It wasn’t a straight drive from Tulsa to Tahlequah that brought Ryan Gendron to Northeastern State University, however, it’s a journey that has provided another student the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.
“After graduating from Bishop Kelley in 2018, I started out playing baseball at Oklahoma State University,” Gendron said. “I redshirted my freshman year before making the decision to get back to basketball and transferred to the University of Tulsa, but because of transfer rules year one and injuries my second year, I had to set on the sidelines. But thankfully, now in my fourth year of college, I was able to come to Tahlequah and play for NSU.”
The choice to play for the RiverHawks offered Ryan the chance to reunite with family.
“The first reason was that my little brother (Jake) was coming here to play and then a chance to play for coach Havens and coach Hunter made my decision easy,” said Ryan. “It’s a great college town where everyone is so accommodating. It’s been a blast since day one.”
The 2021-22 season resulted in Ryan battling injuries that kept him on the basketball sidelines, but the determination to succeed enhanced his pursuit of an undergraduate degree in Business Management. Last December, Ryan graduated Magna Cum Laude.
“That’s an MCL that I’m happy to have obtained,” Ryan chuckled. “I’m looking forward to the grad program because NSU offers an outstanding program.”
The Masters program affords Ryan to make the best of his talents.
“Our strength coach last year, Robert Hernandez, told me you’ve got to use what you’re good at,” Ryan said with passion. “I’m not sure what my future career will include, but I just want to use what I’m good at and use my abilities to serve and help others.”
Known to his teammates and fans of the men’s basketball team as the “G-Man,” Ryan Gendron wants others to know that NSU is the right choice to discover the right road to success.
“The learning opportunities are endless with top-notch education in a variety of fields,” Ryan said. “There are so many personable people that are willing to help you. NSU truly does set you up for success in life.”
