Hey there! I'm Ryan. I am an educational technology specialist, currently with the University of Florida Department of Housing and Residence Life. I have the awesome job of providing training and occupational support to over 300 full-time staff, and some oversight over compliance training for an additional 350 staff members. I get to make people's lives better through education and learning, which is such a privilege. My joy is in being able to merge many of my favorite interests into my career: psychology, teaching, writing, and technology.

My Education - University of Florida

• Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology (with honors)
• Master of Arts in Education, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction
• Working on: Doctor of Philosophy, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Technology

Growing up, I had an innate love of education. I enjoyed giving presentations and I served as a TA in both middle and high school. One of my earliest "classes" was giving a presentation to a computer user's group in Hawaii where I spent 3 years. I was in middle school at the time. The topic was on how to build your own website. I talked through material very quickly, but I was described as really enthusiastic. That enthusiasm never seems to have left me, because the word came up several times in evaluations from my students when I taught First Year Florida in Fall 2020.

While I was a student assistant during college, my boss decided that I would go to a national conference (ACUHO-I) and present on basic computer security for collegiate housing professionals. There were too many incidents of people leaving their passwords laying around, clicking on bad links, and the like. A little bit of basic knowledge in this area can help protect everyone. But imagine that - being asked to talk at a national conference while still a student! Talk about being pushed into the deep end, huh? I remember heading to that presentation, nervous and just not believing in myself. However, once I started talking, I found myself leaving the stage and walking among the audience while giving my talk. I just got into the zone, somehow! A colleague was in the audience and he reported back to everyone at the office about my presentation. I found myself suddenly being asked to teach the workshop several times. This workshop evolved into the Computer Security Bootcamp that I still present during New Employee Orientation.

After graduation, I was an IT specialist. I did a lot of things - computer repair, writing policy documents, and so forth. However, teaching workshops remained part of my job. My superiors in the department knew that my true passion lie in education and training, and I was promoted after a short few years to be a training and education coordinator. I've remained in the position since, through good and bad times.

I think that I enjoy my field so much because I get to help others. I also get to see people thrive and meet their own goals. For example, some of my happiest moments are when one of my GED students graduates. Seeing them walk across the stage and then able to get that promotion or new job that they have been seeking makes me so proud of their effort and my role in helping them along the path. It's not often that I get to see the tangible results of my work, but I relish each and every moment.

Education and training really merges together a lot of my passions. I changed undergraduate majors several times before deciding on Psychology. Psychological theory can be of such benefit in understanding how people learn. I also enjoy writing and even computer programming. I thrive because I get to live so many of my passions at once - I don't have to pick and choose.

Cool Things I've Gotten to Do

• Write a book chapter on technology master planning
• Teach First Year Florida, a college success class for first year students
• Lead a regional college housing officer association (SEAHO) into a new era of a robust web presence
• Work side jobs to develop and practice additional skills
• Teach/facilitate special year-long programs, including computer literacy and language learning, for staff
• Play with wolves in three different wolf reserves