RMU President Dell'Omo, Student Swap Places

One Robert Morris University junior got a glimpse at what it's like to be at the helm of the Moon-based university

Sports management major Megan Herbstritt swapped places with President Gregory Dell'Omo earlier this month, spending some time in his office and learning first-hand how Dell'Omo manages his responsibilities as president. 

"I mean, I knew he was a popular guy," Herbstritt said. "But I didn't know how busy he was. He had is schedule clear, but everybody still needed something."

In exchange, Dell'Omo attended classes alongside Herbstritt, sitting in for sports marketing and technology topics courses and taking part in class activities with undergrads. 

Herbstritt raised $1,056 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as a part of the student-organized Colonial Chaos event at the university. 

For raising the funds, she won the chance to spend one-on-one time with Dell'Omo, who has served as RMU's president since 2005. Cystic fibrosis is a cause close to Dell'Omo's heart—his two grown sons Nicholas and Vincent live with the hereditary disease. 

"He was really personable, very down to earth," Herbstritt said. "It was significant for me to see him do something like this, because I know he's a busy person." 

Herbstritt said she was slated to observe a video conference between Dell'Omo and Gov. Tom Corbett, but the meeting was cancelled at the last-minute. 

"To my knowledge, this is the first time he's done something like this," Herbstritt said of the student-president swap. "It's fantastic that he took time out of his schedule to meet with a student."