Neil Villapiano of Little Silver mans the broadcast desk, as part of a two-year Broadcast Journalism program he completed at Hofstra University. The Red Bank Regional senior commuted seven hours each day to pursue his dream career as a sports broadcaster.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
Neil Villapiano has sports in his bloodline. His cousin Phil Villapiano played professional football for the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills, over a successful 11-year career that included some memorable Super Bowl moments — and his uncle Gus Villapiano had a legendary career as a Shore area high school athlete, athletic program director and coach.
From a very young age, Neil was not just interested in sports, but wanted to share his passion for sports as a broadcaster. It’s a passion that manifested itself in a trip that he faithfully made over the course of two years from his home in Little Silver, where he is a senior at Red Bank Regional High School — to the Long Island campus of Hofstra University, where he attended the school’s Sports Journalism and Broadcasting Institute for Teens.
That seven-hour daily commute, on two trains and a bus, has paid off, as Neil was recently awarded his Certification in Broadcast Journalism from Hofstra.
The Sports Journalism program is part of the University’s Professional Development School. Neil took courses on preparing and conducting sports-related interviews, sports writing and blogging, voice coaching, sports radio and hosting, sports producing and editing, among others. He interviewed with many sport news professionals in the field, including Keith Irrizary of WPIX, Steve Gelbs of Sports Net New York, Bruce Beck of NBC News and the Mets, and Kenny Albert of NBC and the National Hockey League.
“You only do that if it is something you really want to do,” says Neil. “…and I wanted to do this all my life.” He explains.
As Neil explains, “I made a special connection with one of the counselors who works at Penn State and was invited to the college to share my experiences.” Penn State is among a list of other colleges he will look into toward a sports broadcasting major, with an eye toward getting the opportunity to broadcast his school’s sporting events.
His preferred sport, of course, would be college football. In the meantime, Neil is eager to share his newly honed skills in interviewing RBR athletes for his student newspaper, The Buccaneer. He is also discussing the prospect of doing live college broadcasts for a NJ-based radio station. No doubt, Neil’s affable personality and resonating speaking voice will be great assets as he seeks his career goal.
