Nicole Giusti

Nicole’s not worried there are no seniors on the Boston College Cheerleading squad this year–she’s a junior who’s ready to step into a role of leadership. She cheers for Boston’s best college team, takes two concentrations plus a minor, and still finds the time to volunteer at a nearby elementary school. It’s impossible to find a better rep for BC than Nicole.
The ACC is a difficult conference to play in this year, but the Eagles are looking to defend their home field against Clemson this week. They’ve already successfully fended off the USC Trojans earlier this year, so it looks like Tiger meat is next on the menu. With Nicole and raucous crowd behind their football team, our (figurative) money’s on the BC Eagles.
 

What’s it like be a cheerleader?
I love it! At games, everyone’s excited to have us there and all the fans thus far have been super respectful. You’ve got kids love to see us, and hang out with us, and take pictures with us which is always fun to meet the younger generation and maybe convince them to come here some day. It’s always exciting getting involved with the crowd. Sometimes they’ll be like, “We want this cheer!” or “We want this stunt!” They really love having us be part of the atmosphere, which is nice to have the cohesion between all the elements (the football team, the cheerleaders, the fans.)
Are there any BC Cheerleader traditions that you particularly enjoy?
We have a parade that starts about 2 hours before kickoff. The football players start walking from the church down the “Million Dollar Staircase,” which is this massive staircase we have built on a hill. So the band, the cheerleaders, and our mascot Baldwin, we all lead the parade and we’re clapping at the fight song the whole time. And the football players file in and we all walk into Alumni which is our football stadium. And meanwhile all the fans are tailgating on the side of the parade, and they’re all cheering everyone on. That’s definitely a big tradition for us. We do that for every home game.
Have you been able to use your cheerleading at all in terms of helping your marketing concentration?
Yeah well we do a lot with athletics and try to help them with promotions. For example, our team was part of a commercial for College Gameday. So I have gotten to see some behind-the-scenes marketing for BC itself, and for some other companies as well which has been interesting.
What’s the game you’re looking forward to the most this year?
I’m actually looking forward to the USC game the most this year. I went last year, it was in California and the atmosphere was really crazy. It’s home for us this year and it’s actually going to be our only night game which is interesting. Normally our games are during the day. [Editor’s note: That game was actually played earlier this season, and Boston College defeated USC 31-37, in part because of the deafening home crowd pumped up by you-know-who]
What are some extracurriculars you’re involved with besides cheerleading?
At BC, there’s a lot of focus on men and women helping to give back. So everyone’s involved in something. I fell in love with an elementary school I volunteered at for a class, but I’m actually still volunteering there this year, even though I’m not in the class any more.