Geneseo’s Renaissance man: An interview with Ralph Velazquez

Ralph Velazquez is a man of many talents. His campus participation record—from clubs to admissions and beyond—is commendable, and his outgoing, friendly demeanor has made him somewhat of a student celebrity around campus. This week I chatted with Velazquez about taking risks, becoming a leader, and just how pivotal self-care can be. 

Entering his junior year as the vice president of the Student Association and co-orientation coordinator, it seems that Velazquez just can’t get enough of the Geneseo community; but his journey into community outreach was anything but gradual. When asked about his entry into his extracurricular journey, Velazquez said that it was hard to pinpoint an exact moment in which he decided to go all in, but he did get his start in the Wayne Hall Council.

“That was my first taste of campus involvement,” he remarked. Then, in his second semester, Velazquez made the leap into applying to be an orientation leader: “That was the real time where I was actually able to fully expand my leadership [role] and to really be given the role of responsibility of impacting students.”

As a witness to his journey from new OL to personable leader of several organizations, I wanted to know a little bit more about what being a “leader” meant to Velazquez—about the struggles as well as the rewards. As for the former, Velazquez said that he has often had to grapple with “being a leader, while also managing being a student.” He said that, once he found himself in positions with some power and responsibility, “[he struggled to] find the barriers between, you know, when to do things for others and when to do things for myself.”

But his most rewarding moments also involve the campus community: “The biggest reward is coming across people and seeing them better off than when I first met them…seeing my students and then seeing them a year later, one is [now] an orientation leader, one an RA… [it’s rewarding] seeing how these students who are a little bit shy or secluded grow in their positions.”

With such an array of Geneseo involvement under his belt, you’d think that Velazquez would only want to expand more, making his hopes for the future may be somewhat unexpected. “This might sound a little counterproductive,” Velazquez said, “but I think before I graduate I want my resume to be a little bit smaller, especially in my last year. I am very happy with what I have now [but] I’d like to focus more on my self-growth and reflection.”

Self-care is crucial for Velazquez, especially after his busy days. He’s on the go for most of the day, but he keeps his mornings and evenings to himself to unwind. “When I wake up,” he said, “the first thing I do is drink a cup of water. I don’t check my phone…I [have a] bagel breakfast…I like to keep my mornings to [myself].”

When asked about his nighttime relaxation routine, Ralph simply explained, “Cup of tea.” He also mentioned trying to get meals with friends, both as an efficient relaxation tactic and as a way of sharing food with loved ones. 

To those looking to get more involved on campus (though we can’t all be Velazquez), he said, with a laugh: “Just do it, who cares!”

Jokes aside, Velazquez encourages those looking to get more involved to branch out of their comfort zones: “A lot of the opportunities I have now, I wouldn’t have if I only joined because someone else was doing it. To get out of that comfort [is not] innate, it’s learned. Trust in your abilities that you might not see, because they’re there—you just have to find them.”

It was a treat to speak with Velazquez about his involvement here at Geneseo. If you’d like to see more of Velazquez beyond the pages of The Lamron, you can almost certainly find him buzzing around campus somewhere, off to another activity with a smile on his face.