What is your preferred name? What is your major and minor?
Preferred name is Ryan, double major in Chem and Philosophy.
What are some of the jobs you held while at McDaniel?
Worked in the CEO for 2 years, and at the golf shop for a semester.
What organizations were you a part of at McDaniel? What positions did you hold?
I was co-chairman for relay for life for 3 years, member of SAE, held Treasurer, VP, Webmaster, and Ritual Chair.
Did you enjoy your time at McDaniel? How?
I did enjoy my time at McDaniel, the classes were engaging and fun to take part in, and the atmosphere around campus was always great.
Who do you think is/was your best mentor(s)?
I would say my best mentor would be Dr. Ferraris in the Chemistry department. He was a great help for my process of applying to graduate school, working through my capstone project, and was always just a great person to talk to when I had questions or even just some time to spare during his office hours.
What is your best memory at McDaniel?
My best memory would probably be Homecoming of 2017. The tailgating was a great time as it always is, I enjoyed spending the time with my fraternity as well as some recent alumni and old friends coming back to take part in it all. All in all, it was a great experience.
A close second would be my time spent doing summer chemistry research with Dr. Ferraris. It was a very rewarding and educational experience that really pushed me towards applying to graduate school, based off of how much I enjoyed it. Without it, I’m not sure exactly what I would have chosen to do after graduating from McDaniel.
What were some of the challenges you encountered and how did you overcome them?
One of the challenges I ran into was simple time management. I took the maximum number of credits available for most of my time at McDaniel, and I was also trying to balance a part time job with my classes. I didn’t always succeed with the balance and I had some long stressful nights of doing assignments that were due the following morning, but understanding the time needed for certain assignments is key. I didn’t have as much free time not spent with doing work, but I had enough to keep me happy and less stressed.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduating I plan on attending UMBC in pursuit of a Ph.D in Chemistry, which I hope to complete within the next 5 years. After that, we’ll see where it takes me.
What advice can you give to those not graduating?
For those not yet graduating, make sure and enjoy the time you have here, because after you get to your senior year and planning for everything after, real life hits you a bit harder than you think. So live it up while you can, but keep your future in mind and always strive for your goals. Don’t give up when things get hard, start thinking about life after graduation before your senior year, and best of luck to you.
