It’s no secret Justin Bieber had a wide scope of influence on teenage girls in the late 2000s, but few women can look back and can say he influenced their entire career paths; especially not a career in law. However, Delanie Fico, CAS sophomore and Her Campus editor, is one of the few who can.
Credit: Fico, Madison Square Garden Purpose Tour
“I give all the credit to Justin Bieber,” said Fico. “That’s definitely where all the influence comes from the fact that I was so big into it as a child. I was following people around NYC and I always had this big dream of living in New York City as a lawyer working with famous people.”
Luckily for her teenage self, growing up in Long Island, New York meant Fico’s celebrity idols weren’t too far away.
While her long-term goal is to be an entertainment lawyer, she is currently a dual degree major in philosophy and psychology with a minor in deaf studies. She said that this background will equate well into law and is something that has always interested her.
When talking about her family, Fico’s past becomes more clear as well. Her grandfather was a philosophy professor at St. John’s University and, even though he passed away before she was born, she remembers hearing about his work and knowing it would equate well to law. Her mom is also a social worker and her dad is a special education teacher so they both have backgrounds in psychology as well.
She notes that not only is psychology something that fascinates her, but something that has had a positive impact on her life. She credits her dad’s background in psychology to be one of the reasons he is someone she can rely on as a go-to person in her life.
“My dad’s probably my biggest hero in life,” Fico said. “He really influences my decisions because he can always give me both sides of any story and I know a lot of that has to do with his psychology background.”
Psychology connects to part of the reason entertainment law has held her interest since Fico was a teenager because she finds it fascinating to understand how people work. While as a teenager she was more fascinated in this career because of the celebrity aspect, she is now more intrigued in finding out why these celebrities are as famous as they are.
“I always find it insane that we put these people [celebrities] on pedestals and I love to know the back[ground],” Fico said. “They don’t just get put on pedestals. So many people are behind that to make that happen and I’d love to be that.”
Besides her passion for entertainment law, one trait of Fico that is clear in almost everything she does is her “save the world attitude,” as she calls it.
This attitude is evident not only in the fact that she decided to go vegan during her freshman year at BU but also her dedication to the Boston and BU community.
Last year she partnered with the Sustainable Oceans Alliance Club, which started spring semester 2018, to encourage BU to commit to stopping usage of plastic straws. She eventually became the social media manager and helped the club with their petition to get rid of straws on campus. While she is no longer a part of the coalition, thanks to the hard work of the club and herself BU intends to entirely phase out the use of plastic straws.
Credit: Fico’s freshman year student outreach group
Fico also strongly advocates for people to participate in the Freshman Year Service Outreach Program (FYSOP). She participated as a freshman and ended up choosing to be a staff leader for this year’s program. Through FYSOP she said she is able to do what she loves by participating in sustainability and active citizenship in Boston.
Her commitment to the community is evident in her work for Her Campus. Fico’s articles from her freshman year illustrate her growth from homesick first year to a Boston citizen.
“I started [Her Campus] with a letter to home and ended with a letter to BU,” Fico said. “The whole transition of understanding Boston is my home for the next four years and with that comes this responsibility to actually be a citizen of Boston and not just a student.”
She said that her articles now typically focus on self-care and being mentally okay while in college in Boston because “your mentality affects those around you.”
“Make Boston your home,” Fico said. “And remember, don’t litter.”
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