Kate Ryan Podcast Transcript

This transcript was exported on May 12, 2021 - view latest version here. John Boccacino: Hello, and welcome back to the Cuse Conversations podcast. My name is John Boccacino, the communications specialist in Syracuse University's office of alumni engagement. I earned my bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the SI Newhouse School of public communications in 2003, and later received my executive master's degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of citizenship and public affairs in 2020. You can find our podcast on all of your major podcasting platforms, including Apple podcasts, Google play, and Spotify. You can also find our podcast at alumni.syr.edu/cuseconversations, and anchor.fm/cuseconversations. Kate Ryan: Being a student athlete has definitely helped in the classroom. I think it's really easy to say that being a student athlete makes it challenging to get your degree done. The team sets a really high standard for being excellent in the classroom. And I think we hold ourselves to a pretty high standard for getting our work done, and doing well in the classes, and engaging with each other. And I also think that being a student athlete has taught me to be present in what I'm doing, and take it one step at a time, much like, with rowing, you take it one stroke at a time. John Boccacino: Well, today on the podcast, we are welcoming on a junior member of the rowing team. Her name is Kate Ryan. She is a biology major. She is an outstanding student athlete for the Syracuse Orange, but she has so much more than just being a talented member of the rowing team to share with us here on the alumni podcast. Kate, before we get to your story, I want to say thank you for joining us today. Kate Ryan: Thank you for having me. John Boccacino: So, you're actually not the first rower we've had on the podcast, by the way. We had Hattie Taylor on during the fall. And she was sharing her perspectives on going for those Olympic dreams in Tokyo. So, you've got some big shoes to fill, but I'm pretty confident your story is going to resonate with our audience. John Boccacino: So, tell us a little bit about yourself, Kate. I know we mentioned you being a rower, you're a biology major. What drew you to Syracuse University in the first place? Kate Ryan: Well, I was really drawn to Syracuse because of the opportunities that it had just beyond the rowing team. I really loved how large the biology department was. And I liked that there were a lot of opportunities for students to get involved with different professors, whether it be research or clubs. And I really liked that I didn't feel limited or trapped into any sort of box, entering a really large biology department like Syracuse. John Boccacino: On your cuse.com bio to, expand upon thought, you mentioned you chose Syracuse because of the limitless opportunities that the community provides to Kate Ryan Podcast (Completed 05/12/21) Page 1 of 11 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on May 12, 2021 - view latest version here. its student athletes. Can you go a little more in depth into what some of those opportunities have been that you've been afforded as a student athlete here? Kate Ryan: Well, something that comes to mind first is my involvement with young scholars, which is something that a lot of us on the rowing team are involved with. One of my good friends, Grace, is in charge of the program right now. And we tutor youth from the city of Syracuse. And we help them with their homework, whether it be math, science, reading. But we also like to play a lot of games, to play basketball, color, paint, just kind of have fun with the kids, learn good study skills, and kind of just engage with the community more. John Boccacino: I know that time is extremely precious. As a student athlete, you're balancing academics, you're balancing athletics, and you're getting involved with these young scholars. What made you want to join that pursuit and give back to the members of the Syracuse community? Kate Ryan: I think something that I've really learned to love as a student athlete is being able to compartmentalize my time. And I've found that, for the most part, with the exception of maybe finals week, you can always find time to do what you want to do, and to just make sure that, while you're at the event, whether it be while you're at class, while you're at practice, or if you're doing a community outreach program, to just be present in the moment, and to commit all that you have in that time. John Boccacino: Those are really valuable lessons that apply to any walk of life, whether you're a student or whether you graduated 50 years ago from Syracuse. I'm glad to hear that you've got a good head on your shoulders when it comes to time management. Because, as I alluded to earlier, it can be extremely strenuous to succeed just at college. When you factor in being a student athlete on top, what's your best tip for time management, how you go through your day and make sure that you can succeed in all your pursuits? Kate Ryan: I would say my best tip is making calendar, writing things down. I always look forward to the beginning of the semester. So, this week, where I'll take every single assignment, whether it's a 10 page paper or a paragraph that I have to submit, and I put it all in one Excel sheet, sot it by date, color code it. And just really staying organized helps me a lot. John Boccacino: I could imagine that attention to detail really pays off for itself. And again, with your being a straight A student here at Syracuse, the proof is really in the pudding. You mentioned the biology program. Before we get to your rowing accomplishments, I want to focus on the bio part of your student athlete career here at Syracuse. John Boccacino: So, take me through your goals as a biology major. What did you hope to accomplish this degree? And how has that played itself out during your first three years? Kate Ryan Podcast (Completed 05/12/21) Page 2 of 11 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on May 12, 2021 - view latest version here. Kate Ryan: It's actually interesting, because I find that my goals have changed a lot throughout being at Syracuse. I applied to Syracuse, and kind of began my freshman year here, with the full intention of going to medical school after college. I'd wanted to be a doctor since maybe middle school. And so, I took the premed classes, the intro biology classes. And I really started to fall in love with the ecology side of biology and understanding plants. And I think they're a really underrated topic of study. Everyone's really interested in anatomy, and understanding how muscles move, and how people move. Kate Ryan: But I think plants are so intricate, and they're so important to our world. So, I really started to branch more into the ecology side of the biology department. And then, from there, I started thinking more about what I wanted my career to be, and how I wanted to apply what I was learning, and also how I wanted to learn. And something that really started to frustrate me my freshman year was the fact that so many of my grades were determined by what percentage of the textbook I could memorize. And there were just so many multiple choice tests. And I really kind of felt robotic in my learning. Kate Ryan: So, with that, I kind of looked at what classes I really started to enjoy. And that was the philosophy and the writing. And I really liked thinking about the biology. So, from there, I kind of shifted to studying more policy and studying how I, as someone with a science background, someone who loves science, loves understanding graphs and data, and seeing how I can apply that to writing and outreach and policy. John Boccacino: It's fascinating. And you're well within your rights. I'm happy to hear you say the evolution, because... Yes, there's people that come in at school and they know exactly what they want to do from day one, but there's a lot to be said for adapting and adjusting what you want to study based on your interests. John Boccacino: And I'm happy to hear you found a passion with ecology. And really, it is an underrated topic. We hear all the time people talking about climate change. And that's its own separate category. When it comes to ecology, what are your observations for how dire the situation happens to be. And what you might hope to bring to the fight? Kate Ryan: I think ecology kind of provides a really good basis for understanding climate change. And if you look at the building blocks of life, the cells, the soil, you can really see climate change from a very small scale. One of my favorite labs that I've ever done was a soil lab where we studied soil microbes.

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