Student leaders from colleges and universities all over the greater Philadelphia region gathered at Penn on Friday to learn about what it means to be not just a leader, but a leader in Philadelphia.
Pedro Ramos, Philadelphia's newly-appointed managing director, was invited to be the keynote speaker for the Greater Philadelphia Students Association's annual conference. As a Penn alumnus, former University vice president and former city solicitor, Ramos was able to share leadership experiences particularly relevant to Philadelphia and the students in the audience.
"We wanted [a speaker] that is a successful leader ... and has ties with Philadelphia," Drexel junior and GPSA Events Director Chris Duffy said.
Ramos, soon to be the highest-ranking Latino official in Philadelphia history, said that his vision for the future of city government will concentrate on institutionalizing old initiatives rather than proposing new ones.
He emphasized the need to solidify old initiatives and to systemize their approaches, especially concentrating on increasing interdepartmental access.
Ramos also discussed other issues concerning Philadelphia, including the possibility of bidding to host the World Series or other large-scale sporting events. He said that the city considered bidding for the 2016 Olympics but gave up on the thought because such a "huge enterprise hardly makes money."
Questions on the future of SEPTA, a continuing point of debate, were also raised. Ramos, however, was unable to provide an optimistic answer.
"People only remember [the problems] when there's a crisis. Now that the crisis is gone, [the issue is becoming] forgotten," Ramos said.
As a native Philadelphian with Puerto Rican immigrant parents, Ramos said that it is important for individuals to embrace their ethnicities and to incorporate aspects of their backgrounds in what they do. He believes that it is a person's experiences that make the person interesting and complete.
"[If I were your] employer, I [would] want the whole you," Ramos said. "If it is [only] something technical, machines could do it better."
Ramos ended the presentation with a familiar piece of advice to the students.
"Do what you like," Ramos said. "The folks that have the most fun are those who do something that they get personal fulfillment from."
Students from 18 different universities in the greater Philadelphia region attended this annual conference.
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