Ryan was interested in returning to school, but he had some trepidation. He struggled with insecurities after taking so much time off, being older than his peers and felt a touch of imposter syndrome. He thought the other students might be too advanced for him or not as accepting of someone his age and this would cause him to struggle finding his place on campus.
However, his wife Ellie encouraged him to go for it. Ryan met with CSUB’s Dr. Michael Burroughs, director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics (KIE), to address these concerns and discuss what his return to school would look like.
“He completely set my spirit at ease, and it made me feel like it was where I wanted to be," Ryan said.
He returned to school with determination and a new perspective. Ryan finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2020. However, Ryan didn’t get to walk for his graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is currently enrolled in CSUB’s public administration graduate program and will get another chance to walk once he finishes his master’s degree.
During his graduate studies, Ryan interned for the Kern County Administrative Office. He had the opportunity to work on policy analysis, grant-writing and research. He enjoyed his time there and further developed his passion when he took a program evaluation course.
In 2022, Ryan began working with KIE as a student programs specialist. In this role, he was responsible for the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Program, a national and multi-institution initiative that provides funded fellowship for eight CSUB undergraduate students and the opportunity to work collaboratively with undergraduates from Harvard, Stanford, St. Philips College and Santa Fe College.
Ryan’s leadership has helped students focus on developing skills to understand and mediate conflicts that can occur in both personal and political domains and facilitate productive conversations on difficult topics across lines of political polarization.
Additionally, he has been a volunteer for the CSUB Philosophy for Children program. In his volunteer role, he has dedicated time to providing fun and engaging extracurricular educational opportunities for Bakersfield children. Last summer, Ryan volunteered at a local library, facilitating learning sessions and conversations with children and supporting the development of important skill reasoning, dialogue and critical thinking skills.
Currently Ryan uses his leadership skills as a senior community development specialist with the nonprofit organization Community Action Partnership of Kern. He works to support more than 15 programs aimed at meeting children, families and individuals who are facing poverty at their point of need and helping them access their share of the American dream.
“It’s working to do the small things,” said Ryan. “[That] has so much value to me.”
Outside his professional capacity, Ryan enjoys many activities such as practicing yoga — a hobby he picked up during the pandemic — running, playing golf, visiting wineries and spending time with his family. Ryan also still plays music. Most recently, he played at Assemblymember Vince Fong’s (R-D34) wedding with other local artists including Amy Adams and Jim Ranger. Ryan wants to continue to make original music in instrumental genres like soul jazz and funk jazz.
Ryan’s story is one of perseverance and overcoming many of life’s natural obstacles by bravely taking two-degree turns and never giving up.