Hello World! My name is Nicholas Ryan, although these days everyone who knows me calls me ‘Nick Ryan,’ feel free to use it. I was born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, but completed undergrad in Dallas at Southern Methodist University. (Still waiting for my diploma to come in the mail). I majored in Strategic Brand Management Advertising and minored in Business and Japanese. いいんですね. I will be interning at Agency Entourage this summer!
Why Brand Management?
I was accepted into SMU, but coming out of high school, I had no real vocation. After taking some advertising courses, I decided that maybe working with brands would be a good fit for me. Brands convey familiarity to their fans, and great brands have an established look and feel that can be translated onto a variety of products, locations, events – you name it! The better you understand a brand and its elements, the more you can do with it.
なぜ日本語を習いますか。(Why Learn Japanese?)
My interest in the Japanese language and culture started with Nintendo. As I grew up playing Nintendo games, having my mind continuously blown away by the beautiful and intricate worlds of Mario, Zelda and many others, I began to follow the company more closely. Eventually, this spiraled into discovering and learning many different aspects of Japanese popular culture. When I had to choose a foreign language course during my freshman year at SMU and saw Japanese was an offering, I jumped at the opportunity. There is only one professor who teaches all three levels of Japanese at the university. Her strictness was intimidating initially, but her course soon became a three-year learning experience that helped me grow as a student and develop my Japanese into a viable skill for future employment or education.
What’s Next?
Like most of the world, my life plans have been put on hold in the wake of COVID-19. Being quarantined hasn’t been the worst fate imaginable, as I can still learn and develop new skills from the comfort of my own home. I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Agency Entourage has given me, especially in the midst of such uncertain times, because now I can have the agency experience while helping businesses that may be reopening after the pandemic. I can’t say for sure what opportunities may arise after this summer, but I would love to find something in Dallas, so I can move back and see my friends again. Until then, catch me working Monday through Thursday at Agency Entourage from the other side of a webcam. You can also find me any day fishing on my island in Animal Crossing!
