Sports have been an integral part of Ryan’s life, running cross country and track in high school and competing in the Iowa state championships as a freshman and sophomore. He’s an outstanding student as well, ranking in the top five of his class and receiving an academic achievement award all four years at Pella Christian School. In July 2022 his life changed in an instant while on a camping trip in Wisconsin when he dove into a lake and broke his neck at C5-6. He says the second chapter of his life began when he was transported to Craig Hospital where sharing common struggles helped open doors to envisioning future success.

After three more months of therapy, Ryan returned home, adapting to new academic challenges faced as a quadriplegic. Never one to give up, he responded to the challenges by completing his course work with a 4.0 GPA. Setting goals has always been important to him and over the past two years he’s accomplished what he set his mind to, whether it was learning to transfer or maneuvering a manual wheelchair and desires to get back in the outdoors. As an engineering major, he plans to use science and technology to help identify common problems the disabled community faces and help provide advancements through engineering to make life easier to navigate, both physically and mentally.

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