Ryan Barbini, class of 1996, has good memories of high school, especially good friends and playing soccer and hockey. A very prominent memory, which he immediately mentioned, was the death of a favorite teacher, Lou Toscano, his mathematics teacher. Losing him in his junior year really stuck with Ryan. However, a memory that brought joy to him was the annual one-week Close Up* trip to Washington, D.C. He loved being in D.C., not only with Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) students, but with teens from all over the country, learning about the U.S. government up close.
Ryan knew that he wanted to pursue his education in some area of science or math, so he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute in chemical engineering. In his studies, he figured that he would aim toward some aspect of biomedical or pharmaceuticals. He returned summers to the Vineyard, where he worked with his dad in land surveying.
After graduation, Ryan, in a change from his original plan, secured a position at Raytheon in the defense industry. During this time, he married his wife, Chelsea, and today they live in Pepperell with their two kids. Their son is in college, and their daughter (in another year or so) will also make that leap. Ryan has worked with Raytheon for more than 25 years, first supporting the assembly of component parts before transitioning into project management. Currently, Ryan works for a smaller defense company as a program manager, working on submarines. He feels strongly that Raytheon and his current company not only provide him a livelihood but that he is a part of contributing to the progress of the U.S. in understanding defense systems protecting and connecting our world. Obviously, Ryan, from those early days in our government class as well as that special week in D.C., has taken the role of being an active citizen very seriously. I, one of his former teachers, am so glad that Ryan is part of always improving our defense systems. Thank you, Ryan!
*Close Up Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic education organization that believes a strong democracy requires active, informed participation by all citizens. Its goal is to inspire every person to find their voice, and to help young people develop critical skills for tackling the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net. This column appears twice a month.
