Ryan Cole ’10 – Fall 2009-Spring 2010

Fall 2009-Spring 2010 Davies Leader

“Make It Meadville”
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Meadville

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Meadville is the lead agency in downtown and neighborhood revitalization in the City of Meadville. They capitalize on the natural environment to build a vibrant community with full employment, an expanding tax base and attractive cultural and recreational opportunities. Ryan is in his second year as a Davies Leader at the Redevelopment Authority, and he continues to build vital connections; whether it is between the college and the downtown, or just between different community members. Throughout the summer Ryan helped combine the efforts of the Crawford County Chamber of Commerce, Allegheny College, and Make It Meadville to co-host Thunder in the City, a community-wide event that took place on August 15th, and entailed highlighting many different downtown businesses, the Second Annual Johnnie’s Drive-In at the Meadville Market House, and the closure of Chestnut Street and the Diamond to enable room for classic cars and bikes.

This fall, Ryan was once again part of many campus events promoting community involvement and community service. He tabled at both the I Heart Meadville Picnic and Community Service Fair as a way to make students more aware of Make It Meadville and the community it supports. In addition, within this year’s Freshmen Orientation folders there was a joint welcome letter from the College President and the City Mayor, which Ryan aided in crafting. Ryan has been noticed by his peers as a student knowledgeable about the downtown and has taken on the role of Downtown Liason/Advisor at Student Government Meetings. He also exhibited his leadership skills by supervising a student this fall as she helped him with Make It Meadville work. The main project that Ryan was able to complete with this assistance was a window display that they created in a vacant building on Chestnut Street. In recognition of his community involvement, leadership, and academics Ryan was one of ten seniors who was awarded the Cornerstone Award.

This spring, Ryan plans to continue to work with the Redevelopment Authority and wants to focus on how he can pass on what he has learned while in his position to the next Davies Leader. In addition, Ryan will continue to build and strengthen connections, and promote the community in any way possible.

Ryan is from Wattsburg, PA. He is a senior at Allegheny College and is majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology. Ryan has been a leader of Allegheny’s Alternative Spring Break and plans to do this again this year. He has also been a leader for Allegheny’s Collegiate Leadership Conference (CLC), the Jamaica Mission Team, and he is a co-founder of the Running Club.