’04 Steve Ryan

Service seems to live at the very core of Steve Ryan. “Growing up I saw my mom actively involved in charitable work and I heard about my late father’s philanthropy.” So, when Steve was figuring out how to truly engage in the Nazareth experience as a high school freshman, it’s no wonder that he turned to service.

Steve stuck with Service Club, eventually serving as the club’s president and leading efforts with service partners and a host of successful drives to collect donations. “The thing about Naz was that you barely had to ask. We raised the awareness and people jumped in immediately to help.”

Steve’s commitment to service didn’t end after high school. It continued through his time at Marquette University and while he taught at Butler Middle School; philanthropy ultimately became a core value of his business strategy as Founder and CEO of RyTech, LLC. “We are a digital marketing firm, but what we do as our core business is work in partnership with our clients to fill their needs.” In hiring his staff, Steve looks for team members who are well rounded and service oriented. “We can teach digital and social media skills, but finding people who share an outlook of unity in the way they network, or mentor others, or even how they treat colleagues, is the greater goal.”

Steve has continued to model that ideal of unity throughout his life, frequently saying yes to community service, including roles with the Boards of Pillars and Nazareth Academy, where he served as a trustee for six years. “It was a rewarding experience to come back to Naz and see the mission in action from a different perspective.” Steve was not only happy to give back to an institution he believed had already given him so much, he was gratified to strengthen and build relationships with more members of the Nazareth family, particularly the Sisters of the Congregation of St. Joseph.

His good work has been recognized by the institutions he’s served so well. He and his wife Beth were recognized as the 2023 Young Alumni of the Year by Marquette University in 2023. And, in June 2024, during Reunion Weekend, Steve will receive the Four Pillars Award for Service from Nazareth - twenty years after being named a Sister Oliver Donlin Service Award winner at his high school graduation.

Steve is humble about these accolades and quickly turns the conversation to gratitude for the opportunities to serve others. He is, however, justifiably proud of whatever good example he’s set, not because of what he has gained, but because servant leadership is the foundation he wants to set for his own daughters. “There’s only one you. You need to be comfortable with yourself in order to make a positive impact on others.”