  {"id":82336,"date":"2023-01-11T18:54:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T18:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=82336"},"modified":"2023-01-11T18:54:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T18:54:05","slug":"outgoing-student-alumni-association-president-to-bring-fresh-perspective-to-family-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2023\/01\/outgoing-student-alumni-association-president-to-bring-fresh-perspective-to-family-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Outgoing Student Alumni Association President to bring fresh perspective to family business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 11, 2023 \u2013 Senior year of college is typically a heavy lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That description takes on new meaning in the case of 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Arianna Helger who not only carries a full-time course load but regularly juggles work in her family business, quahogging in Narragansett Bay, and her role as president of the Student Alumni Association. Helger has been hauling shellfish in Narragansett Bay since she was a child and is also a serious competitor in the Tootell Aquatic Center scuba class pushup challenge (currently at 30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her enthusiasm for hard work and challenge will serve her well as she takes over her family\u2019s business after graduation in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helger\u2019s family operates a seafood market, Helger\u2019s Bridgeport Seafood, in Tiverton, nestled on the shore of the Sakonnet River. The market draws a wide range of dedicated customers (and some celebrities, as well). She\u2019ll be the fifth generation to operate the family market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-579x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-82342\" width=\"396\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-579x1024.jpg 579w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-170x300.jpg 170w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-768x1357.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-364x643.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish-500x884.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/01\/Helger-with-fish.jpg 774w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Working in the family business is a labor of love. Helger was ready to go directly into business after graduating from Tiverton High School but her mother, a teacher, encouraged her to look at 溏心vlog免费B站 for marine biology, to gain book knowledge to complement the on-the-job experience she\u2019d gained growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Helger is glad she took that advice and touts the strength of the program she joined. \u201cI have loved 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s marine biology program \u2014 it\u2019s the best there is,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To prepare for the work to come, Helger also has taken classes at 溏心vlog免费B站 that round out her marine studies, including courses in accounting and finance to prepare for a career as a small business owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helger\u2019s perspective on seafood\u2019s business side has also given her a different point of view in the classroom. She can readily speak to the challenges that arise for those in the fishing business when regulations are put in place to combat overfishing and other issues. \u201cFishing is important for our economy, as well as sustainability,\u201d she says. \u201cI can speak to both the fish and commercial side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The market sells seafood wholesale and retail, with seafood sourced locally and from the port of New Bedford, including the quahogs that Helger harvests herself in the lower Providence River. Helger\u2019s great-great-grandmother started the original market in Tiverton in 1937.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As she starts to follow in her great-great-grandmother\u2019s footsteps, Helger will be working with customers, wholesalers and agencies like the Rhode Island Department of Health. Her father, David Helger, will continue to play a role as she assumes the reins. They have developed a strong bond through their work at the business, which is evidenced by daily conversations and check-ins about the market, and photo swaps of pictures of the day\u2019s case display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s obsessed!\u201d she laughs. The shop sells saltwater fish, everything from Arctic char and bay scallops to swordfish and striped bass. The shop draws customers from outside New England and even as far away as New Zealand. You\u2019ll also find their fish on the menu at fine restaurants in the region, from the Back Eddy in Westport to Scales &amp; Shells in Newport. \u201cYou can trust our product,\u201d Helger says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Helger family has deep roots in the Tiverton area and a strong business bent. The original Helger ancestor came to the area from Germany and had several children who spread out and started businesses \u2026 today, their entrepreneurial legacy dots the area, with an eponymous turkey farm, greenhouse, Christmas tree farm, and Helger\u2019s ice cream, and many more businesses. If her business needs anything, it\u2019s likely that she can find a cousin for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 溏心vlog免费B站, Helger\u2019s work on the Student Alumni Association, an organization which connects current students to 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni, gave her the chance to further develop her leadership skills. \u201cIt\u2019s also been a great way to make friends,\u201d Helger says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helger wrapped up her term as president Jan. 1 and is succeeded by Kyersten Frabizio \u201924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cArianna has been an exceptional leader,\u201d says Michele Nota, vice president for alumni engagement at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation &amp; Alumni Engagement. \u201cAlways with a smile, she has encouraged her fellow Student Alumni Association members to find new ways to connect students with alumni. Her pride for the University is contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SAA Program Manager Kassie Patatanes echoes that sentiment, saying, \u201cWith a busy course load, volunteer work, and involvement in SAA, Arianna always steps up to the plate and has proven herself to be an amazing student leader in her time at 溏心vlog免费B站. Her passion and dedication shine through her work both on and off campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI learned skills and solidified strengths through SAA,\u201d Helger says. She plans to maintain her 溏心vlog免费B站 connection upon graduation, out of appreciation for all that the last four years have given her here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have loved 溏心vlog免费B站,\u201d she says. \u201cExperiences working in marine biology labs and on the trawler boat have been really cool. And the faculty are helpful and approachable; the professors are so knowledgeable and open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The marine biology program has given her broader context for understanding coastal issues around the world, as well as in-depth understanding of fish physiology, the larger world of fish, human influence, and the full scope of creatures and regions of the sea beyond Narragansett Bay. \u201cIt also has given me a lot of random nerdy facts about fish physiology to share at the market,\u201d Helger laughs. Before she graduates, she\u2019ll head to Bermuda this spring break for a study abroad program to study underwater photography and film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite her youth and the fact that she\u2019ll be joining a traditionally male-dominated industry, Helger said everyone she\u2019s encountered on her path to business ownership has been fully supportive and encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helger also plans to use her degree in Marine Biology and life experience to add to community discussions in the seafood industry. \u201cI want to add my voice,\u201d Helger says, noting that it\u2019s important for discussions and regulations of issues to include people actually doing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s program has been really great to get me set up for my next chapter at our seafood business,\u201d Helger says. \u201cThere are so many opportunities here at the 溏心vlog免费B站.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alumni.uri.edu\/alumni-central\/groups-communities\/student-alumni-association\/\"><em>Learn more about the Student Alumni Association<\/em><\/a><em>. SAA is always looking for new members!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 11, 2023 \u2013 Senior year of college is typically a heavy lift. That description takes on new meaning in the case of 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Arianna Helger who not only carries a full-time course load but regularly juggles work in her family business, quahogging in Narragansett Bay, and her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":82339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82336"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82347,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82336\/revisions\/82347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}