The main reason I decided to go to Ryan Lombardi’s Rose Cafe was related to the department of Student and Campus Life. I work at the Cornell Annual Fund, and in the past we’ve specifically tried to fund-raise for the Annual Fund of Student and Campus Life. Even when we had a section of training related to it, I still felt like I did not know much about this organization within Cornell. As he is the Vice President of the department I thought seeing him, and speaking to him could really open my mind to what the department does, and how to explain it to alumni and parents of Cornell students. What I wasn’t expecting was how much VP Lombardi seems to genuinely care about students, and how aware he is of the every day stress and intensity of Cornell. I definitely learned more about the department but what was really valuable was learning about the person who guides it. In the future when I explain Student and Campus Life to alumni looking to give back to Cornell, I will assure them that the department really is looking out for students and is meant absolutely for not necessarily their professional or academic benefit, but their personal benefit.
That’s so great to hear that you had a great experience meeting Ryan Lombardi and that he actually cares about the students! All I know him as is the guy who sometimes send me emails. So, to hear that he is actually thinking of the students and isn’t just doing a job cause it is a job is awesome!
Being one of the faces for the university is clearly hard, certainly, he is continuously trying to make it a better place for all students but he will also be the one in constant scrutiny for each of our problems cause we too need some to complain and it seems he realizes it as well.