LIBN’s spotlight of dynamic young professionals includes Adelphi’s senior assistant director of admissions.
Each year, Long Island Business News (LIBN) recognizes young professionals under the age of 30 “who contribute to the Long Island community through public service and who have made significant strides in business.” This year, Adelphi’s Ryan Foley ‘19, MBA ‘20, has been selected as a 2023 LIBN 30 Under 30 honoree for his work as the University’s senior assistant director of admissions.
Foley earned his undergraduate degree in marketing, as well as an MBA in business administration and an advanced certificate in human resource management. He has been with the Office of University Admissions for about two and a half years, typically working with first-year students from Nassau County, transfer students and graduate students.
“Being nominated and, of course, selected for LIBN’s 30 Under 30 is a tremendous honor that I am so proud to say I have achieved,” Foley said. “I am so thankful for my family and friends who have supported me through college and now my professional career. I could not have received this honor without the team in Adelphi admissions, who have provided me with such an amazing place to work and the opportunities to grow professionally. Having a team so focused on working together to succeed and grow has helped me become worthy of an award like this.”
Getting Started in Student Leadership
Foley’s involvement with the Adelphi community began back when he first arrived at the University. During his first week, he joined C.A.L.I.B.E.R., and then signed up for the Student Activities Board and Commuter Student Organization the next semester.
“These organizations became the window into a much bigger world for me,” he said. “Over the next few years, I began doing even more. I joined my fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, became a commuter assistant, worked on campus, became the president of C.A.L.I.B.E.R, joined the Inter-Greek Council, was selected for the Spirit Court and even won the President’s Student Leadership Award. I truly became a person I never imagined I could have been at the start of my college experience.”
Foley was nominated by Kristen Capezza, MBA ‘12, vice president of enrollment management and University communications, who described him as someone who “brings forward strong leadership, maturity, optimism and a commitment to continuous improvement. Ryan brings a contagious energy to the table. He has both improved and streamlined our admissions processes with key liaisons such as Honors College, all while leading the ApplyAdelphi social team to generate engaging and relevant content for all social platforms—notably Instagram. His public presence is not to be missed as he has often been called upon to moderate insightful and meaningful discussions for prospective and internal audiences.”
Advocating for Students
Having had a firsthand perspective on how Adelphi has evolved since he arrived in 2015, Foley said he’s always been proud to be an advocate for students.
“Every student deserves to have their voice heard and to potentially enact change in the future,” he said. “Understanding that what has always been does not have to be what always will be is essential to this mindset. Finding ways to respectfully and professionally make your voice heard has helped many students to improve Adelphi for the better.”
He continued, “[Working in admissions is an] opportunity to get to counsel students through this very complicated opportunity and hopefully relieve some of their anxieties. As a once very anxious student myself, I see so much of my high school self in the students that I help.”
“One of the things our community admires most about Ryan is his commitment to building an inclusive and connected community,” Capezza added. “He prioritizes giving back as he serves in adviser roles for multiple student clubs and organizations, focused on developing future leaders of tomorrow.”
The LIBN 30 Under 30 Class of 2023 will be honored at an in-person event on August 8 at The Mansion at Oyster Bay in Woodbury, New York.