Ryan’s Story

“Captain-Pastor” (as his fellow interns like to call him) Ryan McGowan is working as the Curriculum Director of summer camp this summer.

Ryan first began working at Abiding Presence last year, after being connected to the community through his friend Ally. 

“I came in last summer and was very unsure if I wanted to be a teacher because a lot of people in my program were starting to drop out,” Ryan shared. “It seemed like a very intimidating profession to get into.”

Through working at the summer internship program, Ryan has felt reaffirmed in his passion for teaching. As Curriculum Director, Ryan gets to put what he is learning in school as an education major directly to use through his work with the kids at camp. 

“Over winter break, I helped Michaela with a lesson for Sunday School, and she was impressed and wanted me to help write the curriculum for the summer,” Ryan said. “It was a nice change and it was something that I had been studying in school.

Ryan credits this experience of writing curriculum and leading camp as the most valuable thing he has learned this summer. 

“This has been a really valuable experience where I learned a lot about myself and became confident in what I want to do,” Ryan shared. “I’ve realized that I do want to teach and summer camp has reinforced that this is something I want to keep doing.”

This fall, Ryan will be graduating from James Madison University and will then begin his Masters in Education program with a projected graduation date of May 2024. After graduating, Ryan plans to become a middle school history teacher.