Ryan Rickrode '11

Creative Writing, Religion | Chambersburg, Pa.

When he first came Susquehanna, Ryan Rickrode ’11 wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go to seminary, graduate school for creative writing or both.  By the end of his first year however, this creative writing/religion double major became confident that Susquehanna would prepare him for whatever the future holds.

Whether it was meeting an Alzheimer’s patient while volunteering at a nursing home, soaking up wisdom from Susquehanna’s many visiting authors or learning to write under deadline pressure as a student assistant in the school’s communications office, Rickrode’s first year  was packed with experiences that have already helped him grow as a writer.

“I’m amazed at how far I’ve progressed in one year,” Rickrode says.

He’s even had the satisfaction of seeing his fiction published in RiverCraft, Susquehanna’s literary journal. “As a freshman, that was a really big deal to me,” he says.

Rickrode, of Chambersburg, Pa., is now a fiction editor for RiverCraft and a head editor of the Susquehanna Review, the university’s national undergraduate literary magazine.  Ryan is also a member of Susquehanna’s swing dancing club and a member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.  In InterVarsity, he plays guitar on the worship team and participates in weekly Bible studies.

Ryan adds that he’s always known he wanted to be a writer and selected Susquehanna after taking part in a summer writing workshop. “I decided this was my first choice,” he says. “It’s a small school, and the professors have time for you. They’re always willing to help you out.”

In particular, Rickrode is impressed with Professor of English and Creative Writing  Tom Bailey’s passion for writing and teaching. “He just makes you want to write better, to get it right,” Rickrode says. And while the school is small, the student talent on campus is big. “It’s amazing to live in a community of writers,” he notes. “There are always people I can go to for feedback.”