To revive an old tradition of “campus cuties” here at Fairfield U, I sat down with the face of Tully Nanners and co-host of the sports podcast Great Take Tuesday, CJ Arena. We at HC have divided this interview into sections for your convenience. Hope you find CJ as cute as we do.
BACKGROUND:
Campus Cutie: CJ Arena
Year: 2024
Hometown: Montville, NJ
Major: Marketing
Minors: Sports Leadership and Management
Relationship Status: Situationship
Hobbies: Baseball (3rd base, Vice President), Intramurals (Supervisor), Podcast (Great Take Tuesday with Ryan Canfield)
Favorite Restaurant: In Fairfield- Firehouse Deli & in Kennebunk, Maine- The Boathouse
Favorite Color: Purple
ASSORTED QUESTIONS:
Would you rather live underwater or in a tree?
Underwater (scared of heights)
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Miles Teller
What song reflects your life right now?
Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
If you were an animal what would you be?
Lion
How did you become the face of Tully Nanners?
I believe it was freshman year. My friends always took pictures of me eating a banana in the Tully because I am an avid banana lover. Then, without exposing her (someone who shall not be named) thought it was hilarious and decided to make an Instagram account. Now banana love has spread throughout Fairfield U.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Arizona. It’s a whole different part of the US. I love the landscape, the people, and the overall environment. It’s very calming. And my grandparents live there.
Would you rather I give you 1 million dollars right now or 25,000 every year for the next 40 years?
25K for the next 40
How do you like your eggs cooked and why?
This is a really hard question. Overeasy because I can put it on a sandwich or eat them regular BUT toast or bagel is REQUIRED.
What is your coffee order? What do you think that says about you?
Medium iced coffee with caramel and milk and I think it says that I am an average person from the Northeast who likes something sweet in the morning.
PERSONAL QUESTIONS:
Situationship details?
She’s a redhead and she’s taught me that there’s a difference between gingers and redheads. A ginger is someone who has red hair, pale skin, and freckles. A redhead is someone who has red hair. She’s a redhead and she’s really cool. She hates tomatoes in any capacity, ketchup, tomato sauce, etc.
Have you ever been in a relationship before?
I have but I’m not good at it. But I’m getting better.
Mama’s boy or Daddy’s boy?
Daddy’s boy. It comes from birth because I share the same name as my dad.
What is something you want people to know about you?
I am not from Massachusetts. A lot of people here think I am, but I’m not. I’m a Jersey boy.
What are you being for Halloween?
I have all three of my costumes. I am being a Game of Thrones character. Breaking Bad with my roommate Cj Giacin. He will be Jesse Pinkman and I will be Walter White. And I believe we are going to do the Revolutionary War. Red Coats vs Patriots- cannot confirm what side I’ll be on yet.
What’s something no one knows about you?
Well, some people may remember this, but my two front teeth are fake because I got them knocked out in a basketball game sophomore year.
Piece of advice?
Don’t be scared of failure. I feel like a lot of people in college are scared to try new things and new relationships and are very scared of rejection or failure. But that is the best way to learn, by failure. I encourage people to fail.
What’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?
Freshman year my fantasy football punishment. My punishment in the league was posting an ESPN body issue picture for 24 hours. I was naked and I had a basketball over my “you know what.”
Have you ever been in trouble on campus?
Yes, many times. The first time was in our room in Langguth Hall, we decided to make a sauna in our shower by turning the shower up all the way so it would steam, we covered the smoke detector with cardboard, and put beach chairs in our bathroom to create a sauna and instead of letting the steam air out first, we opened the door and the smoke detector went off and DPS came because they thought we were smoking in our room but we were actually just relaxing on a Saturday night. The second one, took place again in Langguth hall where we decided we would break a bowling ball in half in the parking lot, and despite many attempts with a baseball bat and slamming it on the cement, we could not break the bowling ball. Little did we know we were disturbing the peace in our Fairfield community and DPS was called and came and wrote us up for disorderly conduct.
Pet peeve/ ICK?
I have borderline OCD, so when the dishes are left in the sink uncleaned it bothers me. It’s not just my roommates, it’s everyone. I will say it is not that hard to wash and dry dishes and put them away.
Fun fact?
Both my dad and I have the same academic advisor at Fairfield University. He graduated in 1993. Our advisor is/was Arjun Chauduri. He has helped me a lot with classes and on my journey to graduate school.
Closing remarks:
I am very honored to be interviewed and the first face of Campus Cuties. I hope someone learns something about me and I hope more Campus Cuties feel more encouraged to open up and be interviewed. I hope everyone finishes the second half of the semester strong. Roll stags.
Instagram: @cjarena11