Chris is a resident assistant at Mettler Hall on the College Avenue campus. A junior from Monmouth County, N.J., he is double majoring in finance and accounting.
On theater background…
I got into theater in elementary school. My first drama club shows were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Midas. Afterwards, I started doing a program called ‘Odyssey of the Mind.’ That’s when I fell in love with theater. In high school I was president of the drama club. We competed around the state and we were doing two shows a year. I was also doing community theater as well.
On favorite aspects of theater…
The biggest aspect of theater I really like is that it forces you to step out of your comfort zone. I was really shy growing up. In pre-school I didn’t talk at all. For two years straight it was like I grew up without a mouth. Starting theater in elementary school, then through middle school, and high school it was constantly about pushing myself. I like that theater teaches you about storytelling. It also allows me to understand human nature better, especially when you look at Shakespeare’s universal truths that he conveys in his pieces. I’m a huge Shakespeare fan and that’s something that really drew me in. My favorite Shakespeare plays are Hamlet and Othello.
On New York...
My goal is to try to go to the city once a week. When I was younger, every year I would go to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with my family. I also went to the Paper Mill Playhouse a lot because my grandparents always had season tickets. When I was a sophomore in high school I saw my first Broadway show, Wicked and I’ve since seen it eight more times. Seeing a show on Broadway was something completely different. A big budget show like Wicked; there’s so much going on at once and the talent is incredible. It was definitely a transformational experience.
On becoming a resident assistant…
My RA during my freshman year was incredible. She really helped me out when I was struggling with stress and anxiety due to classes. She had such a huge impact on me whether that was being a RA or being a friend when I needed one. I wanted to have that same impact especially with first-year students. This year I was able to become a RA. I like to see my residents succeed academically, socially, professionally. It has been an incredible experience to see everyone enjoy college because it’s so new and exciting. They’re still trying to figure out exactly what they want to do and it’s great being on the other side, helping my residents make those decisions.
On approach to being a RA…
I told them on the first day that I wanted to be their friend and wanted to be someone they could talk to and work through issues with. I told them my main thing is that I want to see all of you succeed and make sure you are safe at the same time. I let them do things amongst themselves. I don’t really want to inject and intrude as much as other RAs would with their residents. I leave it up to them to come over to me whenever they need something. I always have an open door. I definitely want my residents to think for their own.
On campus involvement…
I’ve tried to be as involved as I could. I joined RUSA my freshman year. My sophomore year I was on their executive board and served as the academics affair chair. I was able to look at problems students face academically and meet with the different administrators and deans to tackle these issues. I’m in Delta Sigma Pi which is a professional business fraternity. This past year I’ve been on their executive board as vice president of fundraising. Next year I plan to serve as the vice president of finance. I am also involved in the Rutgers Road to Wall Street program and am involved with Beta Gamma Sigma, which is a Business School Honor Society.
On life after Rutgers…
After school I hope to go straight into Wall Street, in part because I love New York so much. Overall I see my interest in theater pushing me towards Wall Street, which is interesting and different. I always loved theater and I always had a gregarious personality. I love to meet and interact with new people. I also want a job that is really quantitative. In high school I loved statistics and calculus. I wanted something that can blend the quantitative and qualitative sides of me. I found that in finance on Wall Street with client interactions and how technical it can be.
