Employment and education:

Ryanzo is a training and development specialist at Novus International in St. Charles, Missouri. After graduating from LLCC in 2013 with his AA in psychology, he continued his education at Western Illinois University where he earned his BS in psychology with a minor in management. Ryanzo then obtained his MA in industrial-organizational psychology from SIU-Edwardsville.

Ryanzo also proudly served his country with the U.S. Army, as well as the Illinois Army National Guard.

How has Lincoln Land Community College impacted your life?

LLCC is where I gained a passion for learning. Classes were always interesting and the professors always challenged me to focus on mastery, rather than memorization. After graduating from LLCC, that passion drove me to earn my undergraduate and graduate degrees with high levels of achievement.

What is your greatest accomplishment(s)?

My biggest accomplishment would have to be the completion of my master’s program. In addition to normal coursework, applied consulting projects, a part-time assistantship, and thesis, I had to balance all of that with my full-time family responsibilities. It required a mastery of time management, goal setting, backwards planning, determination and autonomy.

Was there a professor, advisor, staff member or fellow student who made an impression on you or helped you when you were here at LLCC?

Professor Miller-McGrath really grew my passion for psychology. Her classes were always fun and engaging.

What did you like about LLCC or what is your favorite LLCC memory?

I like how small the student community was.  Walking from one class to another, you would run into so many people you knew.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

During my master’s program, I was awarded the SIUE’s Robert A. Daughtery Scholarship for Industrial-Organizational Psychology Achievement.

I graduated magna cum laude from Western Illinois University.  While attending, I was recognized as the Psychology Department Scholar and earned the Norman and Carmelita Teeter Undergraduate Research Award, the Poindexter Undergraduate Research Award and the Eric Ward Statistics Tutoring Award (twice). I was a member of Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, and S.A.L.U.T.E. Honor Society.