Looking Beneath the Masks of Marist
By Alexis Colucci
It’s time to unmask Emilie Ricciardi and Celeste Gigliotti — creators of the Masks of Marist Instagram page that reached 1,000 followers within a week of its first post. They have their own story to tell.
Emilie and Celeste united over a shared interest in music and social justice, which drove them to create the account. Masks of Marist’s mission is to help students “shed their masks and share their stories, all to reunite Red Foxes despite distance, disease, and distress.”
Emilie is active in Marist’s band program, having previously served as the webmaster and historian, as well as a member in Pep Band, Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble. Since her sophomore year, Emilie has performed as the Principal Saxophonist for the Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, created a sax quartet, and continues to play the drums for the student-led brass band, “The Brass Street Boys.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Marist’s Music Department has not performed for a live audience in over a year.
“It’s awful because that’s why we do it,” Emilie explains. “We like to perform for other people, and give other people joy. That’s what I love most –– getting crowd reactions.”
It was the confluence of the pandemic’s impact and her undying musical interest that inspired Emilie to start the Masks of Marist account. Forced to return home early in March 2020 from her semester abroad in Italy, Emilie found herself with extra time. A hometown friend invited her to participate in the Worldwide Day of Gratitude on April 20, 2020. It was held by YOUnison, a community of students interested in music, and promoting education and excellence.
As a volunteer for the initiative, Emilie helped thank first responders and frontline healthcare workers through song. YOUnison encouraged music industry professionals to post covers of Bill Withers “Lean on Me,” using the hashtags #DayofGratitude and #LeanOnUs. The collection of covers honored frontline workers for their selfless dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the fundraiser’s amalgam of music and activism is certainly Emilie’s forte, Emilie noted that she is as deeply involved with social activism because of Celeste.
While she has always had an interest in social justice, Celeste is also involved on campus as a safewalker for the Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol, a marketing writing intern for Sodexo, the President of the Communications Honor Society Lambda Pi Eta, the secretary for the Marist Theatre Board, and co-founder of Red Fox Real Talk.
Celeste created Red Fox Real Talk, a biweekly discussion group, as part of her research methods class. The project initially aimed to start a discussion of race on Marist’s campus. After hosting the initial focus group, predominant feedback showed that students didn’t feel there was a place to have these deeper discussions on campus.
“They didn’t know how to productively engage in those conversations, so we tried to foster a safe space where students can talk not just about race but about other issues that impact their identities and the ways in which they interact on campus and in society,” Celeste recalls.
Steven Ciravolo ‘21, a co-founder of Red Fox Real Talk, noted that Celeste’s commitment to ensuring social equity is unparalleled.
Painting by Jamie Goodman
“I don't think there was a time where she wasn't fighting for the causes of others,” Ciravolo says. “I see the way she educates herself about the world around her and what she is willing to do for others. It's what makes her such a genuine and important person for our world.”
Like Emilie, Celeste also has an interest in music and participates in Marist Theatre. Her sophomore year, she performed in the Hello Dolly musical and remembers gathering for a quick motivational speech before the 11-minute “Waiter's Gallop.”
“It’s really great to make art with your friends. To collaborate with people you love and to put on something that is beautiful or just fun,” Celeste says.
And that’s exactly what Celeste and Emilie did by launching Masks of Marist.
“As devastating as it’s been, COVID-19 was the opportunity to step up and find new creative ways to unite people and affect change because you can’t do it the way you used to,” Emilie says.
Once she had the idea for the account, Emilie contacted Celeste. The two created a Google Form that they direct-messaged to nominees congratulating them and prompting them to think critically about their quarantine experience and to comment on the increased racial tensions that the United States experienced at the same time the account launched.
Emilie and Celeste initially remained anonymous to allow the focus of the stories to remain on the nominees. Similarly to the story-telling element involved in Humans of New York — the initiative that helped inspire the account — the founders wanted to use Masks of Marist to share intriguing profiles. But, Emilie’s idea was unique in that it identified participants.
“It’s important to know that everyone is going through something different and you're never going to know by just looking at them,” Celeste says. “The account was actually helping to make people feel a little less alone and a little more in touch with their fellow students.”
Since the start of the school year, Masks of Marist has taken a hiatus. However, Emilie and Celeste plan to meet to discuss a potential campaign.
The two have certainly helped facilitate student connection, proving their endeavor worthwhile. It was in Dr. Robin Torres’s 8 a.m. public presentation class where the two met. Emilie consistently gave entertaining presentations Celeste recalls. “I vividly remember sliding in her DMs and being like, ‘I want to be friends; you’re so funny.’ It just sparked from there and now we’re just anonymously running accounts together,” Celeste says.
FOR THE RECORD UNCUT
OBJECT PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography by Bobby Oliver
For this year’s project, we asked our Changemakers to bring items that had meaning to them to the shoot.
CELESTE
“Pitch pipe – I received that pitch pipe when I was student leader of my high school select choir, and I've, quite literally, carried it with me ever since. It reminds me of high school and the safe haven I found in our Music Suite; of the Enharmonics, the a cappella group I've been a part of since freshman year and the lifelong friends I've made within it, and the countless moments of joy music and theatre have provided me. I may not have played it too recently, but it still symbolizes the incredible impact music has had on my life.
Sodexo name tag – My marketing internship with Marist Dining is so much more than a job – it has become one of the most formative college experiences I've been lucky enough to have. Working with the same team every day, brainstorming insane social media strategies and running around dining campuses in a frantic haze has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I wouldn't change a single moment.
The Atlantic article – A sad little printout, I know. But this article from The Atlantic means the world to me because it is what, for lack of a better word, radicalized me. I stumbled across it online in the summer of 2019. It's a long read, and focused mainly of economic inequality and the class divide, but it opened my eyes to how deeply inequality is baked into the foundations of our society. Racism and sexism and classism, and all of the -isms, have permeated their way into every inch of our lives, confining and restricting groups inextricably along the way. I think the article is the perfect encapsulation of why I care is much about social justice – why fighting for equality and justice and the upending of our current systems is so important to me.”
EMILIE
“The saxophone is the most expressive and soulful instrument that I play making it my favorite. I’ve grown up with this instrument, some of my proudest moments in music are of the sounds I’ve pulled out of this horn.
When I was younger I always wanted to play the drums but I was encouraged to pick a different instrument to play in school because “the drums were for boys.” A few years later I taught myself the drums and have been playing ever since.
I grew up listening to legends like Billy Joel, Elton John, and Queen, just to name a few. Billy Joel’s “The Stranger” is an album that has traveled with me through life. This is an album with incredible instrumentation, lyricism, and storytelling that place you right in the heart of the music. Billy Joel has always been an idol of mine—I’ll never forget seeing him perform at Madison Square Garden with my parents.”