California native Bria Vicenti jokes that a passion for technology has always been in her blood. The computer science concentrator grew up surrounded by tech in Silicon Valley, where she spent a large amount of time as a kid teaching herself basic coding and graphic design to make pages for her Neopets. 

“I declared [computer science] as my major within the first two weeks of being in class with my COSC 101 professor as my advisor, and have never regretted it,” Vicenti said.

Here on campus, Vicenti is the current starting fullback for the women’s club rugby team. She also teaches PE classes and leads Wilderness Adventure with Outdoor Ed. She is a co-president of the Women in Computer Science club and a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. She says that in the fall, the vast majority of her time goes towards rugby, because the team is aiming to take the national championship this year after a second place finish last fall. 

Vicenti can also credit some of her closest friendships to the women’s club rugby team. 

“The majority of my closest friends are current or former members of the rugby team,” Vicenti said. “They’ve been a really fundamental part of my Colgate experience ever since joining.”

Vicenti’s most impactful relationship with a Colgate faculty member has been with Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Gary Ross.

“I met Gary when he came to talk about Colgate at my high school. He is one of the most caring and thoughtful people I have ever met, and has been a huge mentor to me throughout my four years here. This campus would not be the same without him, and I’m extremely grateful for all of the support and advice he has given me since we first met,” Vicenti said.

If she could change one thing about Colgate, Vicenti says that she would change the divided and categorized nature of social life on campus.

“I am positive there are so many people I would really click with on campus but haven’t been given the opportunity to meet because of decisions not necessarily made on an individual level,” Vicenti said. “Colgate can be a really callous, unforgiving place if you don’t find a community that you click with and while I’m very grateful to be a part of all of my organizations, I’m also really empathetic to those who haven’t yet found their place. It can be pretty easy to feel alone here, even while you’re surrounded by people you love.”