SGA president ready to share TU’s welcoming spirit
Thanks to a little push from some new friends, Edmund Rhynes went from quiet transfer student to SGA president
By Kyle Hobstetter on September 17, 2024
In one of his first duties as president of the TU Student Government Association (SGA), Edmund Rhynes took the stage to speak at New Student Convocation.
As he looked out at the crowd of thousands of new Tigers ready to start their journey, he couldn’t help but remember how he was in their position three years ago upon transferring to TU.
At his previous school, Rhynes was a student-athlete who felt he wasn’t focusing on his academics as much as he should. Looking for a clean start, the Waldorf, Maryland, native decided to visit TU.
On that visit, he immediately felt welcomed. Now, as SGA president, he wants new Tigers to feel the same.
“Staff, orientation leaders, almost everyone I met welcomed me to TU,” Rhynes says. “That’s what I wanted from my college home, and I want to continue that.”
Now entering his third year at TU, the senior says he doesn’t regret transferring to TU. His academics are where he wants them to be. What surprised him is how involved he’s been on campus.
Since middle school, Rhynes has been involved in student government. So, in his first year at TU, he joined the SGA as a senator. He never expected himself to become SGA president just a few years later.
In fact, it was TU and the SGA’s welcoming spirit that helped push him to move up the ranks.
“I was very reserved when I first arrived,” Rhynes says. “I didn't talk to anyone. If you ask any of the old SGA members, they can tell you I sat on the SGA office couch, and I would just do my work.
“I wouldn't engage in anything. But (former SGA president) Jordan Colquitt took me under his wing. That's a big reason for where I am today.”
And where he is today is being the voice for TU’s student body. As the year gets going, some of the goals that Rhynes and his administration have include advocating to add a mental health day to university policy and helping get TU’s campus ready for the November election.
He also wants to build relationships with the TU community, especially the faculty and staff. He started this summer, meeting with Towson University President Mark Ginsberg and a few others around campus.
“It's a pretty big deal, and I actually love that I'm able to build these relationships because the administration and the staff here have been just so welcoming,” Rhynes says.
Rhynes will graduate this May with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After TU, he hopes to attend law school with the goal of finding new ways to help people in need. But before he leaves, he plans to keep helping the students he represents.
At the podium at Convocation, he wanted to let new Tigers know a key piece of advice: Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
“It’s easy to stay in your shell and do things how you like them, but here at college, this your time and your opportunity to try new things and put yourself out there,” Rhynes says. “I was that guy…I didn’t talk; I just went to my dorm and went to class. But I had people to push me.
“I'm gaining so much insight from all these other people, things that I wouldn't have known if I just stayed shut off. It definitely helped my development, and it still teaches me things to this day.”