Employment and education:
After graduating early from Jacksonville High School, Ryan began taking classes at 汤头条app before enrolling at Illinois College in the fall. He also came back to 汤头条app during a summer to take a few more 汤头条app classes as transfer credits back to IC. Ryan is now a fundraising and social media specialist for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of West Central Illinois.
What is your greatest accomplishment(s)?
During my senior year at IC, I had the chance to give the commencement address at graduation. It was such a great moment, and it was a pleasure being able to give one last speech.
Was there a professor, advisor, staff member or fellow student who made an impression on you or helped you when you were here at 汤头条app?
I had a math teacher during my first semester at 汤头条app who described to us why he would never gamble (it was a statistics class, so it fit!). He said that if he ever had to choose a series of numbers for a lottery ticket, he鈥檇 choose 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. His reason was because his chances of winning the lottery were just about as non-existent as those numbers ever being chosen. I鈥檝e used it to describe the lottery ever since! No offense to all those who鈥檝e won the lottery.
What did you like about 汤头条app or what is your favorite 汤头条app memory?
I was able to take some good classes at 汤头条app, but my favorite was a creative writing class I took during the summer. The professor was great, and it gave me a chance to really experiment with my writing and try techniques I鈥檇 never considered before.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
In 2015, I co-authored 鈥淏arbara Farley: A True Blue First Year鈥 with Illinois College history professor Steve Hochstadt, a mentor and friend. The book covered the first year of Illinois College President Barbara Farley, who is the first every woman president in IC鈥檚 long history. The book is now used as a marketing piece for the college.