Changes

While he was a student, Ryan started a service projects student organization called Operations Tech (OpTech) to bring together students from all disciplines with the intent to utilize Design Thinking through service projects to improve the campus. Ryan also championed and supported the Bulldog Entrepreneurs Club and the Science Technology Arts Engineering and Math Club (S.T.E.A.M). In addition to his engineering coursework, Ryan enrolled in both art and entrepreneurship courses when possible to place himself at an intersection of engineering, design, and business (as LaTech does not have a degree that lends that environment). During Senior year, Ryan was a member of a 5 person team that won first place in LaTech's TOP DOG New Venture Championship. The team, HemoCycle, developed a cost effective blood salvaging device for developing nations. Ryan's main impact as a University Innovation Fellow ended up being the introduction of the program to Louisiana Tech and it's continued presence after he graduated. Before graduating, he had work on a few projects but unfortunately none of them came to fruition (yet). If you're curious as to how and why the projects didn't work, shoot him an email, he'd love to explain!

At the beginning of 2019, Ryan was hired as the Programs & Events Coordinator for the Ross Lynn Charitable Foundation (RLCF). RLCF is a North Louisiana nonprofit cultivating compassion in individuals, families, and communities. Their work focuses in the arts, outdoor adventure, and healthy living through a variety of programming and scholarships. Ryan is involved with around 85% of everything the foundation does with a handful of the programs directly under his charge. These include the North Louisiana Artist-in-Residence and the North Louisiana Chef-in-Residence, the Get Outdoors Program, the Cultivating Compassion Podcast, and a virtual writer's workshop.