Leadership

A natural leader, Ryan has succesfully lead a number of groups, projects, events, and more. In High School, Ryan was in charge of the school's most succesful club, the History Club. Ryan lead all of the History Club's special projects, including an annual Costume Ball Dance and valentine's day deliveries, among others, which helped the club have more money and more people than any other club. He also organized annual field trips to Chicago, giving students the opportunity to visit art museums, visit Chicago malls, and even attend Medival Times as honored guests. He also used the History Club to encourage his classmates and friends to grow and reach beyond their percieved limits.

Aside from the history club, Ryan held the positon of Chief Editor for the literary magazine, which published three volumes during Ryan's tenure. He also served as President of the writing club during that time, in addition to being a member of National Honor Society, all while maintaining a GPA above 3.5 and taking several AP courses.

Ryan's leadership continued beyond high school. He ran for Mayor of his hometown in Muscatine to bring a sort of unique change to the city. Although he knew it would be difficult to beat a fourteen year incumbent, Ryan used the opportunity to bring attention to rising drug abuse in the city. He also raised awareness of the need for alternative entertainment for area youth, to help prevent the rising trend for teen drug and alcohol use.

In 2008 Ryan transferred to the University of Iowa after recieving his AA from Muscatine Community College. By demonstrating his willingness to work hard and advocate for the students, Ryan earned an appointment to the Executive Board of the University of Iowa's Associated Residence Halls. There he demonstrated leadership by implementing new communications technologies, and encouraging input from all students. He also became a Board Member for the Mindbridge Foundation, and also got the position of Sun Campus Ambassador to organize the University of Iowa around Open Source software.