From The Real World’s Brandon Swift, The Bachelorette’s Brian Osborne, and most recently Big Brother’s Cody Calafiore, Temple University is beginning to develop quite the reputation for breeding reality T.V. stars.
If you’re an upperclassman, there’s a chance you may have come across Big Brother 16 runner up, Cody Calafiore, 23, doing drills on the soccer field or at Maxi’s, chumming it up with the bar’s owner, Robin.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with the reality series, Big Brother is a CBS program, in which 14 houseguests compete and often connive for 100 days in a house isolated from the outside world, for a prize of $500,000. Houseguests are evicted by other houseguests on a weekly basis and the season’s winner is determined by the votes of the last nine former houseguests.
While being separated from the music of Avicii, Hardwell, and Testeo would be difficult, Calafiore’s greatest fear was the shame and dismay that would come with being evicted in the first week. “My best friend who actually graduated from Temple as well, said ‘dude if you go home first week, don’t even talk to me,’” said Calafiore, a New Jersey native.
Time would prove Calafiore undeserving of the silent treatment from his friend. He was only nominated for eviction twice throughout the entire summer and wasn’t the intended target either time.
Upon going into the Big Brother House, an opportunity Calafiore was sought out for, his biggest strategy was to get well acquainted with the ladies, “Sad as it is, [my strategy was to] flirt with all the girls, be friendly with all the guys. And just be likeable for like the first three weeks and then try to get a strategy going,” says Calafiore.
But another plan fell into place when he formed an eight person alliance known as the Bomb Squad, which would later become the Detonators, a slightly smaller group. The alliance that truly helped to secure his place in the final two this September was a two person alliance known as the Hitmen. This alliance was formed between Calafiore and BB16 winner, Derrick Levasseur whom Calafiore would later find out was an undercover cop. He and the other half of the hitmen duo as well as former houseguest Zach Rance still talk on a regular basis. Levasseur and Rance may have been Calafiore’s best friends in and outside of the BB house, but his biggest crush in the house was Brittany Martinez, “I was heartbroken for a day when she was evicted,” said Calafiore.
As a runner up, Calafiore was awarded $50,000, most of which will be dedicated to alleviating his student debt. While relieving college debt may not be considered most ideal way to spend prize money, Calafiore is a very proud Temple alum to say the least.
“I tried bragging [about Temple] on the show as much as I could,” said Calafiore, whom viewers weren’t hard pressed to find sporting Temple gear. From fond memories of chicken garlic wraps from the Student Center during group lunches, to chill times at the soccer house, Calafiore credits his alma mater with a number of positive experiences as well as character qualities, including the confidence he has in himself.
Prior to coming to Temple, Calafiore described himself as shy, skinny, and athletic. But with the Temple experience being added to his life’s resume, he can now say he is “extremely confident, not skinny, and still athletic,”Calafiore smiles.
In the midst of being asked to attend fundraisers and other events, he stopped by Temple on Thursday, October 16th for a Temple Talks segment as well as a Meet and Greet in the Annenberg Atrium. In a burgundy and black pullover hoodie and hair parted and sleeked to the right, Calafiore would encounter over a hundred students lined up to see him that evening.
“Now I actually have a name that people want around…I would never imagine myself after I graduated having this kind of opportunity unless I went into business and became a multimillionaire and they wanted to do some kind of write up on me, which I didn’t see that happening….Having something like this is ridiculous…It’s very humbling. It’s amazing to do something like this at my school where I just thought I was just going to be an alumni, just another number,” he remarks.
Such a modest nature may not usually accompany those that meet the criteria to be a Seventeen Magazine 2014 Hot Guy Panelist, but Calafiore is the exception. His face flushes crimson with embarrassment when asked about the advice he provided Seventeen readers with this past June. “How to catch a guy’s attention in the hall of high school, which was so odd because I was answering questions out of college. So I had to bring myself back to high school….How to catch a guy’s attention from across a party, what to wear at prom….Different things of that sort, but it was really fun,” he laughs.
And ladies, don’t kick yourselves for not trying to cozy up to Calafiore in business class just yet; he had a girlfriend for the majority of his time at Temple, but he’s single now. “I don’t really have a preference or type….But I don’t settle down easily.”
In between playing soccer pick-up games on Wednesdays and aspiring to learn “Jumper” by Third Eye Blind on the guitar, Calafiore hopes to spend the rest of his 20’s outside of prison, making money and becoming successful.