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Getting to Know Rua Dinm
By Meghan Murphy
The Development Initiative, one of the Buccino Leadership Institute's student-run organizations, is in full swing, tackling each of its tasks head on. Rua Dinm, the student director of this initiative, has been working hard since the end of last semester to fulfill the goals of the group: to oversee the merchandise and hospitality within the initiative and fundraise for student development within the Buccino Leadership Institute.
Rua explained that within the Development Initiative there are three sub-committees: Apparel, Challenge Coin, and Hospitality. The Apparel Committee's job is to create merchandise, like hoodies or pop sockets, that represents the Buccino Leadership Institute, in order to fundraise through sales. The Challenge Coin is based on an idea that began in the military, highlighting Dr. Bryan Price's past service. It is also used throughout the University in other areas, and it functions as a token of honor that is given to guests that come to meet with members of the Institute, or individuals deemed worthy within the program. Finally, the Hospitality Committee focuses on sending off any guests with gift baskets of merchandise created by the Apparel Committee as a thank you for sharing their time and talents.
Rua's main job as the student director of this initiative is to organize a plan of action for each project and to ensure that every step of its development runs smoothly. As she oversees all three subcommittees, this sometimes mean focusing on more than one project at the same time. Her leadership approach is to be as hands on as possible, making sure she provides detailed examples and descriptions of the tasks she wants completed instead of leading from a distance. She also often directly asks her sub-committee members if they need her help and is usually personally involved in developing ideas and content.
Rua is a marketing and finance double major with a minor in international relations and diplomacy. Her ideal career after graduating from Seton Hall is to one day begin her own nonprofit related to fashion and clothing design. She exercises her marketing and finance skills as the student director, as she works directly with vendors to create the apparel and must manage a budget for fundraising. "I really enjoy the work involved with heading this initiative," she said. "It really makes me feel like I am on the right track for my future."
In addition to being the student director for the Development Initiative, Rua is also the Co-President of Marketing Recruitment for the Business Cohort of the Buccino Leadership Institute, part of the Entrepreneur Club, the business content developer for the Strategic Communications Buccino Leadership Institute Initiative, a writer for Stillman Exchange Opinion Piece section, and a news anchor and interviewer for the Global Current, a radio show at the University. She explains that experience in other fields is valuable and keeps her skills versatile. She said, "I don't want to narrow myself down to one specific thing because it can deprive me of really exciting opportunities."
Rua said that she feels the herself applying the Crisis Management Pillar of the Institute to the work she and her team do every day. She emphasized how fast things can change, like designs for hoodies or the challenge coin. She explained that her team had gotten almost halfway through the process of creating and ordering the hoodies when they decided they needed to start over, realizing the students who were purchasing the hoodies would prefer an alternate design. She explained that the initiative really runs like a business, and she needs to keep herself open to constant change and improvement. "You have to give people what they want within the limits," she explained. "That's how I think my leadership role here can be defined."
Rua is an exemplary leader, strengthening and honing her leadership skills throughout her time as the student director of the Development Initiative for the Buccino Leadership Institute. Under her leadership, the Development Initiative has been working hard to create merchandise to sell to raise funds for the Institute. More details on the hoodies and pop sockets will be coming soon.
Bryan Price
bryan.price@shu.edu
Buccino Leadership Institute