Stefan Ryan is a SUNY Ulster alum who graduated in 2014 with an associate’s degree in Engineering Science: Electrical Engineering. Stefan was familiar with the successful foundation SUNY Ulster provides students before enrolling here because both of his parents were also alumni! Stefan knew entering college he wanted to be an engineer, and he also knew the first two years of most college engineering programs were very similar. With this in mind, he made his decision to attend SUNY Ulster. He knew he “ would receive an equivalent education from SUNY Ulster as [he] would have at a 4-year University”.
After Stefan’s graduation, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic University for a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. During his time at RPI, he worked part-time as an application developer at IBM. After graduating Stefan began working at Lockheed Martin, and while working full time, completed his Masters of Engineering from Cornell University in 2018. Eventually, Stefan made the decision to move from Electrical Engineering to Cyber Security and relocated to Orlando, FL.
Stefan says “The professors I had at Ulster were the biggest part of my success in education”. Reflecting on his time here, Stefan looks back fondly on Professor Plumb, Professor Mistry, Professor Douglas Furman, and “most of all Jules Albertini. They taught me the fundamentals of Engineering in Calculus and Differential Equations”.
Having been part of a family of SUNY Ulster graduates Stefan advocates for people to go to two-year colleges first. SUNY Ulster is a “great alternative to the growing pressure for all high school graduates attending a four-year college right after high school.” Stefan was able to pay for his entire associate’s degree and accrued zero debt before transferring to a four-year school.
Congratulations on your accomplishments Stefan!
