2020 Arts Award: Nico Borbolla
by Ally Lardner ’21
Junior Nico Borbolla reflects on his time in the arts, as well his hopes for the future of Gusto, the first student-run food magazine at Boston College.
Nico Borbolla ’21
Major: International Studies and Philosophy
Minor: Journalism
Gusto: Founder, Editor in Chief
The Gavel: Associate Print Editor, Associate Feature Editor
Contemporary Theatre: President, Production Manager
How have you been involved in the arts at Boston College?
I started with The Gavel, writing features. And then I did theatre, starting second semester of freshman year. I joined CT (Contemporary Theatre), I did a couple shows, Invisible (2019) and Stop Kiss (2018). And then after the summer of freshman year, after taking the food writing class in Paris, I started doing Gusto.
I’m still involved with CT, I’m now president, and I’ve tried to incorporate the arts into The Gavel in a lot of ways, to get our print to be more photo-journalistically oriented — which didn’t really pan out this semester because of coronavirus, but it’s something we’re looking at.
What’s been your most meaningful arts experience?
Production managing The Aliens for CT would be one. Seeing that show come to life on that balcony reinvigorated curiosity and imagination of what art can be, especially at Boston College, and it tore down some boundaries, which was really valuable.
If not that, then I would say publishing the first and second issues of Gusto. The first, while it wasn’t as good of an issue as the second one, it was crazy that it happened. And the second one was a true step-up in quality, and I was really proud of what we had achieved, and what we could continue to achieve. The third issue is the continuation of that, but the first and the second ones were the most impactful.
Tell me about how Gusto started.
It started when I was in France for this class, Food Writing in Paris, with Lynne Anderson, and I posted a story on my Instagram of the Eiffel Tower. Kayla Causey ’19 was like, “When are we starting our food literary magazine?” We were both really into Bon Appetit, and we would talk about the Bon Appetit test kitchen all the time.
An excerpt from Nico’s article in the Fall 2019 edition of Gusto.
I was like haha, but then I got back from the food writing class, and
I really liked the creative potential that food writing brings, so I figured. . . why not?
It was at the point when The Gavel had started doing print again, and I was really into the idea of publishing a print magazine. So, I pulled together a couple of my senior friends, I think it was six or seven of us, and we just… did Gusto.
It was really interesting. The first issue was bad. But it got a lot of people really interested, and then it started becoming a real thing, where I was like okay, there's a want for this to happen on campus. We started getting applications out, talking to people, and then we had our second issue out. By that point, we had figured out that we could do this.
So it started almost as a joke between you and Kayla Causey?
Almost as a joke. But then I figured, “Why not?” It also wouldn't have been possible without that food writing class. Kayla took the class the year before me, and that’s why the “joke” was able to happen: because we knew food writing had literary potential. It was because of that class that I realized what a food magazine could be.
Do you remember a moment where you realized that Gusto was becoming a real thing?
I can point out two. The first time I ever picked up a physical copy of the first Gusto magazine, I was super giddy. It was like having a child, I imagine! It had been a super slapdash thing, and it didn’t seem like it was going to come together, and then miraculously, I had a paper copy of the magazine in my hand. And that was the first moment that I was like, this is real.
But then, it was small and really limited, and I didn’t know that anyone was going to read it. We started to get a little bit of feedback, and we had an interest meeting in January 2019 for the second issue. And there were a lot of people there, there were like 40 people, and I realized: This is real, people want to do something with this. So that was, I think, the biggest moment where I realized there were people that wanted to be involved with this on campus, and it should exist.
Do you think receiving this award as a junior is going to affect what you do senior year?
Nico’s Note from the Editor in the Spring 2019 edition of Gusto.
I’m not quite sure. My philosophy in the last two years has been to not pay attention to limitations that people think you should have. I started Gusto as a sophomore, which is weird because people don’t really assume that sophomores have the drive to do something like that. But I've never paid attention to that. I also learn by doing, so I think that with the other things I’m going to take on senior year — projects I'm going to do for The Gavel, Gusto, and CT — I think it's really going to encourage me to be more daring in a lot of ways.
It’s easy to convince yourself to break the mold, at least for myself it is, but I think it’s much harder to lead a bunch of people into the unknown and into things that could be great but are unheard of.
So hopefully, it will give me the energy and encouragement to lead people into doing things that they might not have expected. I mean, that’s all of what Gusto was. It started with me as a sophomore working with five seniors, and I think that’s important. They were already at the end of their Boston College road. They had already seen what had been done, and so how they knew what could be done. I don't think I could have started it with five other sophomores.
How has your work in the arts, with Gusto or otherwise, informed your next steps after graduation?
I came into BC not really sure what I wanted to do after, and if the arts were even something tenable for me in the future. When I was in high school, I did a lot of theatre, and people there were either going to go all in on theatre and do conservatories, or just do something else entirely. I always straddled those two options, and I wasn't sure which one to pick. That’s kind of why I chose BC: because I could do a little bit of both. But I think I’ve seen what’s possible and how the arts really don’t confine you to one thing. It’s shown me that no matter what I do in the future, no matter what industry I enter, I can promote the arts in that, and use the arts to make it better.
I think any industry cannot survive without some sort of creative engine behind it and some sort of insane imagination to do things that no one else can imagine.
What advice do you have to share with underclassmen about the arts at BC?
The first thing is don’t get scared by all the institutional mumbo-jumbo. There are so many acronyms, and so many people who will try to dissuade you! But all you need is a couple of good mentors from your clubs or faculty who will guide you through the hard parts and allow you to shine.
The second is find out what hasn’t been done and do that. A lot of people do what's already been done — no problem with that, people need to continue the legacies of creatives that came before. But if you have an idea, and it’s never been done, there’s a chance other people also want it to happen. You don’t exist in a vacuum. The passions that you have come from something that’s going on in the world. I didn’t start Gusto because I’m some one off guy who’s really into food. I started it because I think people in the world are getting more into food. They’re becoming more food conscious, food literate, and learning more about food everyday, whether because of the Bon Appetit test kitchen or Guy Fieri or whatever.
I believe when you have an idea, you have to chase it. Because you’re not the only one to want something, you might just be the only one with the energy and the time to do it.
So don’t be intimidated by the fact that it’s never been done before — I think that’s usually a good sign!
Who’ve been your inspiration or mentors in the arts?
First and foremost, I’d say Lynne Anderson, in the English Department. She has been a huge help! She taught the Food Writing in Paris class, and she’s worked with me the last two years on Gusto. She’s been a huge help in making it come to life: from the small stuff like booking rooms, to giving fantastic, honest feedback. She was the inspiration for all of this to begin.
Special shoutout to Madison Polkowitz ’19. She was a jack of all trades creatively: she could design, she could photograph, she could illustrate. She was one of the first on the team at Gusto, and she showed me that in order to do stuff like Gusto you also have to be a jack of all trades.
Big thanks to the past Editors in Chief of The Gavel, including Meg Loughman ’19, Ellen Gerst ’20, and the rest of my friends at The Gavel.
And everyone in CT reminds me of the importance of being a team. A lot of times with Gusto, I get caught up in thinking it’s just me and my project, but when I step into CT, I remember teams have to be able to do everything together. That informs how I approach Gusto. Especially in times like this, you are only as powerful as your team.
Thanks to Taylor Tranfaglia ’18 for giving me a shot at CT, and Kayla for being a great president, and also for the initial idea!
