Senior Spotlight: Kendal Ryans

What was your favorite memory at Masterman?

I would say my favorite memory at Masterman was my lip sync sophomore year, they really made us feel very included and it was great.  

What advice would you give younger students about how to manage their time and school-life balance?

I would say don’t procrastinate because it doesn’t work, at Masterman especially. If you’re in extracurriculars use your at-home time to actually do work and use your study halls to actually do work. 

Who has been your favorite teacher and why?

I think it’s between Ms. Waber and Dr. Braff. I feel like I enjoyed Ms, Waber because she’s become kind of like a mother figure to me, but Dr. Braff,— I have him for social sciences and I enjoy his class—he treats us like adults and he’s really funny.

What was the most challenging part of your high school experience and how did you get through it?

I would definitely say physics junior year. Junior year in its entirety was hard but physics specifically was insane, and then I could hardly get any help because no one knew what they were doing, so it took a lot of going to Mr. Lebold and applying myself outside of class to know what I was doing in class.

You’re currently playing Dorothy in The Wiz. How did you get into acting, and who has been your biggest inspiration? 

I started in middle school, I went to GAMP, which is a performing arts school, and I joined the musical in sixth grade, and I really felt robbed because then quarantine happened and we weren’t able to finish it. I wasn’t going to do the musical at Masterman because I was scared, but then some of the seniors convinced me to do it. Two of my biggest inspirations have been Maeve, who I really look up to acting and singing wise because she’s amazing and she gave me a lot of tips, and she also made sure to always show she was proud of me, which helped. Another is my friend Windega, she does acting outside of school and I’ve seen her progress over the years. I really look up to her and it’s cool to see someone that close to me doing something big. 

As the treasurer of AACC you’ve played a significant role in organizing events such as the Black History Month showcase. How has this experience impacted you, and are you planning to continue something similar in college?

I just felt like I had a lot of pride in organizing, it was really difficult, it took a lot of texting and group calls and I wasn’t sure if we would pull it together or not, but sitting together as we pulled it off I felt really proud, and doing the line dancing and seeing everyone on stage was really sweet. In college I do plan to stay involved, I’m going to an HBCU and I do plan to join a similar club.

What’s one thing you want to do before you graduate?

Make more time for music, obviously I’m in the musical but that’ll be done soon, and for the past three years after I’m done the musical I don’t really have time for music anymore. I’m writing my own music and I hope to continue that more this year.

What are your plans for after graduation? How do you feel about graduating?

My plans for after graduation, as I said earlier, I'm going to an HBCU and I’m really excited about that. I’m majoring in criminal justice and I hope to become a lawyer. I also hope to continue singing. I don't know what that will look like, if it’s theater or writing my own songs, but I definitely want to keep music in my life. I’m definitely ready to graduate. I'm very sad to leave my friends behind and I’m nervous to step into adulthood, but at the same time I’m ready.