University of Rhode Island fourth-year student Peter Gigliotti is set to graduate in May, walking across the stage with four years of real-world experience and a growing social media presence.
Gigliotti is a member of the Harrington School of Communication and Media, majoring in sports media and communication and journalism.
“Coming out of high school, I knew I wanted to do something in the creativity industry regarding sports,” Gigliotti said. “I knew that I wanted to work in sports media, so when I was touring schools, URI was one of the few schools that offered a sports media program.”
Once Gigliotti was on campus, he got involved right away.
“Day one on campus, I joined the newspaper and the radio station,” Gigliotti said. “I was writing cross-country articles and things I wasn’t super interested in, but I knew it was going to make me a better writer and a better journalist.”
Over his four years, Gigliotti has had the opportunity to cover a multitude of URI athletic events hands-on. But his favorite thing hasn’t been a three-pointer, home run or touchdown; it’s been the people he’s watched them with.
“My favorite part is the people,” Gigliotti said. “There’s not a lot of majors where you walk into every class, and you know every person in the classroom… I feel super close with all my older and younger classmates.”
Gigliotti acquired two internships, one with WPRI-12 and NBC 10 WJAR. While Gigliotti enjoyed these experiences, he turned away from traditional broadcasting and journalism and ventured into social media.
“URI opened a bunch of doors for me and gave me the opportunity to see all different aspects of sports media,” Gigliotti said. “It let me figure out where I wanted to be, which is social media.”
Social media proved to be a good choice. Gigliotti has a TikTok page called “Pats with Pete” and has accumulated over 25,000 followers.
Gigliotti has worked with Barstool Sports. He has created content and been posted on the “Barstool Boston” Instagram page multiple times.
Gigliotti has also earned a partnership with Underdog Fantasy and has another TikTok page, “UnderdogPete.” Gigliotti has been able to monetize his content and hopes to continue to do so going forward.
Gigliotti is also a Harrington School ambassador, who talks to prospective students about his experience at URI and what the SMC program is all about in hopes of ushering in the next generation of sports media students at URI.
“He’s proud of having gone here,” Molly Yanity, director of sports media and communication, said. “I think one of the best things you can do when trying to recruit students is say, look where this graduate went, and I have no doubt that he is going to be one of those people.”
Gigliotti aims to partner up with a sports media company like Barstool, DraftKings, FanDuel or similar companies and produce social media content for them. His views, followers and all- around social media presence continue to grow, and he hopes that more people are willing to follow his path.
“I started my first page when I was going into sophomore year of college, and I was awful at it,” Gigliotti said. “It’s like anything else, when you first start out, you’re going to be bad at it. It’s like the gym, you have to keep showing up.”
The soon-to-be alumnus of URI continues to work on his craft, proving that his pivot to social media has paid off for him, literally.
