When Seyoum Settepani made his official visit to Richmond as a high school football player, Ivy League teams were already heavily recruiting him, as were the schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference. During the car ride to the Richmond campus, his dad suggested he take a few days to consider it if he received an offer.

“I committed on the spot,” Settepani said. “It was just a perfect fit for me academically and athletically.”

His instincts worked in his favor. Following a redshirt freshman year, Settepani’s football journey began with him playing left guard for the Spiders’ offensive line. “I was one of the captains for a few years, and it really was a fantastic experience,” he said. “I still keep in touch with all of my teammates.”

Settepani reflected on the lessons he learned during his college football career under two different head coaches — first Danny Rocco and then Russ Huesman — who had distinct approaches to the game. “That experience truly taught me a lot about being coachable and the importance of adapting to various types of bosses and leadership styles," he said.

About 40 people, including his parents, sister, and friends, showed up for his senior night, the last game of the season against the Delaware Blue Hens, but his parents typically drove to his home and away games all the way from New York City.

Settepani graduated in 2020 with a major in political science and a minor in entrepreneurship. By 2022, he received his master’s in human resource management from UR’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies and applied for jobs with the FBI, Secret Service, and Drug Enforcement Administration.

“I wanted to be somewhere where I could still be part of a team. That’s what I really liked most about my time at Richmond,” he said. “Being on a team, I was in a community of people who were all after the same goal and really fought for one another.”

Today, Settepani, who speaks fluent Italian, Spanish, and English, is a foreign service generalist for the State Department in New York — in other words, he’s a diplomat. Some of his earlier assignments involved protective detail, including the Dalai Lama’s visit to New York City.

“Working on the Dalai Lama’s security detail was an incredible experience. There’s an undeniable sense of peace and purpose that surrounds him,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words, but the experience genuinely felt like being closer to something divine. The respect, humility, and kindness he exudes make it an unforgettable honor to be a part of his world, even in a security capacity.”

Settepani said this is his dream job, but he also works at his family’s namesake Italian restaurant in Harlem and finds time to model.

A few years ago, a customer asked if he would be interested in modeling. It wasn’t the first time someone had suggested that he was photogenic. At 6’ 3”, he’d lost about 100 lbs. since his Richmond football days. While he could once bench 500 lbs. and squat 600 lbs. as a lineman, he said, “Now I won’t even go near that weight. I would snap my back in half if I did that.”

He eventually signed with Click Model Management and added this new career path to his credentials. His first shoot was featured in a Vogue magazine layout.

His most recent State Department assignment took him to Paris.

 “I love it,” he said with a smile. “I think I have the coolest job in the world.”