Engineering Student and President of Student Government Association (SGA) Ryan Heath is a standout leader at QCC, who is using his determination and sense of purpose to make positive change for himself and the QCC community.
A Worcester native who attended Worcester Tech for robotics, Ryan takes his role as SGA President seriously. Under his leadership, the organization has developed momentum and engaged with more students. SGA now has a clear structure with multiple committees and a new constitution, which hadn't been updated since 2018.
"We've been a huge voice for the student body," he explained. "Giving students an outlet to say how they feel and want to change the world - it's meaningful to me. Especially if they come from low-income communities or never thought they'd go to college. Now they have a place where they can voice their opinions and watch their change come into fruition."
After his first year at the college, Ryan has observed that QCC is in an era of change, with growing enrollment each semester. He's witnessed firsthand how the college serves as a sanctuary for students facing challenges like homelessness, hunger, and safety concerns.
"Personally, I've seen students struggle...and coming to this school for them it's like a sanctuary, and they really rely on the people here, the food pantry, their professors, the Fuller Student Center to give them a sense of purpose and community," Ryan shared.
Ryan's path to QCC wasn't always clear. During his sophomore year of high school, he was failing classes and didn't envision college in his future. Everything changed his senior year when he decided to focus on academics with a degree in mind. Once he realized what he could achieve by giving his full effort, he kept pushing himself and was accepted into several four-year schools. However, the financial aid packages he was offered didn't provide enough support. Wanting to be fiscally responsible, Ryan opted for QCC, where he was pleasantly surprised to find quality professors, transfer agreements with many four-year options, and student organizations.
In addition to serving as SGA president, Ryan works as a lab technician in the Quest Center and a tutor for electronics technology. Never one to idle, he also has a job in construction and in the cafeteria at UMass Memorial Hospital. He attributes his strong work ethic to his parents. When he was 12 years old, he watched his mother return to school to earn an associate degree in nursing while raising three children with his father, a hardworking facilities manager who didn't attend college.
Through his leadership, industriousness, and dedication to his studies, Ryan exemplifies the resilience and ambition that make QCC's community strong. His message about QCC students is one we can all grasp onto: "They're hopeful for the future."