Every pirate has been to a Student Activities Board (SAB) event.
From the first day on campus, SAB welcomes students with Blue Day and a week of events known as their “Week of Welcome” or “WOW” events. Throughout the year, SAB hosts traditional events such as the tree lighting, “SHU Speaks,” the spring carnival, and the highly anticipated spring concert.
But who is the mastermind behind all these events?
A student often seen on campus, Richard “Rich” Picone, a senior psychology major, is the director of SAB, and the organizer of these events that checkpoint a SHU student’s year. He leads a group of 19 SAB members and two advisors, bringing campus events to life.
“Every year it's normally…15-ish college students planning every single event by ourselves,” Picone said. “And they're all coming up with it from scratch.”
Picone has significant responsibility as director. Since SAB is student-run and changing every year, his responsibilities are constantly evolving.
“I have maybe five actual, set responsibilities in terms of maintaining the calendar of events,” Picone said. “I'll check in with all the coordinators on SAB and see how they're doing. But every day is different. A lot of the role is what you make it.”
Picone focuses his job on supporting his team and ensuring the organization runs smoothly.
“It was challenging for me last semester to really figure out, right, what am I doing? Like, what exactly is my role?” Picone said.
This role requires him to ask himself, “How could I best support everyone while also making sure I'm not losing my mind?” Picone thinks he discovered how this semester. He said his support comes from the SAB team, who work to reciprocate that trust, creating a strong team.
“I think that was the most rewarding moment for me was seeing the team all come together,” Picone said. “I was listening to [them] talk, and it was also a moment of reflection of looking at all of them, [noticing] they came so far since last semester.”
The title of SAB director undoubtedly makes Picone a noticeable face on campus, as he hosts several major events. Beyond SAB, he is an orientation leader and former Peer Advisor, and last spring ran for Student Government Association (SGA) president.
“Some of my friends call me Mr. Seton Hall. I don't know that I like that,” Picone said. “Like, sometimes I don't ever expect to walk around and be recognized and then sometimes, I'll be talking to someone that I've never met before, we’ll be talking, and they're like, ‘Oh yeah, I know you from this.’”
Picone said he does not regret the amount of involvement he has on campus, encouraging students to get involved, too.
“Everyone's always scared and nervous,” Picone said. “You're not the only one.”
He advises students to explore opportunities on campus and find something that interests them "because it seriously will change the entire trajectory of your college experience, which maybe sounds a little dramatic, but it's true.”
Even if students decide not to join SAB, they still contribute to the organization through discussing what they want on campus and showing up to the events they enjoy.
“What I always say is we are focused on pleasing the student body and making sure we get the most interest possible,” Picone said. “Which is why we have an SAB suggestion box, and why we post stuff on the stories. There's been plenty of times we've had people come up to us at a regular event and be like, ‘This is so cool. Can you guys do something like this again?’”
Pleasing the student body is not an easy feat, especially when it comes to the Spring Concert, which is often the most divisive event on campus annually With whispers all year long, building suspense over the celebrity performer. Students often have high expectations.
Picone confirmed that an artist has been booked for the spring concert, which “[they’re] pumped” about, with an announcement expected by March.
He also recognizes that people are going to love the performer choice or be like, “Why did you bring this person here?”
“You're never going to please everyone and that's just the reality,” Picone said. “Be open-minded,” Picone said. “I know everyone has strong opinions when it comes to the concert.
“Even if you don't know the person, it's a $5 ticket to go see an artist who I promise you is charging a lot more than $5 for a concert. So just go. Enjoy it, even if it's only for a few minutes,” Picone added.
Kaitlyn Campeau is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at kaitlyn.campeau@student.shu.edu.
