US Rep. Tim Ryan tells Struthers Middle Schoolers who influenced his life

February 10, 2016 at 12:02a.m.

STRUTHERS

It took a short time and little effort for Carson Ryan to draw parallels between how he says his uncle, Tim Ryan, treats the family and the qualities he exudes while serving in Congress.

“He’s the best uncle and stepdad. He treats our family well and always wants what’s best for us,” the eighth-grader said, referring to U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th. “He wants the whole nation to be healthy and successful.”

Carson and an estimated 170 fellow Struthers Middle School eighth-graders received that message and others during a one-hour motivational talk the elder Ryan delivered Tuesday at the school, 111 Euclid Ave.

Ryan, who also serves on the House Appropriations Committee, told his young audience he drew inspiration from having watched a documentary on the late James “Jimmy” Valvano, a Rutgers University graduate and former North Carolina State University head basketball coach.

Valvano was inducted into Rutgers’ Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, the same year he died of cancer. When the former basketball player and coach gave presentations, he often urged his audiences to never give up in the face of adversity.

Ryan noted that Valvano often talked about how ordinary people can do extraordinary things, a mantra the congressman said he tries to uphold while serving his constituents.

The average person lives between 650,000 and 700,000 hours, which really isn’t a long time to develop the courage and use the energy to tap into one’s power and potential. Nevertheless, the two most-powerful tools people have toward getting closer to that goal are the daily conversations with and opinions of themselves, he stressed.

“Tap into that potential and do something extraordinary with it. This is what society needs,” Ryan said.

To that end, Ryan added he tries to push initiatives he feels will strengthen families, including ensuring that people from all walks of life and income levels have universal health-care coverage and helping students to receive a solid education without ending up thousands of dollars in debt.

“Everybody in the wealthiest country on God’s green Earth should have health care,” he said, adding that the students should not allow naysayers to define their capabilities.

Ryan also told the youngsters that even though adversity and hardship are inevitable, the true test of strength will be how they respond to difficulties they will face.

During the question-and-answer portion, Ryan urged the students to participate in the democratic process by voting in local, state and national elections when they’re old enough.

After Ryan’s presentation, Jared Laczko said he admires how the lawmaker tries to help others, as well as his message on people having the ability to conquer their fears and reach for their potential and aspirations.

“I’m just so proud of them,” Jaclyn Kuntz, an eighth-grade language-arts teacher, said of Jared and Carson, both of whom are her students.