This week’s Campus Cutie is Giancarlo Ambrogio! This senior loves playing the trumpet, listening to Dave Matthews Band, and talking about Hartford (#HartfordHasIt). Read on to get to know Giancarlo!
Name: Giancarlo Ambrogio
Hometown: Wethersfield, CT (Right below the greatest city in the world, Hartford)
School/Year: A&S, 2016
Major: History and Economics
Activities/Clubs: Boston College Bands Service Group, Screaming Eagles Marching Band, BC Band Pep Band, Intramural Soccer, BC Hartford Fan Club (pending administrative approval)
Best class: Intro to Catholicism with Monsignor Liam Bergin (He’s a great man) and America’s War in Vietnam with Professor Seth Jacobs
Worst class: Econ Statistics. Professor was great but the class was just insanely difficult
Bapst or O’Neill: Neither. Brighton Theology Library. Great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of campus and find a quiet place to work.
Favorite place to eat on campus: My kitchen. I make a killer Campbell’s chicken and stars soup. I sometimes add oyster crackers if I’m really trying to impress people.
Biggest pet peeve: Honestly, I’m that jerk who hates when people pronounce Italian words incorrectly. Don’t get me wrong, if you were to put a French or Spanish dish in front of me right now, I guarantee that I would butcher the pronunciation. But at the end of the day, I am an irrationally proud Italian and these things just get to me:It’s:
Biscotti (Bi-SCO-ti), NOT Bis-cah-teeRicotta (Ri-CO-ta), NOT Ri-cah-tahBolognese (Bo-lo-nye-se-) NO Bo-lo-nyaaaaayse
One thing you’re most excited about for senior year: 2 things. Winter break I’m going on a ski trip with two of my band buds Aaron and Andrew (famously known as the “Chaches”). And spring break I’m going on a road trip with my boy David.
Most embarrassing moment: I have two.
1. My freshman year I was (and quite honestly still am) a coffee fiend. I remember one time I had just gotten a fresh coffee and jumped on the Newton Bus to go to Main Campus. As I was walking down the bus aisle to find a seat, the bus hit a bump and I lost my balance and spilled my coffee all over a girl sitting in front of me. She proceeded to death glare me for a solid three minutes as I desperately tried to find the napkin or a tissue to wipe up the mess (don’t worry, she was okay). In the end, I gave her my tiny purell bottle from my backpack because at the time I thought it might ameliorate the situation in some way. Lucky for me, a fellow bus goer ended up giving her a few napkins. It was that day when I realized to myself, “Dang, I’m smooth.” 2. A few months later, I had my first class in Stokes. Keep in mind, this was when Stokes had JUST been built and the building was unfamiliar to literally everyone on campus. Anyway, that day I drank a ton of coffee and really had to take a leak. So I ran into the closest bathroom and gazed around looking for the closest urinal. Oddly enough, there were no urinals, but I thought, “Hey, this is a new building. Maybe urinals are out of fashion.” So I jumped into a stall and did my business. At that point I noticed an odd box hanging on the stall wall and thought, “Hmmm…that’s new.” This, combined with the absence of urinals, brought me to the sudden revelation that something was deadly wrong. Yep, that’s right. I was in the girl’s bathroom. Then, I heard the bathroom door open: a girl walked in. I was honestly so terrified that I stayed in the stall for a solid 5 minutes while she did her makeup in the mirror. At some point, I thought she left so I opened the stall door ready to bolt only to find the girl standing there looking at me with the most shocked expression. I sat there like a deer in headlights for another 6 seconds and then scrambled for the door. Just to make sure she wasn’t chasing me, I made sure to run all the way down the hallway before looking back. I survived the girl’s bathroom, but on that afternoon I lost my pride. To the girl who was in the bathroom that day: my bad.
Fun fact: Through my life I have had a variety of nicknames including, but not limited to GC, Giacomo, Gionfrieddo, G, Juancarlo, Juanpablo, Juanpabs, Chilo, Johnny and my favorite, Rufio (Based on the guy from “Hook”)
Favorite movie: I love the Shawshank Redemption. But Lion King has been up there recently.
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Celeb crush: Kate Mara
Dream job: American Ambassador to Italy (yes, it’s a complete dream. But the homeland calls)
Favorite BC sport: Women’s Basketball. They honestly get stuff done. It’s always a pleasure to play for them in Pep Band
Favorite hangout spot on campus: Brighton Campus, no question. Just take a walk there one day and you’ll see why.
Relationship status: Single, but I’m pretty sure that girl I spilled coffee on is interested.
Ideal girl: Italian, plays basketball
Ideal date: I love the North End. Dinner reservations at Giacomo’s followed by a stroll down Hanover street taking in the sights and sounds. Maybe a cappuccino and a stroll along Boston Harbor to end the evening. Oh, and at some point she probably has to meet Mamma Ambrogio.
Deal breakers: Doesn’t speak Italian. Doesn’t like Dave Matthews Band.
Advice to freshmen: Don’t be overwhelmed. There is a lot to get used to during freshman year, and things always fall into place in the end. Don’t sweat the little stuff, and take failure with grace. You may fail a test, get homesick, or accidentally walk into a girl’s bathroom one day. But when all is said and done, you are still going to look back on these four years and smile. So make the best of it. Also, sign up for Kairos. I just got back this weekend, and it was truly a phenomenal experience.
So next time you’re on Brighton campus or need help figuring out which bathroom is the men’s room, find Giancarlo!