Ed’s Quote to live by: “Be the Change You Want to See in the World” Gandhi
If you are a Buffalo State student and have never heard of Ed Manz, then you probably were hiding under a big sound proof rock! Ed is your overall fun filled, kindhearted guy that would bring a smile to your face with just him smiling. Being a third year graduate student in the Exceptional Education Department while being a RA can bring many challenges but it doesn’t stop Ed from completing what he has to do to stay afloat and succeed.
Ed has left his mark on Buffalo State’s soil for all of campus to be marveled by. He has worked for Residence Life as a First Year Mentor, Resident Assistant and an Apartment Assistant for 6 years. He has also worked as an Orientation Leader for three years leading the way for new incoming freshman to fully become Buffalo State Bengals! Ed loves his jobs with Residence Life and Orientation saying, “”Both residence life and orientation have given me the abilities to grow professionally and make connections on campus. Through these connections I have developed not only long lasting relationships with the professionals on campus but with the students at Buffalo State College.”
One of Ed’s biggest passions on campus is the Pride Alliance, Buffalo State’s LGBT organization which is also one of the most influential groups of campus. Ed represents his pride in the organization in such a positive light saying, “Pride Alliance gives me a place to be who I was born to be and to interact with people with similar interests.”
Ed has an internship on campus working with the Health Promotions department as an intern for LGBT Initiatives and in collaboration with Pride Alliance he has given inspiration to many people by working to spread the word of acceptance and diversity all over. Ed loves his job saying, “Having the internship at Health Promotions has given me the ability to do work spreading the word of acceptance of the LGBT community on campus. One of my proudest moments on campus came from this internship, when I came up with an idea to hoist the rainbow flag on campus as a show of acceptance of diversity that Buffalo State College promotes. This was a fantastic event and has brought awareness of diversity to a lot of minds on campus.” It’s amazing to see his hard work for equality displayed on campus. Ultimately he has shown that everybody can work towards change for the better.