From College Grad to BDR: Bella Cugini’s Fast Start

(Above) Bella celebrating her Ohio University graduation in 2026, just before starting her next chapter at OneThirtyFive.

In May 2026, Bella Cugini graduated from Ohio University with a background in marketing, sales, and social media. During her time at OU, she was involved with the Schey Sales Centre and the American Marketing Association, experiences that helped point her toward a career in sales.

Like many new graduates, Bella quickly ran into a familiar challenge: finding an entry-level opportunity that didn’t already require years of experience. That was part of what attracted her to OneThirtyFive and the opportunity to start her career as a Business Development Representative.

From First-Call Nerves to Confidence

Despite her sales background, learning about cold calling and actually picking up the phone to speak with real prospects were two different experiences.

Bella remembers being nervous when she started, especially listening to experienced BDRs confidently navigate conversations around her.

“I would let people walk all over me,” Bella said of some of those early calls.

Through roleplays, regular call reviews, and advice from the team, that quickly began to change. Bella credits the hands-on coaching and repetition as one of the biggest factors in building her confidence.

Working with Lume Safety also played an important role in her development. As Bella became more familiar with Lume Safety’s offering and the prospects she was calling, conversations started to feel more natural. Booking her first meeting became a turning point, giving her confidence that she could succeed in the role.

Turning Development Into Results

Only 90 days into her career, Bella’s growth has translated into consistent results.

She has been toward the top of OneThirtyFive’s monthly BDR leaderboard every month since joining the team, something she considers her proudest accomplishment so far.

That success hasn’t come without challenges. Bella recalls going through a frustrating stretch of no-shows after booking meetings. Instead of letting it affect her performance, she continued following up, rescheduling conversations, and pushing forward.

That persistence has become an important part of her approach to sales and her advice to others starting their careers: don’t let rejection or a bad conversation stop you from making the next call.

Growing Beyond Sales

Bella’s growth hasn’t been limited to the phones.

She described herself as pretty shy when she first arrived at OneThirtyFive. Working alongside a young team every day and spending time together outside the office has helped her become much more outgoing, even describing herself now as a “social butterfly.”

(Above) Bella on Day 1 at OneThirtyFive!

For Bella, the in-person environment has been an important part of starting her career. Having teammates around to learn from, ask questions, and have fun with has made the transition from college to professional life that much easier.

Looking back, Bella knows exactly what she would tell herself on day one:

“I would tell myself to trust the process and not be afraid to step outside of my comfort zone. You’re going to learn a lot, make mistakes and don’t put so much pressure on yourself to have everything figured out right away. Just keep learning and growing from your mistakes and take advantage of every opportunity.”

Just 90 days after graduating from college, Bella has gone from being nervous about her first cold calls to consistently performing toward the top of OneThirtyFive’s BDR leaderboard.

And she’s just getting started.