Commitment to his fellow students led Fox School senior Ryan Rinaldi to the top job within Temple Student Government

Ryan K. Rinaldi

Age: 22

Hometown: Moscow, Pa.

Fun Fact: Holding public office at a university in Philadelphia, Rinaldi said, would have its challenges. His prescience had plenty to do with his rooting interest. Rinaldi, a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, worried whether his favorite football team would directly influence the result Temple Student Government’s general election. After the results came in, “I was the most proud Cowboy fan to be elected to any type of position in the city of Philadelphia,” Rinaldi said.

Ryan Rinaldi believes the business of politics is business as usual.

The senior finance major proved it during a successful run for Temple Student Government president this past spring, leaning on the tried and true principles he has learned at the Fox School of Business.

“I think a business background really applies to just about anything you do, in a professional sense,” he said. “There are a lot of takeaways that business students receive, just in a professional development way, but also in how to operate. I think that business students operate in a different way, and I’ve been lucky enough to benefit from that.”

He selected his running mates, Binh Nguyen and Brittany Boston (vice presidents for external affairs and internal services, respectively), based not on previous friendship but merit. He then ran on a platform that emphasized service to the student body, unity in the campus community, and future growth, a message he circulated via social media and by meeting with various student groups. As a result, Rinaldi and Co. earned 3,042 of the 4,582 votes cast (66.3 percent).

“When most people think of the public sector, they think of it being a bureaucracy and not very efficient,” he said. “In business school, and Fox gets the credit for this, I’ve learned to communicate efficiently and operate efficiently. … We communicated and operated efficiently, and that was the reason for our success in the campaign.”

In his current role he will oversee a $150,000 allocation budget for 300 organizations, and a $40,000 budget for government costs and programs.

“I think as a kid growing up, in high school too, my dream became to go into the public sector and try to do good for people,” he said. “That’s really the underlying cause of me wanting to run for student government for Temple, because I came to love Temple. … I want to make sure that Temple is doing well, and that it’s in good hands.”