Away From Keyboard: Sloane Nicoletti-Watson  

Sloane Nicoletti-Watson, a senior from central New York, is pursuing a major in Classical Studies and Philosophy and a minor in Creative Writing. Outside of the classroom, Sloane is President of Gaming Sector, Seton Hall’s eSports club, as well as the club’s Blizzard manager, and Director of Design for the ROTARACT club, and the representative for Classical Studies on the Dean’s Undergraduate Student Cabinet for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Prior to becoming Gaming Sector president, Sloane was an amateur analyst for professional Counter Strike team, Virtus.Pro. In her role, she live tweeted matches and reported on strategies. Sloane began her role as president in the Gaming Sector like any other club president; scheduling and leading meetings for the rest of the elected board, brainstorming and delegating tasks for community events and helping to design advertisements to get the word out to new and prospective students. When the pandemic hit, “president” suddenly gained a few more responsibilities. As with most activities, clubs, and organizations at the university, in person events were postponed or cancelled for at least one semester, but it was up to Sloane to help keep Gaming Sector’s community safe and in communication. She led the migration to online events, which was to their advantage as most games are online or could be easily transferred to an online setting. The club’s managers started streaming games and events weekly on their personal Twitch accounts, increased the frequency of email communications and strengthened their social media presence.

Despite Sloane’s best efforts, the club did not go unscathed during the pandemic and the club scrambled to salvage the annual Extra Life event. Extra Life, a hallmark charity event, unites thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. The event has raised over 50 million dollars since 2008 for sick and injured kids but its success lies on in-person attendance, interaction, and servant leadership. As president of Gaming Sector, Sloane wanted to continue the success of the charity and Seton Hall’s contribution. Due to COVID restrictions, the event could no longer be held in person. Typically, the 24 hour long event brings the community together in a space filled with computers and video games. Sloane said “The managers and myself took turns streaming and talking and engaging with the community and to my shock and delight, the community responded. Not only did we raise a significant amount for the Extra Life organization, but we were also able to recapture a semblance of in person events.”

Sloane’s philanthropic success goes beyond the esports arena. She also serves as director of design for ROTARACT, the collegiate thread of the larger Rotary club. ROTARACT holds various community events like lantern making and paint nights to raise funds for organizations such as Shelterbox. The pandemic affected many of the clubs Sloane is involved in but they were able to adapt quickly and efficiently to meet the challenge. “For all of the organizations that I am on, I wish they are able to adapt and grow despite the odds and restrictions, as well as safety and health to all of the members”, Sloane said.

The eSports team and Gaming Sector have grown tremendously throughout Sloane’s time at Seton Hall. The team currently fields a team in League of Legends and Rocket League but calls for more teams and tryouts continue to grow. Sloane adds “I am extremely proud of our two teams, as well as their manager, Keith. I can say for sure that our teams are going strong and I can’t wait to see them continue to grow.” After graduating from Seton Hall, Sloane hopes to pursue military law in law school. Sloane said, “although law school normally doesn’t evoke assumptions of free time I can say for sure that I am not giving up World of Warcraft, so gaming will most certainly continue to be a huge part of my life.”

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