Raised in Queens, NY, Richard is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and graduated from the School of General Studies in 2005. During his time at GS, he was a member of the General Studies Student Council and Columbia’s rugby club, and was a co-founder of the Military Veterans of Columbia University student association. As an alumnus, he co-founded Columbia Veterans Inc. in collaboration with notable veteran Columbia alumni to develop the student veteran alumni network across the University.
Beyond the veteran community at Columbia, Space has dedicated himself to the GS Alumni network at large, co-founding the GS Recent Alumni Leadership Committee, which is known today as the General Studies Alumni Association. The Association connects present GS students to alumni in a range of professional sectors in business, consulting, government, the arts, non-profits, and more. It celebrates the diversity of experiences unique to the School of General Studies’ students and fosters strong bonds between students, staff, and alumni from GS. In his co-founding role, Space served as a co-chair, while volunteering for the Columbia Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Leadership Group.
As an alumnus, he has committed his time to mentoring young alumni, advising students, and promoting active alumni engagement, both in the veteran and wider Columbia alumni communities. He will be recognized at this year’s Columbia Alumni Association Leaders Assembly Gala in the fall, along with this year's nine other Alumni Medalists.
