SC&I alumnus Ryan Rose ’17 has returned to the Rutgers Men’s Golf team as the assistant coach, where he will be working alongside his former coach, Head Coach Rob Shutte. Rose was an accomplished member of the team throughout his college career from 2013 to 2017, being named a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a Big Ten Sportsmanship award recipient in 2016, according to Rutgers Athletics.

Upon graduating from Rutgers in 2017, having majored in communication, Rose joined the creative agency 160over190 as an Assistant Account Executive, where he worked in sports marketing. He said his main client was Allstate, which allowed him to work on projects in college and professional football, including Allstate's partnerships with the Southeastern Conference, the AFCA Good Works Team, and the New Orleans Saints.

Joining the team as a coach during a pandemic was both “challenging and rewarding,” Rose said. He said the student-athletes “made a lot of sacrifices in order to stay safe and allow themselves the opportunity to compete this season.”

“To see the happiness from the guys to be back on the road competing this season has been an awesome feeling, as they have been through a lot especially with their spring and fall 2020 seasons being cancelled.”

So far this season, the team has traveled to Florida for the 2021 Big Ten Match Play Championships and South Carolina for the 2021 Kiawah Invitational. They are planning on continuing to travel to tournaments throughout this season.

 “Thankfully, golf is an outdoor sport and there is minimal physical contact with your playing competitors, which makes the game much safer to play,” Rose said. “Rutgers has done an incredible job with our testing protocols which has allowed us the opportunity to compete and inspires a feeling of safety both on campus and on the road.”

Recruiting for the team has continued virtually through phone call and Webex meetings. “The webex meetings have been a great resource that have helped me continue to build relationships. Being able to communicate with recruits while still seeing their faces makes a huge difference in getting to know them,” Rose said.

Rose said that his goal as an assistant coach is to “help set the student athletes up with the resources and support they need to be successful and have a great college experience both on and off the golf course.” As a former student-athlete, Rose learned time-management skills from Shutte and advises student-athletes to use a calendar or checklist system to keep their academic and athletic schedules organized.

Another top skill Rose learned throughout his career and education at SC&I that he said he uses as a coach is empathy. “Making the effort to try and understand what someone is thinking or feeling allows you to better understand how to best communicate with them,” he said.

“Through my studies I've learned that people respond to leadership and communication styles in different ways, so it's important to build individual relationships and trust to find the right way to communicate effectively with each player.”

Rose also assists in managing the team's social media accounts, applying the skills he honed in sports marketing to grow the exposure of the golf program through engaging content for players, supporters, and alumni.

Rose decided to return to Rutgers after Shutte reached out to him about an open position. As part of his communications degree at SC&I, Rose said, he focused on leadership, which he also took an interest in through playing sports.

“While I didn't quite realize it when I was younger, looking back I can remember the coaches who made the biggest impact on me through their coaching and leadership styles,” he explained. “I played football for Coach Nunzio Campanile in high school, who is now a coach on the Rutgers football team staff. I always thought his ability to captivate a room and bring his group of players together to create a brotherhood was the coolest thing, and I was fortunate that Coach Shutte had that same skill of building strong culture when I was player at Rutgers as well.”

When Coach Shutte reached out to him about the position, Rose said that “the opportunity to be a part of creating that culture and developing strong relationships with players” helped him make the decision to leave his marketing role and return to the Rutgers men’s golf team in an assistant coach role. 

Rose said that some of the professors he enjoyed taking courses with at SC&I included Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Mark Beal, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Communication and Associate Teaching Professor Brian Householder, and Director of the Rutgers Center for Organizational and Part-Time Faculty Ralph Gigliotti. Beal in particular became a mentor to him, helping him secure an internship that eventually led to his full-time career post-graduation.

“I was fortunate enough to take a PR course with Professor Mark Beal during my junior year at a time where I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to take my degree after graduating,” Rose said. “I still look to Professor Beal as my mentor for advice today and I value our relationship greatly,” he said.

“Ryan impressed me in his junior year when I first met him because he was proactively taking control of his career path,” Beal said. “He was effectively bridging his studies in the School of Communication and Information to critical career action steps including networking with marketing and public relations professionals and securing internships. His strategic approach to learning and evolving as a student and a marketer set him up for success now and in the future.”

Learn more about majoring in communication at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.

Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Rose ’17