Liberty Online graduate and U.S. military veteran reflects on alma mater’s life-changing influence

United States Marine Corps veteran and Liberty University Online graduate Ryan Smith (’16), who was recently named the new community superintendent for Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, N.C., credits his time at Liberty for being instrumental in preparing him for the work he does today.

He received high commendation from Dr. Donato Cuadrado, the Department of Defense Education Activity’s (DoDEA) Mid-Atlantic district superintendent who announced his promotion.

“Ryan Smith’s collaborative leadership approach will benefit the Camp Lejeune community,” Dr. Duadrado said in a press release. “Mr. Smith has proven to be an effective and compassionate leader both in the Marine Corps and as an educator in the DoDEA. He is passionate about serving military-connected kids.”

Smith served as a nuclear biological chemical defense specialist for six years in the Marine Corps before being honorably discharged and pursuing his degrees in education.

A native of New York, he said that one of the most incredible memories from his Liberty journey was when he visited campus in 2016 to fulfill degree requirements for licensure and to experience in person what he had enjoyed so thoroughly online.

“I was able to visit Liberty for three weeks and really develop relationships with some of my professors who I had seen online but hadn’t really had the chance to converse with too much,” Smith said. “To be able to go there and experience the campus and experience the family atmosphere and feeling of Liberty University was amazing.”

Smith is currently serving as the principal at C.C. Pinckney Elementary School in Jackson, S.C., but will begin his new job of community superintendent at Camp Lejeune in September. Although his Master’s in Educational Leadership degree from Liberty has opened doors along his career path, Smith is also thankful for how Liberty’s steadfast Christian example has influenced the way he serves others while at work.

“You really don’t realize the experience of Liberty University until you get there,” he said.

As a school principal, Smith models servant leadership by being visible throughout the school, helping in the lunchroom, greeting children and parents during drop-off, and by filling in when there is not a substitute teacher to do so.

After having grown up as a shy child and teenager, Smith enlisted in the Marines and afterwards attended SUNY Brockport where he met his now wife, Tracy. Following graduation, the newlyweds moved to New York City where Smith taught at the Harriet Tubman Charter School as a physical education and health teacher while he worked to receive his master’s degree in athletic administration from Canisius College.

In 2012 they moved to the Maxwell Air Force Base where Smith helped to start the middle school athletics program. It was there that Smith was told by a co-worker that he had what it would take to pursue educational leadership.

Desiring to achieve his next career goal of becoming a principal, Smith talked with a friend in 2014 who recommended Liberty’s Online Programs, due to their reputation of accommodating full-time employees and their appreciation for military veterans.

“They made it feel like you weren’t just enrolled there to learn, but you were also going there for the experience that Liberty University offers and the family lifestyle that is offered,” he said.

In Smith’s eyes, it was apparent through their actions that Liberty faculty and staff are on the same page in their mission ­of Training Champions for Christ.

“All the people there had the same modalities, the same thought processes, and we all understood why we were there,” Smith said. “It was just overall a great experience.”