Ryan is graduating from Hauppauge High School in Hauppauge, New York and will be attending Salisbury University in Maryland in the fall, where she will also play soccer. Ryan lost her father Steve, a New York City police officer, to a 9/11-related cancer when she was 9 years old. Shortly after her fathers passing, Ryan participated in a soccer cancer fundraiser called “Kicks for Cancer”, which she has done every year since.

Her passion grew from selling bracelets as a young girl to actively soliciting sponsorships from local businesses as a high school senior, where her team’s fundraising efforts raised over $40,000 for the cause.