In addition to being an excellent student and athlete, Ryan is a talented biological illustrator. For his project, he is preparing an illustrated log of the natural history highlights of the training cruise, using state-of-the-art, computer drawing techniques--a modern version of the illustrated accounts of past, sea-going naturalists, such as Charles Darwin, Sir Alister Hardy and Fridtjof Nansen.

Back on campus, Ryan is a tailback on the MMA football team and has been the team's leading rusher for the past three seasons, receiving New England Conference All-League honors.