Featured Friar: Nicholas Calcagno ’21

by The Cowl Editor on February 27, 2020

Campus

by Julia Acquavita ’22

News Staff

Nick Calcagno ’21 has certainly made his mark at Providence College throughout his past three years here. Whether his involvement included organizing student orientation events, serving as a critical member of the Admissions Ambassadors, or helping to found and create the first ever business fraternity at PC, Calcagno has done it all.

Calcagno grew up in Westfield, NJ, which is about four hours from Friartown. Now the real question is, how did PC make it onto his radar and why did he choose this school?

According to Calcagno, “I found PC through my mom who graduated in ‘89. She never pressed me to come here, but I knew it was the place for me as soon as I stepped on campus.” He was inspired by the warm community and the intense spirit for the school that was present everywhere he looked. Also, to add to the PC family tree, Calcagno’s sister decided she, too, loved the school and joined him.

One of Calcagno’s greatest accomplishments at PC is having established the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. When asked what inspired him to pursue this fraternity, Calcagno responded by saying, “I cannot take all the credit for starting Delta Sigma Pi. My friend Trevor Somers ‘21 actually came to me with the idea in the beginning of sophomore year to start a co-ed academic business fraternity open to all business majors.”

Somers and Calcagno realized that many business clubs were based on one’s major, but not many clubs were open to all business majors. Calcagno explained, “While Trevor was abroad in Spain fall semester, I served as the acting president of Delta Sigma Pi to get it off the ground and solidify it so that we would be able to become a chapter by the end of the year.”

Now that Somers is back on campus, Calcagno serves as second-in-command as the senior vice president of the fraternity. Somers’ and Calcagno’s hardwork has paid off. With the help of a solid executive committee, Calcagno reported that over 70 kids committed to the fraternity, all of whom will be initiated this spring.

The creation of Delta Sigma Pi has helped to shape Calcagno’s PC career. The fraternity has allowed Calcagno to plan events for their members that are “intended to give them a cutting edge in the business world.”

The organization also participates in community service events that aim to help PC and the Providence community. Calcagno claims, “This allows me to give back to the community around me as well as the members themselves. In addition, this fraternity is open to anyone who is a business major, allowing us to give as many kids a chance to join a great organization.”

Because of the unique events and activities this fraternity offers, the members of the fraternity will each remember this as a special part of their PC experience.

In addition to serving as an Admissions Ambassador executive board member and as an orientation leader, Calcagno recently joined the Friars Club. When asked why he is a member of all of these clubs and organizations, Calcagno responded by saying, “All of these organizations are fantastic, which is why I couldn’t help but work to join all of them.”

Calcagno finds that each of these clubs has one thing in common: giving back to the school and assisting in bringing in the next generation of Friars. In some way or another, each club Calcagno is involved in aims to make the College a well-rounded, engaging school experience for current and potential students, making him a very valuable member of the Friar Family.

Regarding Calcagno’s future plans after leaving Friartown, he intends to move back to New Jersey or to the New York City area. As a finance major, Calcagno intends to work in a career in real estate and eventually start his own portfolio.

However, Calcagno made a point to say, “A very long term goal of mine is to return to the city of Providence and build a large scale affordable housing project to benefit the community.”

With goals like this and the work ethic he has, Calcagno is capable of doing great things in his future years, and he has already made an impact within the Friartown community.