Worcester State has turned a city bus into a rolling celebration of opportunity for university graduates.
In partnership with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority, the university has wrapped a full-sized vehicle in Lancer blue, complete with its logo and an unmissable picture of two real-life Worcester State graduates, each dressed in cap and gown. Befitting the transit theme, the wrap also features a simple question, posed to commuters who might find themselves behind or on either side of the bus: “Where would you like to go?”
The mobile campaign represents a strategic departure from traditional advertising. While a stationary billboard waits for drivers to pass by, the wrapped bus will be on the road for the next nine months and travel through 13 Central Massachusetts cities and towns, including Worcester, Auburn, and Shrewsbury.
“Our prospective students live and work in these communities,” said Dr. Ryan Forsythe, vice president for Enrollment Management. “With the bus initiative, we’re going where they are, asking them what they want to do with their lives, and telling them Worcester State can help them get there.”
In addition to the wrap, the university has placed interior ads inside each of the WRTA’s 54 buses to promote its different majors, minors and MajorPlus [1] academic framework. Launched in 2021, MajorPlus gives students the opportunity to graduate with two majors or a major and minor within four years. The program effectively doubles the value of a student’s education and dramatically increases their marketability in the working world.
More than a marketing campaign, the bus wrap is simultaneously intended to celebrate the power of a Worcester State education. The joyful photo featured on the bus was taken at the 2025 commencement ceremony and features two nursing alumni.
Nicole Kenn ’25, one of the two, worked overnights at a medical center while raising two kids and still “attended every class, clinical and study group.” Today, she works as a registered nurse in a pediatric special needs unit.
“I hope the bus wrap inspires others and shows them that they can do anything. I want people to not let life hold them back from their dreams,” she said. “Worcester State truly molded me into the nurse I am today. Although the program was challenging—and you truly would question yourself some days—finally finishing was such a big moment. I came out a confident, prepared, and experienced new grad.”
Allison Burke ’25 is the other student featured in the ad. She works as a nurse in the field of neuroscience. Likewise, she credits Worcester State with “setting me up for success.”
“The photo in the ad was from a day we all had worked so hard for. It was like crossing the finish line,” she said. “I hope this inspires other people to go after their finish line moment. The harder you work for something the greater the success and the feelings that come with it. School is hard regardless of what you study, but the feeling that comes with the accomplishment is irreplaceable.”
The bus campaign is rolling out as Worcester State has recently been in the public eye for the value of its degrees; the university’s graduates have among the highest average earnings of all Massachusetts public colleges and universities five years after graduation [2], according to data released by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Worcester State graduates also leave with the lowest college debt among Massachusetts public colleges and universities, making the university the Commonwealth’s best value for high-quality, affordable education.