By Dana Klosner-Wehner
Danielle Dellilo-Berardi, a first-year graduate student in the university’s journalism school, and Matt Napolitano, a freshman with sophomore status (thanks to credits he earned at H. Frank Carey High School) who is majoring in broadcast journalism, were two of the 350 student volunteers at the debate. The 350 were chosen from nearly twice that number who applied, according to Melissa Connolly, vice president of university relations.
The students submitted resumes and cover letters, and it was just like choosing applicants for a job, Connolly explained. “We looked for people that were really interested,” she said. “Also, people’s schedules were a big factor. They weren’t considered if they were only available for two or three hours.”
For Napolitano, being chosen to volunteer was a dream come true. “When I first came to orientation and found out they would have student volunteers, being a broadcast journalism major and a [political science] minor, I figured this would be the perfect situation to get started,” he said. “Once I was applying to colleges and I found out that Hofstra was hosting the debate, that really affected my decision.”
Napolitano said that when he got word that he had been picked, “I jumped up and down like I had won the lottery. As things progressed, I just got so much more excited, because it was such an opportunity to see two men, one who will become president of the United States, right in front of me. It was just a remarkable experience that I couldn’t pass up.”
Dellilo-Berardi, who works in the campus career center, heard about the debate last year. “I was very interested, because I figured this would be a great experience,” she said.
Neither was disappointed. They both said they enjoyed the jobs they had during the debate. Dellilo-Berardi worked in the media center, among a crowd of journalists from around the world. She was not in the David. S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, where the debate was held, but rather in the physical fitness center next door.
Dellilo-Berardi handled press releases and calls from those with questions about the debate. She put journalists in touch with students who wanted to be interviewed, and contacted professors that many reporters wanted to talk to.
“A couple of questions that were asked were, ‘Are there any tickets?’ and ‘Is there a public viewing watch party?’” Dellilo-Berardi recalled. “‘Is Senator Obama or John McCain near you right now?’ ‘Can you give them a note for me?’ ‘Can you tell Obama I love him?’
“Of course, I could do none of those things,” she added. “They were nowhere near me, but it was a great experience. Yes, it was busy. Yes there were a lot of phone calls for tickets. It was just the whole area of being with the media. The place was just crazy. It was so busy.”
As a program distributor who checked tickets as people came in, Napolitano got to be right on the debate floor. “I really enjoyed the job because I got to see a lot of famous politicians,” he said. “I got to see Howard Dean, Chuck Schumer and Governor Paterson. Just being that close to so many notable people in the world of politics astounded me. They were in my school. They just walked by me. They shook my hand and talked to me. It was a surreal experience.”
Dellilo-Berardi enjoyed meeting members of the press while working at the hospitality desk, where she gave out candy, pins, pens and paper. “We really got to meet a lot of the media, which was great,” she said. “They were from across the world.”
Both students said they were amazed that an event watched around the world took place in such a familiar place. “I graduated high school in that same arena,” Napolitano said. “We had a black drape with a Carey High School flag on it. And then you see this three-million-dollar stage. I can’t believe I graduated there. I can’t believe those two candidates were standing where I received my diploma.”
“It was the same thing for me,” said Dellilo-Berardi, who got her undergraduate degree at Hofstra. “When I graduated from college, it was the first year that the arena was here. We were the first graduation in the arena. Senator Obama and Senator McCain were both in the same place where I received my diploma from this fine university.”
There were many highlights throughout the evening. “The best moment of the entire debate was when Bob Schieffer came out and said he really wished that Tim Russert could have been there,” Napolitano said. “That was a really heartfelt thing. That just goes to show you that even though they were from separate networks, there is unity amongst the press. There were really no hard feelings despite whatever views they may have.”
One moment stands out in Dellilo-Berardi’s mind. “My highlight was when we were watching Bob Schieffer and he came out and how he mentioned Hofstra University, and knowing that it was heard all across the world,” she said. “I loved Hofstra ever since I was a little girl. For me it was an experience that I’ll never forget.”
Napolitano shares Dellilo-Berardi’s affinity for the university. “I’ve been coming to Hofstra for field trips for as long as I can remember,” he said. “Ever since the first time I stepped on campus, which was second or third grade, I always loved it. As I got older and wanted to get more into journalism ... it was one of the first schools I applied to. The fact that the debate was coming gave me the perfect scenario to come to this school. I definitely made the right choice when I chose my college.”
And the student volunteers were appreciated as much as they enjoyed helping out. “The volunteers enabled us to do a lot of things we wouldn’t have been able to do,” Connolly said. “We were hosting 3,100 members of the media. We were hosting people who weren’t familiar with the area. Without the volunteers, we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.”
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