Penn State alumnus appointed to Brandywine Advisory Board

MEDIA, Pa. – Penn State alumnus Bruce Ryan, chief photojournalist at NBC10/Telemundo62 – Philadelphia, has been appointed to the Penn State Brandywine Advisory Board. Advisory board members serve as ambassadors for the campus and provide guidance in many areas, including student life, civic engagement, academic programs and career pathways and preparation.

Ryan, who attended Abington and University Park and earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast communication, was connected to Brandywine via Chancellor Marilyn J. Wells.

“I was very interested in joining Brandywine’s advisory board because it would allow me to give back to the school that helped me build my career,” Ryan said. “I quickly realized as I progressed through my career that Penn State as a whole provided me with great opportunities and helped me springboard into what I’m doing today.”

“As I progress on the advisory board, I want to provide Brandywine with more insight into broadcast journalism and journalism as a whole. I want to meet with communications students about the importance of journalistic ethics and morality. It’s something I think has to be fed through college because it’s really important in the journalism and communications realm. I want to help shape the future journalists of America.”

Ryan added that he also wants to give Brandywine more exposure during his tenure on the Advisory Board.

“The first little mission that I want to accomplish is allowing Penn State Brandywine’s professors and instructors to show their expertise on the news. I want to help give them more exposure.”

As the chief photojournalist at NBC10/Telemundo62 – Philadelphia, one of the city’s major broadcast news stations, Ryan is responsible for managing quality control standards, troubleshooting equipment issues and managing training. He also takes the lead in any major story the station has and thinks logistically about what cameras and vehicles to use, along with analyzing how the photographer did at their job.

“I’ve been with NBC10 for about 25 years now, and I was really happy that I got to take on the chief photojournalist position. It’s been a long time coming,” Ryan said. “I had taken charge of quite a few field assignments over the years, and I gained a reputation for being very thorough and a good team leader. When the chief photojournalist position opened up, which was a new position at the time, I decided to go for it.”

Throughout his tenure at NBC10, Ryan covered many major events, including 9/11, presidential elections, Philadelphia Eagles Superbowl appearances and the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris.

Almost every day brings a new unknown adventure, he said.

“One of my favorite moments in my career was in 2008 during the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. Back then, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were running for the Democratic presidential nomination,” he recalled. “Someone on Hillary’s communications team brought me and the reporter into a room with her and leaves. We ended up bantering with her for about 15 minutes. I’ve definitely met some interesting people in my career.”

Ryan said his undergraduate experience at Penn State taught him to stay focused on his goals.

“Penn State allowed me to really focus in on my goals and made me realize that I had to keep doing the next step,” he said. “I think attending a Commonwealth Campus like Abington helped me focus on where I wanted to go. It helped me get serious about my education so I could get into a profession that I wanted to follow.”

“Penn State provided me with a great opportunity to move my life forward. Once you graduate, even if you end up switching majors or not graduating on time, that foundation you had at Penn State will go with you everywhere. The Penn State community, especially its alumni, are very open and eager to help other Penn Staters whenever they can.”