November Update
Bellringer Recap, Corp Gala ticket drop, and Alumni Spotlights
Bellringer Recap
Bellringer 2025 was a tremendous success! Our community came together once again for this annual cycling event in October, which raises funds and awareness for the research faculty at Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center as they discover cancer risk factors, design effective prevention strategies, and develop the cancer treatments of tomorrow. This year, we had 35 riders take part, and thanks to their dedication and the generosity of our supporters, we raised over $17,000 for the cause. We were also proud to have our own Corp Catering team provide delicious food and refreshments for the riders and volunteers. Bellringer continues to be a testament to our shared commitment to making a real difference.
Corp Gala Ticket Drop:
As a reminder, our annual Corp Gala Fundraiser will take place at Union Station on December 5th from 8 PM - 12 PM! This special evening brings together over 1200 of our alumni, current students, and friends of The Corp to celebrate our community and raise money for our charity partner, Friendship Place. If you’re interested in contributing to Friendship Place’s mission, please feel free to do so here.
Tickets to Corp Gala will be available on The Corp website starting this Sunday, November 9th at 6 PM and they tend to sell out quickly, often within the first few minutes, so we encourage everyone interested to log on right at 6 to secure their spot.
If you’re unable to get a ticket in this initial round, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at president@thecorp.org. We’ll do our best to ensure all those who wish to attend can join us for what promises to be an unforgettable evening!
Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Callahan (CEO ‘10, SFS ‘10)
“When I think about the Corp, I think about Delaware. It had been a tradition for some time when I took over as CEO to have a corporate retreat at a beach house in Bethany Beach after classes ended in May, and to stop at the Delaware state line to take a picture with everyone on the way. We thought of this as our best chance to get to know each other, set the agenda for our time as a leadership team and really dive into what we wanted the Corp to be. Looking back at how we spent the time, I bet a lot of the topics are still debated today, and there are several I *know* we didn’t solve, despite apparently having meetings until 11pm (?!).
The questions we were asking also remind me of common challenges I’ve seen over and over in the business world in the years since, no matter what the size of the organization. I felt at the time that we were getting a real hands-on training in leadership, but I still probably underestimated how relevant the issues we were facing would be over the coming years. Things like motivating employees, being true to your mission, taking reasonable risks to grow, hiring in a way that reflects your values, finding the right balance of centralization, and giving more people a say in decisions were really important skills to get early practice navigating.
I remember taking these questions seriously, but also taking them on as friends. I think in any team people are looking for the right blend of being part of something high-performing and enjoyable. Part of what makes the Corp special is finding how to strike that balance in your years, and finding what questions are really important to solve for you and your student body. As an alum, it’s really meaningful to know that everyone still working in the Corp is taking their turn and writing a new chapter of what it means to be students serving students, Delaware optional.”
Alumni Spotlight: Jay Radecki (VP-Personell ‘80, COL ’80)
“You never know when a seemingly random event will change the course of your life.
Near the beginning of my sophomore year, I realized I needed to get a job to make ends meet. A friend suggested they were having trouble finding someone for the 6am stocker slot, three days a week at Vittles. Of course; what college student wants to be up that early? I took it, had fun with the early morning delivery guys and prided myself on being on time. I advanced to Vittles manager my junior year and Corp VP-Personnel my senior year. I organized and standardized our hiring practices and automated our payroll, in a time before personal computers even existed. The Corp was expanding exponentially during this time, opening Saxa Sundries, a typing service, a travel service, and furniture and book co-ops. Notwithstanding having to account for a couple hundred employees, it was so much fun I decided to pursue a career in business, rather than the government path I had anticipated.
Remarkably, all the career recruiters didn’t focus on my Georgetown degree, my good grades or my great DC internships, but rather my work at the Corp. They were astounded that a multimillion dollar revenue business was being run by students, without “adult” supervision. It ultimately led to a 37 year career in investment banking with firms such as Merrill Lynch, Drexel Burnham and Jefferies, including many years on the West Coast arriving at my desk at 5am, reprising what I had started many years ago at the Corp. Who would have thought that could spring from a tiny storefront in Healy basement?
While I remain proud of what I did with the Corp, I’m more proud of what it did for our charitable causes and how it has shaped the lives of so many alumni and the close bonds shared by all of us. To many more years!”
Other ways to engage with The Corp:
Signing off,
The Corp Alumni Team