Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Couple Joins Others in Celebrating Their Orange Love

Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
Share
#OrangeLoveAlumni EngagementFalk College of Sport and Human DynamicsHendricks ChapelSchool of EducationUniversity CollegeWhitman School of Management

Gianna Mangicaro ’18 and Christopher Szlamczynski ’18 eat, breathe and sleep Syracuse University—literally. Both are Syracuse University employees, alumni, current students and together are one of the thousands of couples whose love story is influenced by their Syracuse University experience.

Mangicaro, pre-college program specialist in the Office of Pre-College Programs at University College, and Szlamczynski, assistant director of satellite facilities with Recreation Services at the Barnes Center at The Arch, were one of dozens of couples from across the country who took part in the University’s first ever virtual Orange Love celebration on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.

Gianna and Chris Final Four

Gianna Mangicaro ’18 and Christopher Szlamczynski ’18 at the men’s basketball Final Four game in Houston in 2016.

The event was a partnership between the Office of Alumni Engagement, Hendricks Chapel and the Office of Philanthropic Engagement. It included music and a vow renewal led by Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol. Those attending were offered the opportunity to make a donation to the Hendricks Chapel Student Opportunity Fund and receive an Orange Love Certificate in the mail.

Born five days apart, Mangicaro and Szlamczynski were both raised in Syracuse and met as children at Woodland Elementary School in the East Syracuse-Minoa School District. Mangicaro’s dad, John, is a longtime University employee in Information Technology Services, and Gianna remembers coming to campus often with him. “I have always loved Syracuse University—it was forever my dream school,” she says. Szlamczynski grew up in a family that strongly supports Syracuse University sports and he often came to campus to attend basketball games.

The two became a couple just before their senior year of high school. They graduated from East Syracuse-Minoa High School in 2014. Mangicaro came to Syracuse to study management in the Whitman School, and Szlamczynski started his studies at Alfred University, where he played on the football team. A year later, Szlamczynski transferred to Syracuse as an exercise science major (then in the School of Education).

“During the welcome events for transfer students, I kept taking his picture, I was just so excited,” says Mangicaro.

Gianna and Chris Orange Love

Mangicaro and Szlamczynski at their 2014 graduation from East Syracuse-Minoa High School, left, and at their 2018 Syracuse University graduation.

Their next three years of undergraduate studies generated a lot of happy memories for the couple. They traveled more than 30 hours by bus each way to cheer on the men’s basketball team in a Final Four game in Houston, the Camping World Bowl and countless other games. Szlamczynski worked as a strength intern for the football team, and Mangicaro recalls that watching him at work during football games would bring her to tears. “I was just so excited that he was doing what he loved,” she says.

They also found that supporting each other in their academic work and other pursuits helped to fortify their foundation as a couple.

“Chris is my balance beam,” Mangicaro says. “When I am stressed, he can instantly bring me from 100 back down to 10.”

Szlamczynski agrees. “We are very good at supporting each other and making sure we have what we need to succeed.”

They graduated with their undergraduate degrees in 2018 and began their jobs with the University that same year. Both say they love the energy of campus. “I always knew I wanted to work for Syracuse University,” Mangicaro says. “It is such a great family environment.”

They continue to offer that strong support for each other as they balance their jobs with pursuing their master’s degrees. Mangicaro is working on her MBA through the Whitman School’s 2SU online program, and Szlamczynski is pursuing his master’s degree in sport venue and event management in the Falk College.

A wedding will take place sometime in the near future, when the COVID-19 pandemic has abated and Mangicaro and Szlamczynski can bring their wide circle of family and friends to celebrate. And, of course, it will be in Hendricks Chapel.

Both were grateful to take part in the Feb. 14 celebration. “We loved seeing all of the couples at the Orange Love event. From newlyweds to couples who have been together for years, it was amazing to feel a part of the larger Orange community,” says Mangicaro. “I am thankful that technology could bring us all together, even when we are apart. It was also great to see people in their home settings—from children, pets and grandchildren—you really were able to feel connected!”

  • Author

Kelly Rodoski

  • Recent
  • Department of Drama Presents ‘Dance Nation’
    Friday, March 24, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Three Faculty Members Collect Top National Awards and Grants
    Friday, March 24, 2023, By Dan Bernardi
  • Falk College Nutrition Science Students Examining Impact of Father’s Obesity on Children
    Friday, March 24, 2023, By Matt Michael
  • Student Veterans Spend Spring Break in Atlanta
    Friday, March 24, 2023, By Charlie Poag
  • Third Thonis Endowed Professorship Announced: The Multiplier Effect in Philanthropy
    Friday, March 24, 2023, By Eileen Korey

More In Campus & Community

Third Thonis Endowed Professorship Announced: The Multiplier Effect in Philanthropy

On the drive from his home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to his alma mater in Syracuse, New York, Michael G. “Mike” Thonis ’72 says he counts rock formations, knows all their geological names and notices “as they suddenly become very dark…

Community Review Board Seeks Applications for New Members

Dear Fellow Students, Faculty and Staff: As I conclude my time as chair of the inaugural Community Review Board (CRB), I write to you today to invite members of our University community to apply to serve on the CRB. As…

Social Work Presents Social Justice Awards March 30

March is National Professional Social Work Month, and the School of Social Work in the Falk College is presenting its annual Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award program from 6:45-8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30 in Falk College…

Margaret ‘Peg’ Hermann, the Moynihan Institute’s Longtime Leader, Retires

The late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “If I were 26 again, I would be out in the world working with others on problems that no one country can solve on its own.” His words encapsulate the mission…

New Course-Tagging Tools Available to Assist with Undergraduate Course Selection

The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Shared Competencies and the Office of Academic Affairs are now providing online tools to help undergraduate students make course selections according to the Shared Competencies offered by various courses. Among those tools are: A…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.