William S. Ryan ’09

Growing up in New York State in the 1990s-2000s, Will Ryan ’09 initially thought he wanted to be a youth minister. Then, during his senior year of high school, his family went on vacation—and one book changed everything. “It was raining the whole time, and we were stuck in a cabin.” Will passed the time by reading one of the many books his father had brought along. Will found the material fascinating and realized that he was “interested in understanding what attracts people to do what they do.” The title of the book? The Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology. Since that first book, Ryan has done hands-on work in applied clinical psychology with youth, become a teacher at the University of Toronto and started working as a behavioral scientist and independent research consultant for Immersyve, Inc., a company that creates research-based well-being protocols for companies. Ryan is also a member of several professional associations, including The Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. 

What are some of your early influences?
“I have a pretty unique and privileged experience in that my dad is a clinical psychologist, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. I grew up around all of that, and in fact reacted against it, saying I’m going to be different.”

Why choose Smith?
When Will applied to college, he self-identified as a straight woman. His mother drove him to tour Smith, but he refused to even get out of the car. “I like boys, I need to be at a school that has boys!” is the reaction he recalls. Instead, Will went to McGill University, which was coed and also international. But McGill had some downsides, such as large classes, that left Will feeling “lost in the crowd.” During that year, he also came out as a lesbian. He realized, “I  really do want to go to a woman’s college!” and transferred to Smith for his sophomore year.  

I'm not sure I would have become the man I am today without everybody at Smith—both the professors and students—pushing my thinking around what masculinity is and can be.

Favorite memories of the Psychology Department:
A SURF research project on right-wing authoritarianism that Ryan conducted with Professor Lauren Duncan in the summer of his second year was “really formative” in teaching him all aspects of the experimental method. Another important experience was watching Professor Nnamdi Pole interview and then join the department. As one of Pole’s teaching and research assistants, Ryan learned about the work that goes into developing courses and setting up a lab.  

Independent Project in Sociology:
After taking a course on Queer Resistances with Professor Nancy Whittier, Ryan also worked with her on a project examining theories of self that bridged psychological and sociological theories, with a specific focus on identity labels. 

Identity Transitions:
Upon arrival on campus, “I was newly out as a lesbian and very anxious about the fact that real lesbians on campus would be able to tell that I didn't know what I was doing.” Toward the end of his junior year, that defensiveness returned over another issue.  “One of my friends came out as trans. My initial reaction was, ‘Why can’t he just be butch? If he wants to be a man, why would he want to  be at Smith?’ My girlfriend at the time was like, ‘Wow, you seem to  have a lot of feelings about that; you might want to unpack where that's  coming from.’ I didn’t realize that I was struggling with my own  identity and how that fit at Smith.” 

The strong defensive response was a clue to something more going on; he came out as a trans man about a month later. “I'm not sure I would have become the man I am today without everybody at Smith—both the professors and students—pushing my thinking around what masculinity is and can be. I am grateful to all of my Smithies for  affirming my trans identity while helping me push against traditional notions of masculinity.” 

Treat yourself the way you might treat a friend who’s having a hard time. We are often not kind to ourselves. Recognize that your struggles are common. Identity is a human problem; just by the nature of being human we struggle with identity.

After Smith:
Ryan took two years off between college and grad school. “I wasn't sure what type of psychology I wanted to study: I was still very torn between social and clinical.” He met a new group of Smithies and worked at a facility for youth with emotional and behavioral problems, a job that provided hands-on experience in applied clinical psychology. 

Ryan then attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and worked with Dr. Jim Blascovich at the Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior. It wasn’t a good fit, mostly because Blascovich was preparing to retire. “There were no active projects. I was holding up the lab, maintaining a ton of equipment, helping people finish their own projects, and getting little credit for the work.” A chance conversation with another student led to a collaboration on integrating cardiovascular measurements into fMRI, a line of research that Will worked on and off for a decade. He says that the best part of grad school was the large, supportive cohort of graduate students, including Molly Metz, who would later become his spouse. Her adviser provided Ryan with the mentoring he needed to complete his Ph.D. in 2017. 

Employment:
Ryan’s experience at UC Santa Barbara left him feeling burnt out; he took his time finding a job after graduate school. He followed his partner, Metz, first to Ohio and then to Toronto, where he worked remotely as a consultant. Eventually, Ryan began teaching at the University of Toronto as well, first as a part-time lecturer and now in a full-time, teaching-focused position.  

Research into Stigmatized Groups:
In addition to psychophysiological methods, Ryan’s research focuses on the impact of social factors on the health and well-being of members of stigmatized groups. One key factor is autonomy support, “the feeling that you are the author of your choices and that you endorse the actions you're taking. It's not about being fully independent; we can still choose to ask for help. It’s about the need to feel like you are the driver of your actions and have some agency, or at least endorse what you're doing.” Ryan has studied how autonomy support from parents and peers influences sexual identity, coming-out experiences, internalized heterosexism, health, and wellness. 

A related line of research looks at autonomy in the context of feelings of authenticity. More recently, Ryan has been studying the importance of autonomy support in educational, organizational, and healthcare settings. “I have very disparate lines of research, but ultimately they all relate back to one another, often in ways I did not anticipate at the time. All have resulted in me gaining great experience.”  

You don't have to have it all figured out; you don't have to make one final choice around identity. It's a changing, growing thing. You can always integrate more things into an identity.

His Advice for Those Struggling with Identity:
“The first thing would be to give yourself some self-compassion. Treat yourself the way you might treat a friend who’s having a hard time. We are often not kind to ourselves. Recognize that your struggles are common. Identity is a human problem; just by the nature of being human, we struggle with identity. I don't mean to minimize anyone’s experience, but you're not alone. Humans before us have struggled with this, and everybody after us will struggle with this. You don't have to have it all figured out; you don't have to make one final choice around identity. It's a changing, growing thing. You can always integrate more things into an identity. You can also create new identities and leave old ones behind.” 

His Advice for Pursuing a Career in Psychology:
“Take as much stats [coursework] as you can; I can't oversell that. Even if you don't want to go to grad school, stats are important for so many jobs; statistical literacy is becoming a basic life skill. Get involved in research, to see what you like about it. Read as much as you can about a variety of interests; you never know what will connect to later work. Even if you don't like what you're doing right now, see what you can learn from it for your next step. If you do go to grad school, don’t be the last person in someone’s lab. Talk to other graduate students, and listen to what they tell you.”