Non-traditional student, Bryan, gets fresh start
“One word to describe myself? I’d say nontraditional,” Garry Bryan says with a chuckle.
Garry Bryan is a Liberal Arts major at Kirkwood. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Bryan attended Tucker High School where he was involved with band and orchestra. After attending school at Dekalb Community College, Bryan worked in the IT industry for 20 years.
Listing the reasons for coming to Kirkwood, Bryan stated that he hadn’t been in school for so long, thought it was the right decision and it was less expensive. He and his wife moved to the Cedar Rapids area two years ago. After Kirkwood, Bryan plans on possibly transferring to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
While at Kirkwood, Bryan has received several prestigious awards including the English department’s Outstanding College Writing Award, Outstanding Non-Traditional Student and first place for the League of Innovations – For Love of Words contest. “I guess it would be the feeling I need to overachieve. I’m curious about everything,” Bryan replied with when asked about what motivates him.
Bryan plans on pursuing a career in writing but he’s not sure what yet. “English is an art form: I can build sculptures, write symphonies, or paint portraits, all with just a pencil and some paper (or better yet, a computer and printer), and these can be shared with and interpreted by others,” Bryan said about why he enjoys English. One of the most interesting things about Bryan, besides the fact that he can play 13 instruments, is his extensive honors project.
“I decided to research the lyar because it sort of vanished, so I wanted to speculate why it happened.” Even with limited knowledge on the subject matter, Bryan actually constructed and produced an original lyar using construction grade material. “It’s good for a child’s first instrument,” Bryan went on to say.
In his free time, Bryan enjoys writing and woodworking. “Historical musical instruments are rewarding to build. Really, though, most of the pleasure is in the process of creating something from wood.”