October 2020 Alumni Spotlight: Michael “Rudy” Ruderman
In the nearly 15 years since Out for Undergrad’s founding, few individuals, if any, have spent more time working towards O4U’s success than this month’s alumni spotlight: Michael Ruderman — otherwise known as “Rudy.”
Many of you know Rudy through his work as the Chairman of the Out for Undergrad Board of Directors, but Rudy’s involvement didn’t start as an organizer or volunteer — it started as a student at the 2006 O4U Business Conference. Since then, Rudy has worked in just about every capacity to support and grow Out for Undergrad:
2006: Attendee of O4U Business Conference
2007: Volunteer at O4U Business Conference w/ McKinsey
2008: Sponsorship Director for O4U Business
2009: Admissions Director for O4U Business
2010: O4U Business Conference Lead
2011: O4U Board Member
2012: Founder and Lead of O4U Tech Conference & O4U Board Member
2013: O4U Tech Conference Lead & O4U Board Member
2014: O4U Board Member
2015–2020: Chairman of the Board
This, all while working his way through a successful professional career in business and tech at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Hewlett Packard, Personal Capital, and his current position in Product Marketing at Facebook.
This past month, Rudy announced that he will be stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Directors, capping his 14-year journey with Out for Undergrad. We felt it appropriate that he be featured in this month’s alumni spotlight.
When Rudy attended the 2006 Out for Undergrad Business Conference, there wasn’t even an application process. “You simply registered and that was it. You were in,” Rudy said. He recalled how the conference fell on the same weekend as a friend’s bachelor party, and he was torn on whether not to attend. Noting the contrast between the two options and their ability to shape his future, he ultimately decided to attend the conference, later acknowledging his decision was one of the most consequential of his life. Arguably, that decision likely had an impact on those reading this article because without Rudy, Out for Undergrad would not be the same organization it is today.
Many of us can probably remember the first time we walked into an Out for Undergrad conference: the pride, the openness, the authenticity, the energy. Rudy’s experience was similar. Within moments, Out for Undergrad totally shifted his perspective on what a queer professional space could look like. “It even gave me the resolve I needed to come out of the closet after my internship,” Rudy said. The 2006 Out for Undergrad Business Conference lit a spark in Michael Ruderman that would burn for well over a decade and help pave the way for queer professionals all across the nation.
Rudy has seen a lot during his tenure with O4U but acknowledged several pivotal moments. One of the most personal to him is the reaction of his mother, whom he invited to attend the 2010 Out for Undergrad Business Conference that he was leading. He explained, “During the conference I saw a monumental shift from my Mom being scared that my identity as a gay man would hold him back professionally, to understanding that it might actually help me achieve my career goals.” While many at that conference wore name tags with their university and graduation year, her tag boasted “Proud Mom.”
He also acknowledged that one of the most pivotal moments is O4U’s current digital transformation. For years, Out for Undergrad has been exploring ways to expand its reach digitally to impact more students across the world. He believes that O4U’s prior experiences with online programming (such as O4U Everyday) have given the organization a unique advantage to succeed in the age of COVID-19 and moving forward. One of his proudest moments is watching how the staff/volunteers shifted to adapt to COVID and executed the 2020 Out for Undergrad Business and Engineering conferences against incredible odds. “The bread and butter for O4U is the in-person experiences we create. The fact that we have been able to bring that same energy and emotion to a digital platform is a game-changer for the organization and our future impact,” Rudy says.
Peter Hart, who has served next to Rudy on the board of directors for many years, describes him as a trailblazer who paved the way for the next generation of leadership. He describes Rudy as “an incredible leader that has shaped the organizations in an innumerable way. He’s pushed us to grow, expand, and evolve when it would have been very comfortable to remain as we are. He’s been a phenomenal role model and leader to thousands of students and organizers.
Our community has fought for equity and inclusion in small, hard-fought increments largely standing on the shoulders of those who came before us. Rudy exemplifies that ideal and has pushed, fought, and led the transformation of a small finance/consulting conference into a scaled, national organization that now strives for hundreds of life-changing experiences every year. In doing so he has left some very broad, very tall shoulders for the next generations or our leadership to stand on.”
Just this month, Rudy announced that in January he will end his 14-year involvement with Out for Undergrad when he finishes his term as the Chairman. As we reflect on his tenure, it will not merely be by the titles he held, but undoubtedly the students he’s impacted; myself included.
When asked what he sees for the future of O4U, Rudy responded “As a Board, we outlined some key goals in our January 2020 retreat. One of the top goals was to explore alternative conference formats. We could have never imagined that all of our conferences this year would be in an “alternative format”. But they are all online, a true departure from anything we’ve ever done before or imagined we could do before. I think 2020, despite all its many challenges, has given O4U a new way of reaching hundreds or thousands of more students — online, remotely, safely, cheaply. I hope O4U can take the lessons from this year and use them as a foundation for future growth.”
From all past and present volunteers, organizers, staff members, students, and alumni, thank you Rudy for sacrificing so much for the success of this organization; and therefore the success of each one of us.
We will be recording a special video montage to celebrate and congratulate Rudy on 14 years with the Out for Undergrad. If Rudy impacted your life and time at O4U, we’d encourage you to record a quick VidDay for him here.
