After watching President Clinton’s first inauguration on television in her third grade class, Ryan DiAngelis made a promise to herself: that one day, she would be reciting that poetic oath of office. She would be an expert on law-making, foreign affairs, and protecting the people of America. She would be admired as a woman who went above and beyond the call of duty to serve her country as one of the greatest presidents in American history.
Almost nine years later, her goals have changed quite a bit-while the opening paragraph to her biography has not. This is Ryan’s second year as a Ward Fellow, a privilege not granted very often. Last summer, she worked as the Fellow to Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham, an experience that changed her views on the state, politics, and her own future. While it is safe to say that Ryan will not be on the presidential ballot anytime in the near future, her internship in the Massachusetts State House showed her the promise and potential of state politics.
This year, Ryan finds herself at The Boston Globe, as Ward Fellow to Deputy Editorial Page Editor Robert Turner, a job which she hopes will further broaden her prospects for the future. Having always been interested in the media and communications, Ryan worked for the Youth Voice Collaborative, a project of the YWCA Boston, on a program called The Voice for several years. At The Voice, an online Internet news magazine written by and for young adults, Ryan served as an editor for two years, and editor-in-chief of the paper for another two, a project which kept her very busy.
In June of this year, Ryan graduated from Boston Latin School. She was an editor for both the school newspaper and the literary magazine, a member of Politicus (a politics and debate team), a member of the Gospel Choir, and in the National Honor Society. She was also a founding member of the “Ward Fellowship Society” a program during the school year that tried to extend the advantages of the Ward Fellowship to other students in the school.
This fall, Ryan will be attending Brandeis University, where she looks forwards to studying political science and journalism. While her career aspects are still broad, Ryan is grateful to the Ward Fellowship for allowing her glimpses into two careers that interest her greatly: politics and the media.
This summer, working as a Ward Fellow to The Boston Globe Deputy Editorial Page Editor, Robert Turner, Ryan hopes to gain first hand experience in the art of editorializing, among other things. She anticipates a very interesting and educational summer as a Ward Fellow, both in and out of the editorial office at the Globe.