At the end of the day, I don’t think any of this would have been possible if I didn’t go to Bridgewater State. I’m thankful for that. Yes, I’ve worked hard, but Bridgewater helped put me on the right path. I wouldn’t be on this journey now and am indebted to the university for a lot of my success.
Back when Sal Longo, ’06, was choosing a college, he wanted a place where he could play football and earn his degree without emerging buried in debt. Bridgewater State, then College, checked that box and many others.
“It was a natural fit for me,” he said. “The four years I spent there were amazing.”
While studying and serving as captain of the football team in both his junior and senior year, Longo also worked part-time for a party-rental company called Busy Bee that rents out inflatables, water slides, foosball, bouncy houses and more.
On his first delivery he dropped off a water slide to a family in Hanover. The trip changed the trajectory of his career.
“I saw the joy on the kids’ faces, the mom was super happy, and they gave me good tip. I thought, there is something different here than any other service industry I’ve been in before,” Longo said.
He continued to work for the company throughout college and stayed on after he graduated with a degree in business administration.
Today Longo owns Busy Bee and has turned the Whitman-based company into a leader in the party rental world.
The company generates between $350,000 to $400,000 in gross revenue per week during peak months and completed more than 150,000 events in 2025.
This summer, Busy Bee entered a new phase: franchising. Earlier this year, the company launched its franchise system: new locations have since opened in Worcester, Rhode Island and Cape Cod.
So where did Longo develop his impressive business skills? According to him, at his alma mater.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think any of this would have been possible if I didn’t go to Bridgewater State,” he said. “I’m thankful for that. Yes, I’ve worked hard, but Bridgewater helped put me on the right path. I wouldn’t be on this journey now and am indebted to the university for a lot of my success.”
He said a lot of that support came from BSU’s current head football coach Joe Verria.
“I’m a huge believer that you have to have mentors in life. Joe was a mentor for me and as my business continues to expand I have the opportunity to give back and mentor young kids. Mentoring is tremendous, it’s a foundational piece for anyone’s growth,” Longo said.
Over the years, Longo has also hired Bridgewater State students to work at Busy Bee, providing them with the opportunity to start building their own resumes.
“It’s about building a strong tool kit,” he said. “I tell them to not worry about what you’re getting paid, worry about what you’re learning. As you build your took kit, you become valuable. When you get more tools in that kit, you become irreplaceable.”
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