This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rowan chapter.
Vincent Colantuoni, sophomore communication studies major from Brick, N.J. is the go to person on student involvement and school spirit at Rowan. An RA, PRO and Director of Special Events for SUP, Colantuoni has plenty of experience with student life and thinks everyone should get involved with something on campus, whether it’s to make friends or just grow your resume, because it’s the second most important thing next to academics.
“For anyone interested in being a leader, I would say definitely learn first by following. See what other people do and strive to be just that. Overtime, you may feel inclined to step up to the plate, weather it is applying for a new job, giving a presentation somewhere on campus, or maybe heading a team for some event that is happening. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but that isn’t a bad thing. That only means that you care about having whatever it is succeed. Take the steps and your pace and you will do great things in no time!”
Colantuoni did just that when he joined SUP in September and helped with events before moving up to director of special events.
“Since my first movie night, I have met a new family. Everyone within the SUP office is genuinely committed to providing a great experience to students. This includes all of the student directors, graduate staff, and our adviser himself. This new position gives me the opportunity to contribute to the organization, contribute more to the experience of Rowan students, and of course, it gives me an opportunity to have fun as well!”
But even before Colantuoni became involved with SUP, he applied to be a PRO and RA around the same time. He knew he wanted to get invovled with student life because he figured it would suit his enthusiastic personality.
“My job is to give the new students a great Rowan experience, to get them hyped for when they eventually move in and get to start this experience on their own. It seems daunting, but I am here to make the transition smooth and make everyone feel comfortable! It is an amazing feeling when you go into work in the morning, on 4 or 5 hours of sleep, ready to work another 12 hours, and are more invigorated than any other day throughout the entire year. That is when you know you enjoy what you do,” says Colantuoni about his experience with the PRO (orientation leader) position.
Some students may be hesitant about getting invovled and taking on a leadership role because it can be time consuming, but Colantuoni urges students to think about how rewarding these experiences will be in the end.
“I can say that Res Life can definitely have its ups and downs. It could be hard tending to an incident at 4AM, but it is also rewarding as I have directly impacted 45+ freshmen and made sure that they all felt comfortable in their homes. I don’t believe anyone deserves any less, and I have the power to make that type of thing happen.
His best advice for getting involved on campus?
“The hardest thing for some people when it comes to involvement is putting themselves out there. They may not realize it, but that is all you need to do, just be yourself and find something on campus that peaks your interest.”