For many students, when deciding on where to attend college or university tends to depend on either prestige or proximity, or a combination of both. However, for Samantha Asprelli, DMSB’26, it was for a more personal reason—staying close to a community that she has given back to while finding an education that would go beyond the classroom and create impact. “Northeastern encourages students to create,” she says. “It’s a community of doers.”
Like many Northeastern students, Asprelli’s educational experience was elevated through two co-ops, one with The Boston Consulting Group and one with Bain Capital. These experiences proved to become a foundational piece of her future ambitions, as they taught her strong communication skills and created strong brand recognition, as well as giving her a powerful network to rely on. Additionally, Asprelli’s experience in the classroom offered its own transformative lessons—including an Innovation course that promoted the “jobs to be done” ideology, which she internalized.
With this framework in mind, Asprelli founded Give N’ Glow out of a simple, yet important, observation—beauty products tend to be considered luxury items, and are inaccessible to women who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and financial insecurity. Asprelli had the inspiration to start her nonprofit from what she calls “lollipop moments.” “A woman choosing her own lipstick before a job interview, for example,” she says, “is a lollipop moment.” Beginning with this inspiration, Give N’ Glow has grown into a national entity that has formed partnerships with brands like Glossier, and has distributed $2.2 million of products to more than 42,000 women across 75 shelters in the United States.
Even with all of her success, Asprelli’s leadership on campus extended beyond Give N’ Glow. She served as the vice president of social media for Northeastern’s Marketing Association, vice president of community for the Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship (WISE), vice president of engagement for Global Research Counseling, and co-director of conference for Northeastern’s Impact Investing Fund.
As Asprelli began collecting prestigious titles on campus, Give N’ Glow’s impact was beginning to be recognized both in Boston and on a national level. In December 2024, the Prudential Center was lit up pink in honor of the nonprofit as part of its annual 31 Nights of Light program. Additionally, its Tour of Giving campaign—a campaign in which 30 volunteers assembled 1,000 beauty kits to distribute across 10 Boston-based organizations—was featured on CNN’s 5 Good Things podcast.
Now a member of the Class of 2026 and about to start her recently accepted role as a strategic growth partner at Compass, she continues to carry the ethos of Northeastern’s experiential learning while continuing to drive Give N’ Glow forward. The organization is continuously seeking financial contributors, beauty brand partners, and shelter organizations that can benefit from the kits and distribution process. “The mission,” Asprelli says, “will always be powered by people who believe that dignity is not a luxury. That belief is what will move Give N’ Glow forward.”
