10 Within 10 Recognition

2025 10 Within 10: Caroline Rizzo 

2015, College of the Arts and Media
Bachelor of Applied Arts, Broadcast and Cinematic Arts

As communications manager for Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Caroline is the voice behind one of northern Michigan’s premier destinations. Whether she’s managing media, leading campaigns or connecting with the local community, she draws on the skills and connections she built during her time at CMU.

Caroline has remained an active alumna since graduation, serving on the CMU Alumni Board of Directors for more than five years, advising her sorority, and speaking at university events and prospective student nights. Her proudest CMU connection? Sharing this honor with her husband, Anthony Rizzo, who was also named a 10 Within 10 recipient.

A graduate of the broadcast and cinematic arts program, Caroline looks back fondly on Greek Week wins, late nights at The Bird, and friendships formed through Phi Sigma Sigma and Beta Theta Pi. “CMU gave me a legacy built on pride, resilience, and community,” she says. “It shaped not only my education, but who I am as a person.”

We asked our 10 Within 10 honorees to reflect on their time at Central, share some wisdom with current students, and talk about what it means to them to be a CMU Chippewa.

What has been your coolest moment since graduation? Being a board member on the CMU Alumni Board of Directors and seeing my husband, Anthony Rizzo, being selected as a 10 Within 10 recipient a couple of years ago. I am honored to also hold this award alongside him!

What is your fondest memory of CMU? Phi Sig Beta Greek Week 2014 (champs).

Do you have any advice for students coming to CMU? Get involved and experience as much as you can. From RSOs within your area of study to Greek Life and programs in the Leadership Institute. Experience a Thursday happy hour at The Bird, eat all the Cabin sticks, go to football games, become a guide for Leadership Safari, live in the dorms for two years, and come back to visit the campus after graduation.

What advice would you give to new graduates? Stay close with your CMU friends, classmates, faculty and professors. Ten years later, those relationships are still so important! Look for ways to get involved on a university or local level, no matter where you are. My husband and I spent several years living in Connecticut and still found ways to stay connected to the school.

What has your work life taught you? To love what you do, who you work for and who you work with. 

Why should CMU Chippewas dedicate their time and give back to the university? It keeps you connected to a place that taught and gave you so much and continues to even after graduating. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my teachers, friends and mentors from CMU.

What has being involved with CMU after graduation meant to you? I am proud to say I attended Central Michigan University and love sharing my experience with others. I have enjoyed finding new ways to stay connected and give back over the last 10 years. I spent five-plus years on the CMU Alumni Board of Directors, was an advisor for my sorority, a committee member for a local golf outing scholarship fundraiser for Grand Traverse area students, have spoken at future/prospective student nights, and been involved with panels and webinars for the College of Arts and Media and Broadcast and Cinematic Arts program.

What connections have you made through CMU? Connections that will last a lifetime! Not a week goes by where I am not involved with a personal or professional connection from CMU.

What people or experiences at CMU helped you succeed? The BCA program and its incredible faculty, the Leadership Institute, my sorority sisters from Phi Sigma Sigma, close friends in Beta Theta Pi fraternity, Leadership Safari, and my time working at the Phonathon.

What does being a CMU Chippewa mean to you? It means being Fired Up Forever! I am part of a legacy built on pride, resilience and community. My time at Central Michigan shaped not only my education, but also who I am as a person.