It’s not easy to be in two places at once. And even harder to be in three.
Yet day in and day out, Kevin Ryan spreads himself thin across South Carolina, attending the College’s Graduate School, living 70 miles north on Pawleys Island and representing a chunk of the South Carolina coast as a newly elected state legislator in the capital, Columbia. He is, as he says, “insanely busy,” and always on the road.
At 22, he’s also the youngest member of the S.C. House of Representatives and one of the few burdened by the demands of the people’s work as well as homework. Fortunately, Ryan’s work and study overlap, as he’s conducting an independent study at the College this spring semester with Professor Kendra Stewart, investigating possible restructuring of South Carolina’s government. It’s a timely topic, given the need to save money in the face of budget deficits, as well as one of the top goals for new S.C. governor Nikki Haley, a fellow Republican.
As he begins his first term in a poor economy, Ryan will be confronted with budget proposals that cut many government programs and services. Barrages of phone calls and e-mails have already made clear that each issue has its champions, and that his constituents have different opinions as to what are state government’s core responsibilities. For his part, Ryan has decided the protection of South Carolina’s natural landscapes, wildlife habitats and historical sites is of critical importance, and he has already sponsored a bill to increase funding for the S.C. Conservation Bank. He’s also promised excellent communication with his constituents, and to make decisions that promote “efficient, accountable and transparent government.”
At the College, Ryan is modest, says Stewart. After Election Day last semester, it was left to Stewart to inform her master’s in public administration students that their classmate was now an elected official. Despite his commitments to campaigning and holding office, Ryan has been a model student, she says, and is unique in that while most of her students are learning how to execute public policy, Ryan is creating it.
“He’s different. I think Kevin’s truly in this fight for good reasons,” says Stewart. “He really cares about bettering the state.”