Ryan was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the start of his senior year in high school, the same day he took the SAT.  Although his future study plans didn’t change, his outlook on life did.  This year Ryan is a freshman at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, studying industrial design, while he continues chemotherapy treatments.  He reminds new cancer patients “there is nothing to be gained from being negative…the reality is you have this disease…try to make something positive come out of it.”