RYAN SELVAGGIO

2015-16 Traveling Fellow
Turning Mirrors into Windows: Understanding How Teachers, School Leaders, and Community Leaders Can Work Collaboratively to Promote Educational Awareness, Reform, and Growth

An exploration of how communities, the government, and community agencies (schools, nonprofit/non-governmental organizations, international non-governmental agencies, etc.) collaborate, support, and advocate for education, educational programs, educational policies, and educational best practices.

In partnership with the Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship Program (a Department of State/Fulbright affiliated program that brings professionals around the world in various fields for a year of study at a United States higher educational institution) and previous educational Humphrey Fellows that have been Fellows at Vanderbilt University, Ryan connected with these phenomenal leaders to truly see educational and community leadership in action.

Hometown: Marietta, GA
Major/Minor: Human and Organizational Development/Corporate Strategy

At Vanderbilt, Ryan was an Ingram Scholar and served in multiple leadership positions including Co-President for Habitat for Humanity and Head Resident of Carmichael Towers. He was also Co-President of Grassroots, an organization that seeks to empower the marginalized by connecting students and resources with some of Nashville’s most impactful non-profits.

His interest in education and fostering innovative collaboration and partnerships inside communities stemmed from a summer project in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013 in which he worked to develop stronger relations between the school and the community. Ryan received the William Aaron Pathfinder Award, a campus-wide recognition given to a student whose service efforts and leadership show “vison, creativity, and innovation” (administered by Office of Active Citizenship and Service, OACS).

Since 2018, Ryan has been a high school teacher for Students with Interrupted Formal Education at Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Ryan holding a Brazilian flag and his Brazilian friend holding an American flag

TRAVEL STORIES

During my time in India, my friend and mentor Lauren Moon (a staff member at the Office of Active Citizenship and Service at Vanderbilt) connected me with a school a couple of hours outside of Bangalore called Shanti Bhavan. While in India, I had the chance to travel to Shanti Bhavan, observe their local teachers and teachers that they brought together from across the world, learn from the students, and also learn from the staff at the school. For the two weeks that I was there, I built friendships, pedagogy, lesson planning skills, educational leadership mentalities, and an appreciation for an educational system different than my own. I lived my life alongside the staff and students, even joining in on sports, celebrations, travel, and more. I am so grateful to Lauren for the connection and for the staff and students at Shanti Bhavan for welcoming me and giving me a chance to teach and lead and learn.

During my time in Dassa-Zoume, Benin, I stayed with Hilarion Vegba (Vanderbilt Humphrey Fellow and principal of a school at the time), and we spent so much time together. We would eat our meals together alongside his family, I would observe and take part in his meetings within his school and in the community, we presented at a district professional development and at a local university together, wrote a grant proposal for an English lab that he was hoping to start up, we went hiking and exploring together after school each day, and overall he welcomed me so well into his home, his community, and his school. I learned so much about leadership, community, family, and teaching from my time with him.

During my time in the Philippines, Roselle Mendoza (Humphrey Fellow from Vanderbilt University and educator in the Philippines) brought me with her to the small village of Bugkalot within her provincial district where she was once a principal in order for us to meet the staff there, take part in an Indigenous Day celebration, and get to experience some of the overwhelming beauty of the mountains and rice terraces of the Philippines. To get there, I had to ride on the back of a motorcycle for hours on mainly dirt and mud roads, an experience I will never forget! I learned so much about policy and leadership and capacity building from my time in schools, governmental offices, and adventures alongside Roselle and her colleagues. Roselle even found a chance for me to be a panelist and presenter at a provincial research conference during my time there!

Alongside my times within schools and communities and agencies within Brazil and Chile, I also had some extra time built into my travels, so I planned my trip to overlap with Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and also built in time to travel to Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia in southern Chile where my friend Jeff Swaney met me for a time of hiking and camping and connection. Alongside all of my travels and opportunities of learning and mentorship during my Keegan Fellowship year, I was so grateful for time to embrace the culture and energy of Brazil and the other places I traveled and also adventure alongside one of my best friends in one of the most remote and breathtaking spots in the world. Having those points of grounding led to moments of refreshment and experiences I will never forget.

Ryan in the classroom in India — “Even though I went in [to the Keegan traveling year] expecting to become a better teacher and educational leader, I also realized that I became a more worldly-focused person, a person who seeks to learn about the cultures and values of others, a person who desires to travel and embrace the cultures that exist in our widespread world, a person who is centered and content regardless of the situation, and a person who seeks to listen to and advocate for those around me. ”

— Ryan Selvaggio, 2015-16

ITINERARY