CUAB president leaving

With the right funding, Adele Ricciardi thinks she could help research a way to create unicorns.

“I don’t know how much of this was a joke and how much was real,” said her friend, senior Tyler Mills.

It is this kind of quirky inspiration that drives Carolina Union Activities Board President Ricciardi, a senior biology and chemistry major who is graduating this December.

As she prepares her applications for joint Master’s and doctorate programs, Ricciardi can look back at a UNC career just as diverse as her interests.

“My involvement with CUAB and the Union has allowed me to achieve balance in my daily life,” Ricciardi said.

CUAB, based in the Student Union, is one the largest recipients of student activity funds. It sponsors concerts, movie showings and lectures, among other usually free events on campus.

Ricciardi hails from upstate New York, and let her interest in music pull her to serve on the CUAB music committee her freshman year. She led the committee her sophomore and junior years.

At the same time, Ricciardi has pursued scientific studies in the University’s Marzluff Lab, where she has helped research the metabolism of histone mRNAs.

When selected as CUAB president at the beginning of this calendar year, Ricciardi had already made the decision to graduate a semester early.

With more than 160 credit hours, and only 120 required to graduate, she decided to take an extra semester and travel.

“The Board of Directors and I thought that I could make a significant contribution to CUAB and the Union during these 10 months, Ricciardi said.

Ricciardi will be replaced by a current CUAB member, who is yet to be determined.

Many on the board of students who make up her staff state Ricciardi’s 10 months have been positive for the organization.

“This year for CUAB we have done a really good job of branding the organization,” said Cierra Hinton, a junior Public Policy major and forum committee chair for CUAB.

Last week’s sold-out Homecoming Concert featuring Passion Pit was a smashing success for Ricciardi and her board.

“I have always loved Adele for her enthusiasm and love of life,” former CUAB president Amanda Kao said. “Above all, she was born a leader.”

Mills, CUAB’s pop culture committee chair, said that Ricciardi has helped the group stay true to what he sees as its central focus.

“The goal of the board is consistent — to educate and entertain the student body,” he said.

And although Ricciardi is actively preparing for a career in medicine — she was awarded a Beckman Foundation Scholarship and was nominated by the University for a Churchill Scholarship — the lessons she learned in the cluttered CUAB offices will carry forward, she said.

“CUAB has enabled me to have an incredibly enriching experience outside the classroom,” Ricciardi said.

“It taught me to learn from my peers and understand my surroundings, and ultimately, to inspire others to do the same.”

Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.