Why I Give Back: Richard Massi ’97

Now that his son Kaden has joined the Pride, giving back to Widener has taken on a whole new meaning for Rich Massi ’97.

“It’s surreal to be back on campus as much as I have lately with move-in, homecoming, and other events,” Massi said.

Not so long ago, Massi himself was enrolled at Widener as an electrical engineering student. Today, he’s vice president of Global Reliability & Performance at Peacock, responsible for some of the biggest events in streaming, including record-setting concurrent live streams of the 2022 Winter Olympics and football’s biggest game.

Massi’s job has him working with teams in the UK and India, but making time to give back to Widener students remains a top priority for him.

At the School of Business Administration’s Future of Work Conference this year, Massi spoke on “Riding the Digital Transformation Wave without Wiping Out.” The industry transition to digital cloud technologies is something he’s witnessed firsthand thanks to Widener.

Massi’s exceptional career began with his Widener co-op at Comcast, which landed him a job there once he graduated. From there, his career grew as the company did, and Massi leaned into the changes happening all around him.

“Working for the largest broadband provider in the United States, I’ve had a front row seat to watch how the technologies we develop create and impact whole industries,” Massi said. He notes how over-the-top streaming apps like Peacock developed over decades of progressive technological transformations.

“Being able to help guide knowledge for the students and the university to learn about what’s happening in private sector industry is really important to me,” he added.

Massi is excited about continuing to give that wisdom back to Widener students through conferences and events but also at the classroom level. He’s passionate about bringing site reliability engineering training into the curricula to set students across majors up for success.

Those students include his son Kaden, who joined the Pride as a management major this fall. Massi has enjoyed noting all the facility updates and other changes since his time at Widener.

“I’m jealous of him and what he gets to experience on this amazing campus,” Massi said of his son.

While a lot has changed between the Massis’ years on campus, many more experiences unite them. Outside the classroom, Massi played club volleyball in the 90s, and Kaden plays for the Pride on the men’s volleyball team today. But it’s the quality of education that Massi says unites generations of Widener students the most.

That quality is sustained when alumni and donors like Massi give back to the Widener community.

“I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, and there’s no doubt about the line through my Widener education to my co-op to a growing and global career,” Massi said. 

“Receiving support and mentorship from people that were ahead of me on the curve has helped guide me, and I will give as much of my time as I can to relay my experiences and mentor students to help shape their future decisions in the same way.”