Back at URI, 70 Years and Two Careers Later

Jack Mazza ’56 entered URI as a marketing major in 1952—mostly to qualify for a U.S. Navy pilot training program. He only intended to stay for the two years the Navy required. But URI called his name, and he delayed his entry in the training program to finish his degree.

Along the way he joined a fraternity, made many friends, and learned a lot.

One lesson stands out—not a classroom lesson, but a life lesson. On a fall afternoon, Jack drove a group of his fraternity brothers up to the annual Governor’s Cup football game at Brown University. After the game—riding high on a URI win—they thought it would be fun to steal the Brown flag as a prank. After someone reported Jack’s license plate number to the police, he was quickly called into Dean Quinn’s office and ordered to bring the flag back to Brown’s dean of students. Lesson learned.

“I was grateful for the mild punishment that wouldn’t jeopardize my acceptance into Navy flight training,” he said. “I drove up to Brown immediately!”

Other fond memories of URI include classes, Greek life activities, working at the Dunes Club as a summer lifeguard and bartender, and short-order cooking at the Memorial Union.

Jack shares a photo of himself as a Dunes Club lifeguard.

“URI gave me the opportunity to be involved in campus affairs, which provided valuable leadership experience and skills. And having ‘Class President’ on my resume proved invaluable. It might not be as important in today’s world, but 70 years ago it gave me a leg up in both the civilian and military advancement competition.”

Following graduation, Jack entered the Navy program as planned and completed four years on active duty stationed on Atlantic fleet aircraft carriers. He left the service intending to become an airline pilot but none of the airlines were hiring at the time, so he took a job at AT&T. Thus began his 35-year marketing career with the company, starting in Providence, then Boston, and finally New York City. Meanwhile he continued in the Navy Reserve, rising to the rank of Captain and Squadron Commanding Officer. “I loved having two careers. I didn’t want to choose between them,” he said.

After joining AT&T, Jack and Dotty, a Salve Regina grad, were married and blessed with four wonderful children and five grandchildren. They rented an apartment that was coincidentally across the hall from former URI classmate Sandie (Voelker) Aragona ’56 and her husband, and Sandie and Dotty were teachers at the same elementary school. The two couples became lifelong friends. They no longer live close by, but the girls talk by phone at least weekly.

In 1961 ahead of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jack was recalled to active duty and deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Their mission was to track and photograph Soviet ships and submarines entering Cuban waters. He still has a Newport Daily News clipping of himself with fellow reservist Lt. Cmdr. James L. Greene and Greene’s three children, including William “Bill” Greene ’71 (then 12 years old). Jack was reunited with Bill Greene at Golden Grad Weekend 65 years later.

An August 26, 1961 Newport Daily News clipping shows Jack (far left) and Bill Greene ’71 (far right), who was 12 years old at the time. The two were reunited 65 years later at Golden Grad Weekend.

Now retired from both the Navy and AT&T and living in New Jersey, Jack came full circle as he and Dotty—along with their good friend Sandie—took a road trip to URI for Golden Grad Weekend 2026. They toured campus (“It’s all new!” they said), and they had lunch at the Dunes Club where Jack spent summers working—only this time he was on the other side of the bar.

Sandie (left), Jack, and Dotty (right) took a road trip to Kingston for Golden Grad Weekend.