Getting involved in both major-related activities and extracurricular activities can be a gamechanger for many students.

For Rylee Standridge, it was life-changing.

Standridge graduated in May 2025 with a bachelor’s in marketing while also being a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. During his time as an undergraduate, he lived on campus and said that getting involved outside the classroom helped him connect in numerous ways — from boosting his business acumen and his confidence, to making a ton of friends along the way.

“My four years here has been life changing, and I am saying that seriously,” Standridge said. “It has been four great years that I will never forget: from friends to faculty, a lot of the security staff and teachers have all helped me tremendously.”

He also loved the feel of a smaller university, he said. Standridge attended a small high school in New Mexico and looked for that same type of atmosphere when choosing a college.

Standridge served as president of the university’s sporting clays team and was a member of Saint Leo’s American Marketing Association chapter as well as the LEAD Scholars, a leadership program that awards each member a $500 scholarship each semester to attend workshops, receive mentoring, and attend leadership and competency events.

“Being involved definitely enhanced my experience at Saint Leo,” Standridge said. “I would not have met as many people as I did if I weren’t doing things in addition to my classroom work. I am the kind of person to go out there and be the best in everything I do. I wanted to participate and have extracurricular activities. My buddy was part of the AMA club, so I joined. I ran across LEAD Scholars during an event freshman year. Sporting clays is the most memorable. My brother and I went to their first meeting and were involved ever since.”

Standridge also worked in Student Affairs for Saint Leo 20 hours each week, and he hosted “Chatty Cab,” picking up students in a golf cart and getting them involved on the Spirit Team, to promote university sports.

As for his major, he changed it a couple of times before landing in marketing, where he has truly connected to his future, he said.

“I want to own my own business someday, and I want to be able to market it myself, so this is a big step in that direction,” Standridge said.

With a four-year, Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Leo, Standridge learned skills to build strong consumer relations and brand loyalty, as well as how to get products and services into a customer’s hands, he said. The coursework also taught him best practices for how to work with customers and get them what they need.

The university’s marketing students work with real clients under faculty supervision and learn to create full marketing plans, he added.

“If I were talking to someone considering where to go,” Standridge said, “I would tell them that a small university community like Saint Leo helps you learn better and gets you more involved, with more connections.”