Imagine standing in the bullpen of a major league baseball stadium. You're 22 years old and about to make your professional pitching debut. More than 40,000 screaming San Diego Padres fans are cheering you on.
This past spring, that's exactly the scenario that Nick Margevicius of the Class of 2017 faced when he became the seventh Bronc ever to play in the majors.
As we've watched Nick on his journey from Lawrenceville to San Diego, we're of course incredibly proud of him. But we're proud of him not simply for what he accomplished; we're proud of him because of how he accomplished it. At Rider, he formed a network of support from his friends, his coaches and his professors, and imposed a sense of discipline on himself as he methodically went about achieving his goal of being selected in the draft.
Nick's efforts may have landed him on one of the biggest stages in the world — one very few people of any stripe ever get to experience — but in many ways, his story is the same one shared by so many Rider students and alumni. Our University is where students can be seen for who they are, where they can dream about who they want to become and where they can always feel secure knowing they can find their path with the help of those around them.
The details change, but I hear a version of this story over and over again: that Rider allowed me to discover the potential I didn't even know I had, and then it gave me the tools and support to realize that potential.
As we continue with the important institutional work that is propelling Rider forward, I'm grateful for everyone who makes these stories, and the Rider story, possible. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Ph.D.
President, Rider University