Ryan Gabriel Smith Memorial

Ryan Gabriel Smith was a proud graduate of Austin Community College; he felt most proud of having persevered through the rigors of developmental classes to achieve academic success. He knew that in education, it doesn’t matter where you begin, what matters most is one’s commitment to coursework, and maintaining a strong belief in oneself. Ryan called the experience “making it through the night.” Although immensely gifted in many ways, school was a challenge for Ryan. Passing the TASP test required that he take developmental work while simultaneously taking courses in printing. His perseverance paid off. In May 1998, he graduated from Austin Community College with a 3.025 GPA, an AAS in Printing Management, and a certificate in Marketing. He was accepted to St. Edward’s University where he planned to begin work on his Bachelor’s Degree in September 2000. While pursuing his studies at ACC, Ryan also worked full time. To those who knew him, Ryan’s success came as no surprise. He never lost his belief that education coupled with hard work was the key to the future.

In the last four years of Ryan’s life, his great passion was motorcycle racing. Sponsored by Ocañas Printing and Keith Cherry Racing, he was on a team which planned to enter all the national races in 1999. He raced Honda RS125 and was ranked second in Texas and eighth nationally. He planned to further pursue his passion for motorcycles by turning his hobby of motorcycle rebuilding into a business. Cycles he rebuilt and sold produced a four-fold return on his investment.

Ryan was on top of the world the day he died. His little sister recalls that on the day of his last ride he said, “Let’s go get ’em!” and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. During a practice at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Ryan’s cycle slid and struck a wall. He died instantly, but even in death, Ryan’s contributions continued: He was an organ donor and gave the gift of life to four individuals, and now his contribution continues with the “Ryan” Endowed Scholarship.