������Ƶ

Ryan Stillwell, MA ‘24 earned his degree through ������Ƶ’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service Online Master of Sustainability, Security and Resilience (MSSR) program.

Stillwell attended classes from Shreveport, Louisiana, 974 miles from OHIO’s Baker University Center. But even while virtual, he was able to make lasting connections with his peers and mentors.

“What I liked the most about my time at OHIO was the engagement that I had from my professors and classmates, and that I still have, even after graduation,” Stillwell said. “I think that's the big difference, and what I appreciate the most about OHIO is the community.”

Despite being geographically distant, Stillwell and his classmates worked together through the program’s three certificates; Community Risk & Resilience, Environmental Change Management & Leadership, and Planning Resilient Systems.

By graduation, Stillwell and his peers were equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to lead and address critical challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, and global crises.

Stillwell had classmates from around the country and world, who brought diverse perspectives from different places into the program.

Designed for working professionals, the MSSR program is specifically designed to be a dynamic educational experience and provide flexibility to its students.

“Often we formulate opinions on things that we have to trust other people to explain to us because it’s too complex,” Stillwell said. “Quite frankly, that's one of the reasons I elected to study sustainability, security and resilience and its relation to what I do.”

Stillwell has spent his career working with power and recently joined Giga Energy as the director of utility partnerships.

“Power consumes a lot of natural resources. It affects every aspect of our lives, especially the aspect of power that I focus on, which is electricity. It literally powers our modern life,” Stillwell said. “There is a responsibility that comes with it.”

For Stillwell, that responsibility means focusing on what he can control to improve the impacts his work has on people and the environment.

“MSSR is very wide in scope,” Stillwell said. “At its core it’s very human, it’s about me and you. The perspective it gives you is beyond administrations, beyond politics. You see, respond and assess things differently.”