piano, songwriting and reading motivational books. She also makes a pointed effort to give to charities like Children’s Diabetes Foundation and Disabled American Veterans, and she loves EMU.
“I wasn’t always at the EMU College of Business. I originally intended on becoming an educator,” she says. However, she said that she got into marketing upon realizing that she needed a more flexible and creative career—and she feels that she made the right decision.
“EMU has an excellent Business School. The professors are outstanding, and I love the marketing classes here!” she says, adding that her favorite EMU professor is Dr. Sheila Sasser.
However, Conte’s hard work has extended beyond the classroom as well.
She is a model with Chicago-based Avant Garde Models and is starring in an upcoming television commercial for sugar-coated walnuts. In addition to this, she has an entrepreneurial spirit, and is currently in the process of forming her own company, although she remains somewhat secretive about the details.
“My greatest accomplishment was putting together a Bikini Calendar for an entertainment complex in Livonia,” she says. She says that it took five months—and a lot of time and effort on top of full-time work and school—to complete the project.
“It may not seem like a big deal, but it was an incredibly long and difficult process. I had several people networking together, hired a photographer to do photo shoots, we built a stage, dealt with restaurant reps and over 30 female models, but in the end everything came together, and the entertainment spot increased their sales by 30 percent,” she says.
Conte is also involved on campus and will be participating in an all-night event on March 13 at the College of Business.
“We’re helping the Ad Club kick off Ethos Week, which celebrates the importance of business ethics. Students are locked in the C.O.B. overnight from Midnight to 9 a.m., and there will be a live radio broadcast. It should be a great time!“ she says.
This will be Conte’s last semester before she completes her bachelor’s degree. However, she would like to pursue a master’s degree at EMU in the future. Upon graduation, Miss Conte would like to work for Proctor & Gamble’s Product Department, creating new products.