Chris Mandato is from Bridgewater, NJ, and a Junior at Saint Joseph’s University. He’s majoring in Sports Marketing and a minor in Communications. Chris has two older sisters named Lizzie (24) and Jen (22). Something not many people know about is he has a big family on his Mom’s side. There are around 15 members (6 cousins, 9 aunts/ uncles). He and his family go on a vacation every year to the same place, which is Long Beach Island, NJ. Doing this for the past 20 years has shaped him into a person today because of how much he values family.
One of his favorite stories to share happened over the summer. He and his friends planned a trip to go skydiving. They ended up going on his 20th birthday which was cool for him. Chris was nervous leading up to it but once he arrived the nerves went away. When he and the man he was strapped to jumped out of the plane they did a backflip, which was one of his favorite parts. My favorite part of the story was how he was able to glide the parachute and do 360 5,000 feet in the air.
Chris told me about his new hobby that he found recently. Last semester he took a digital photography class and it opened his eyes to photography. He said that he was always interested in photography and shooting on his phone but never had the experience with a professional camera of his own. Learning about cameras and how to properly take a photo grabbed his attention. One of the reasons he likes taking photos is because he loves to capture the moment and have those memories forever.
