Student Affairs Fall Community Gathering Guest Bios

Christopher Godoy

Christopher Godoy is a senior at Rutgers studying Political Science and Economics. His journey as a Scarlet Knight has been shaped by a commitment to advocacy, civic engagement, and student support. With deep involvement in programs like Upward Bound, EOF, and serving as a Bonner Leader, Christopher has not only benefited from these resources as a first-generation student but has also utilized his experiences to work towards expanded educational access and empower students from all backgrounds.

Currently serving as President of the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA), he leads efforts that benefit, represent, and advocate for over 35,000 undergraduates and over 450 student organizations. He aims to continue engaging with administrators, legislators, and student leaders to address student concerns and strengthen the student voice. Through his work, Christopher has championed causes on and off campus, ranging from voter engagement and civic participation to campus safety and protecting student aid at the state and federal levels. His story reflects a deep belief in the power of a beloved community, inclusive leadership, and the role of storytelling in advancing equity and inspiring change across the board.

Sebastian Nieto

Sebastian Nieto is the new manager at The Rutgers Club.

Chef Nieto started his career in his native Argentina where he graduated at the top of his class in the National Restaurant and Hotel Association Culinary School. After moving to the Patagonia, where he opened two hotels for the prestigious chain Relais & Chateaux and won the first Patagonian Regional Cooking competition, he moved to Europe where he worked in kitchens in Spain, Italy and France.

After his European experience Sebastian settled in New Jersey, working for the Gotham Bar & Grill in New York City and Hilton Hotels, where he was a beverage manager. He joined Rutgers Dining in its Catering department in 2003, his duties there included cooking for guests of the University president and Board of Governors, and being in charge of the kitchen at the Audi Club, among others.

Representing Rutgers University Chef Nieto won NACUFS National Culinary Challenge and two Silver ACF medals.

In 2013 Nieto, was tapped to lead the team opening Henry’s Diner, a Rutgers themed New Jersey Diner.

Sebastian now leads The Rutgers Club, getting to meet members while also becoming involved in the development of the new food and beverage menus.

Chef Nieto resides in Old Bridge, NJ with his wife Patricia, a journalist, and is a father of two grown daughters, Sophie and Emily. When Chef Nieto is not running the club you will find him running on a soccer field, where he has been an official for many years at different levels.

Larry McAllister

Larry McAllister II is an award-winning creative and communications professional focused on higher education and public service. At Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the University of Delaware, he advanced digital strategy through photography, video production, social media, web, and digital marketing campaigns that brought campus stories to life. His work emphasizes storytelling as a way to connect communities, highlight lived experiences, celebrate achievements, and drive engagement. A skilled photographer and videographer, Larry has also built a body of creative work beyond higher education, specializing in portraiture, documentary, and event coverage. In 2025, he joined the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology as Director of Digital Strategies, where he leads efforts to enhance the city’s digital presence and foster meaningful public engagement through digital equity initiatives. Passionate about the power of stories to inspire and unite, Larry brings a unique blend of creativity, strategy, and heart to his work.

Katelynn J. Reilly, Esq

Katelynn Reilly is an Associate Attorney with the firm Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli & Tipton, LLC.

Kate is a strong legal advocate for domestic violence survivors and focuses her practice on matrimonial, domestic violence and child abuse matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Kate was a Deputy Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General in Trenton, NJ, where she litigated child abuse and neglect cases. In her role as a Deputy, she served as an advisor to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), negotiated complex child abuse issues, and mediated cases. She conducted highly contested trials often involving multiple witnesses and experts and employed a creative legal approach in order to facilitate successful resolutions for her client and the child. Kate served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Donald J. Stein in Camden County.

Kate earned her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law. She also participated in the Child and Family Advocacy Clinic at Rutgers and represented children in abuse and neglect cases in Camden County.

Kate is a member of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Camden County and Middlesex County Bar Associations. She is admitted to practice law in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Jake Fredericks

Jake Fredericks is a first-year dance major at Mason Gross School of the Arts! Previously Jake has choreographed for Red Bank Regional Theatre Company (Mamma Mia!) and Spotlight Players (James and the Giant Peach). They have also served as dance captain in various productions with Phoenix Productions, Spring Lake Theatre Company, and Spotlight Players. Jake has also set their original choreography and playwriting with Red Bank Regional Theatre and Dance Academies. Additionally, they have learned repertory pieces set by Bob Fosse, Martha Graham, and Alvin Ailey.

Preston Romanienko

Preston Romanienko is a New Jersey based visual artist and painter born in 2000 from Olney, Maryland. He moved to Woodbridge, New Jersey in 2003. He received a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2025. Preston creates drawings and paintings which contain elements of surrealism, world-building and science-fiction inspired creature and character designs. He is loosely inspired by H.R. Giger, whose work explored themes of bodily surrealism, nightmarish fantasies and resilience along with Mariusz Lewandowski and Zdzislaw Beksinski, both whose work depicted atmospheric, dystopian surrealism. His goal is to make work that elicits philosophical critiques of the human condition such as; the questions and validation of life, control, agency and the illusion of autonomy and free will.

Lilliana Van de Zilver

Lilliana Van de Zilver is a freshman studying visual art at Mason Gross. She is from Essex county and spent her early childhood living in Belleville NJ. Her passion for art started when she was young. At the ripe age of seven she discovered a youtuber named Aphmau and watched all of her Minecraft story videos. This interesting cross between visual art, video, acting, and storytelling is what propelled Lilliana into the artistic world. She realized she too wanted to tell stories in a nonconventional way. Much of her written work focuses on her nostalgic memories growing up in a small town with her Nona and family, as well as focusing on fictional stories that belong to the characters within her head.

The piece she will be reading today focuses on her relationship with the childhood playground that was just across the street. Lilliana asks her audience to take into consideration what it means to grow up, how our perception of a place changes as we age, and to value simplicity over intricacy.