Dave Rattigan

Dave Rattigan graduated in January 2016 with his Master of Management degree from Cambridge College, Lawrence Regional Center. While Cambridge College and Dave are proud of this fact, there are several other reasons Dave has to be proud of his accomplishments over the years. 

As a stand-up comic, Dave Rattigan’s Comedy CD has played on XM and Sirius satellite radio and he has personally appeared and played various comedy venues all over the Northeast, the largest being the 2,100-seat Cape Cod Melody Tent, where he opened for The Beach Boys concert! In addition to his weekly comedic appearances at Salisbury’s Winner’s Circle, Dave has worked in television doing commercials for Olympia Sports (with former Red Sox sideline reporter Heidi Watney) and iParty. Dave runs a live stand-up production company, ScampsComedy.com, that specializes in comedy night fundraisers, and has helped raise over $1 million for local charities.

As a journalist, Dave has been a correspondent with The Boston Globe since 2002, primarily covering suburban news for the Globe North section, and also was a correspondent for People, and had pieces in Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, The Robb Report, and other national and regional publications. For a couple of years, Dave wrote a humor column in Northshore magazine called "Perfect Man."

As an adjunct professor at Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA, Dave has taught a variety of classes, specializing in communications and writing. In public speaking, particularly, Dave notes that it’s always “gratifying to hear the success stories of my former students,” some of which have been dramatically life-changing for them. 

Dave’s story on how he came to Cambridge College parallels many of the same reasons a lot of our students have come to the College.

After high school graduation in 1976, Dave attended several schools, graduating from Northeast Broadcasting School and completing a professional degree in direct marketing at Bentley University, but didn't get his college degree until 2000, from Emerson College (Writing, Literature and Publishing). By then, he’d already had a fairly successful career as a journalist – covering a Super Bowl, winning several regional awards, and writing for national magazines – and had launched a stand-up comedy career. There had also been forays into radio and television, screenwriting, public relations, and other areas. 

In 2001, while working as Public Relations Coordinator at Northern Essex Community College, Dave started teaching writing classes, and continued to teach public speaking and professional communications after he left that position. Several years later, he realized he needed a master’s degree to continue to expand that career. To achieve that he would need a college that was not only affordable but would also fit his learning style and busy schedule. A few folks recommended Cambridge College.

Dave entered Cambridge College in the fall 2014. By that time, he’d already launched Scamps Comedy Productions, ScampsComedy.com. In addition to running the comedy company, Dave continued his work at Northern Essex.

The Master of Management program was appealing for multiple reasons. Chief among them is that it was intellectually interesting, and Dave found many of professors were excellent at their craft. The lessons could be applied both to the classroom and to his own real-life business. And the community, including students, faculty and staffers, were an interesting cross-section of motivated, supportive people. Dave credits his academic adviser, Dr. Joe Miglio, for understanding the challenges adult professionals face in this environment. He was great at providing Dave and countless other students needed assistance through the entire process: from taking that first class through graduation day!