Nick Pontarelli is the type of kid that can keep you laughing for hours if you are lucky enough to track him down, or if you are his friend on Snapchat. I met Nick for dinner at Chipotle, where I got to know the Bucks County native and Lancaster Head RA a little bit better over mouthfuls of chips and guac.
HC: What’s your favorite part about being an RA?
NP: “The people. Definitely the people I work with and all the interactions with people I have. People don’t have a hard time talking to me. I mean, clearly, you just told me about your boy problems while we were in line.”
HC: Ahhh, I did, didn’t I? It must be that RA coming out of you, you’re give off that trustworthy presence haha! What else are you involved in at SJU?
NP: “Besides being an RA, I work the basketball games for the sports marketing department so if you ever go to a game and you see me running around the court, you can say to yourself, oh that’s that campus cutie!”
“And I am in the show.”
HC: The upcoming show?
NP: “Yeah, West Side Story.”
HC: Who do you play?
NP: “Diesel. He is one of the Jets. The sexiest of the Jets in my opinion.”
HC: Speaking of the Jets, let’s talk about sports. Are you a Philly sports fan?
NP: “I’m a sports marketing major at SJU, Taylor, of course I want to talk about Philly sports!”
HC: Duh! Rank your teams.
NP: “ 1. Flyers – I worked for them for two summers, 2. Eagles, 3. Phillies, and 4. Sixers. It is very rare to find someone that likes hockey as much as I do, but I know they’re out there. Somewhere.”
HC: Were you always into theatre, or were you always into sports?
NP: “Interesting question … What? People can’t do theatre and sports, Taylor? C’mon.”
HC: No, you’re right – they can and they should do both! I just didn’t realize you were so versatile. What sports were you involved in?
NP: “It’s a funny story actually, I made the soccer team as a freshman and then sophomore year, didn’t make it. But don’t feel bad for me, I didn’t really try – I mean, look at me Tay! So junior year, I became the manager. I was the nerd with the stats.”
HC: Hey, you learn a lot that way! The ins and outs of the sport, management skills… if there were three people, dead or alive, that you would want to invite to dinner, who would it be?
NP: 1. “Morgan Freeman. I would talk to him, but then he could narrate as I talked to the other two people.”
2.“Neil Degrasse Tyson. He is a big, important science guy and I am not a science guy. I don’t do science. I would hate to study it because everyone who studies it seems miserable, but it interests me! ”
3. “Benjamin Franklin because I love America and freedom. And babies. Those are probably the three most eclectic dinner guests you’ve ever heard of.”
HC: Ben can definitely take the credit of America. What are you most proud of, Nick?
NP: “My work experience in the various internships I’ve had. I have really set up myself for the working world.”
HC: And what do you see the working world looking like after graduation?
NP: “Well, I’d love to work for Comcast SportsNet, move back home to the county where I was born and bred, meet a nice woman, settle down, have a few little ones, and make a lot of money.”
HC: Alright Nick, what is on your desk right now?
NP: “My laptop, a lamp, and probably a Chipotle receipt. Seriously, I go that often.”
*take one last final bite of his burrito*
“If a woman wants to find a way to my heart, it’s through Chipotle [mouth full] so you’re doing a very good job right now.”
HC: Are you always so charming and witty?
NP: “I try to be. Not everyone thinks I’m funny. I don’t like those people.
HCXO,
Taylor