Ross Lordo gave his last formal address as student body president Wednesday afternoon after a year of growth and accomplishment at the helm of Student Government.
"It has been the honor of my life to serve as your student body president," Lordo said.
The annual State of the Student Body Address was attended by administrators, Student Government members and alumni — a testament to the relationships Lordo built as president.
“Ross, you’ve walked the walk," Pastides said in special remarks at the event. "You’re a valued partner in helping us address some of the greatest challenges that we’ve had in our modern history.”
Under Lordo, SG delivered on almost all of the promises of the Momentum campaign. The university has hired architects for renovations of the Carolina Coliseum into a new student union, and Student Life has formed a steering committee to provide student input. Digital CarolinaCards brought students the ability to buy food and deposit Carolina Cash with their phones. Lordo and his governmental relations secretary testified for a student vote on the board of trustees. A summit brought the student leaders of 18 South Carolina colleges together. And to cap it off, a record number of students voted in the 2018 executive elections.
"Ross is pre-med, so I knew that he could work with people, but how good he is at dealing with administration and people in positions of power really is awesome," presidential chief of staff Kathryn Stoudemire said. "I think that’s the biggest reason that we had a pretty successful term.”
The day after he was elected, Lordo immediately sat down and emailed USC administrators asking to meet. For the next two weeks, he went to lunch meetings with university leaders.
“Our university really does care about the student voice," Lordo said. "Oftentimes, it’s just getting yourself into the room when decisions are made.”
The final achievement of Lordo’s term, the introduction of virtual ticketing through Ticketmaster for football games, was announced at the address after being formalized earlier in the week.
Aaron Greenberg, the senate athletics committee chair, has worked on getting a virtual ticket system since coming to campus.
“About two years in, it’s nice to see it pretty much coming to fruition,” he said.
He’ll be continuing a push for guest tickets, with funding and restrictions still under deliberation.
Lordo said that guest ticketing was something he’d heard about from students for years, so he’s hoping to see it through.
Only two of Lordo’s campaign points from last year are likely to be left unfilled. A permanent deal with Uber wasn’t feasible because of a legal disagreement, but the money saved went to projects like the Sustainability Fund instead, he said. And while WiFi in Williams-Brice Stadium won’t be happening any time soon, the university is exploring a cost study for Colonial Life Arena.
“As a parent, it has been wonderful watching Ross be able to take an agenda or an idea or a cause and organize people around it,” Ron Lordo said.
Ron and Leanne Lordo, both University of South Carolina alumni, came to their son’s address after watching him move up in Student Government through Freshman Council, senate, the vice presidency and finally the presidency.
“We were bringing him here when he was a little toddler,” Ron Lordo said. “We’re very proud of the work that he did.”
Nick Santamaria, part of Lordo’s cabinet and his roommate, spoke to Lordo’s dedication while delivering the introduction at the address.
“Ross is out the door bright and early every day and back late at night,” he said. “I’ve seen Ross work 14-hour days. I’ve seen him go through five different outfits in a single day. And I’ve even seen his email inbox. It is not a pretty sight.”
Lordo will have fewer emails to answer and fewer events to go to this fall at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. While he's leaving office April 3 and graduating in May, his legacy will continue on in his fellow public health and pre-med successor.
“He’s someone I’ve always looked up to,” president-elect Taylor Wright said. “We have similar futures in that we both want to be doctors, and I think he really did kind of pave the way for me.”
Wright went with Lordo to the March 16 board of trustees meeting and was impressed with how close Lordo seemed with the group.
“They’re all kind of making jokes and just very casual with him, which is how I knew they had a natural relationship," Wright said. "So I believe they trust him.”
Board of trustees member Tommy Cofield attended the State of the Student Body Address.
“Ross is very personable, he’s very bright," board of trustees member Thomas Cofield. "He was very involved with the board of trustees meetings. He was very willing to express his opinions and make sure the interests of the students were known and represented.”
While serving as student body president can be all-consuming, Lordo still made room for personal time – even if in the form of accepting Google Calendar event requests from his girlfriend.
“He has always been very diligent about his time and how he allocates it and makes the most of really every minute,” said Emily Dunn. They started dating during campaign season last year, so “it’s just kind of our normal now,” she said.
Although events sometimes up-end his day, that’s a part of the job. Lordo remembers waking up and hearing about the racially charged posters hung in Gambrell Hall on what he says was the worst day of his term.
“I’ve really gained a lot of respect for having a solid support network,” he said.
During the speech, Lordo recognized many people who supported him, from Student Government coordinator Theresa Sexton to his roommate, girlfriend and parents. He wrapped up the address, though, by recognizing the inspiration he drew from the thousands of students he attends school with.
“He is what all Carolinians should aspire to be: Unwaveringly dedicated, honest, and caring,” Santamaria said. “He has transformed Student Government and student leadership and laid a groundwork that will reap benefits for years to come.”