Ryan Clark

Ryan “Stack” Clark is described by people who knew him as having the best smile and the best laugh around, as well as having a special knack for giving the best hugs.

“His laughter, his love; (he was) a guy that could make you feel incredible,” said senior Jeananne Tiffany about her co-worker, “He was an inspiration to a lot of people.”

Living true to the Virginia Tech motto, “That I May Serve,” Clark served as a leader and friend to many of his fellow Tech students. He was a personnel officer for the Marching Virginians, a member of the service organization Circle K, a resident advisor in West Ambler-Johnston Hall and a staff member of the Imaginarium, the program resource
room for residence hall staff located on the third floor of WAJ.

Clark was also a triple major in psychology, biology and English and wanted to pursue a doctorate in psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience after graduating.

Tiffany, who worked at the Imaginarium with Ryan, said that one thing that really said a lot about Ryan’s personality was how much time he put into being an R.A. and a member of the Imaginarium staff.

“We were open 20 hours a week and I would say Ryan was in there 15 hours a week just to be around the employees,” Tiffany said. “Others always came before himself, and he got joy out of helping others.”

Tiffany said that everyone in the Imaginarium teased him for the amount of time that he spent making bulletin boards for his hall. She said that it was required that the RA’s make one board a month, and Ryan would usually make four or five a month.

“He loved doing stuff for his residents,” Tiffany said, “He talked about (them) all the time at work.”

Tiffany said that Ryan was a perfectionist when it came his bulletin boards and the staff was always scared of messing up when they were helping him.

“He was very detailed on coloring, he was a perfectionist on coloring,” Tiffany said.

Tiffany recalled a time when Ryan had to leave for a staff meeting and left it up to her to color the Daffy Duck he was working on for a bulletin board. After being extremely careful in trying not to mess it up, she realized that the bow tie was the wrong color.

“We freaked out and had to cut another one out to replace it,” Tiffany said. “He never found out until we told him months later.”

She said that Ryan would send her e-mails and instant messages when she was having a bad day and was one person who could make her feel incredible.

“The thing I miss most about Ryan is his hugs,” Tiffany said.

The Imaginarium wasn’t the only place Ryan put in a lot of time and dedication. As a fifth year Marching Virginian, Ryan was not only a baritone player, he was also a beloved leader.

Matt Bartley, a sophomore trumpet player in the Marching Virginians, said that he had only known Ryan for a short amount of time before he roomed with him at the ACC basketball tournament in Tampa this year.

Bartley said that since a lot of his friends didn’t go on the trip, Ryan “really went out of his way to make me feel comfortable with his friends, and be a friend.”

Dave McKee, director of the Marching Virginians, said that as personnel officer, Ryan ran the records of everyone in the band and was often the first person a new member interacted with. He said that Ryan was as extraordinary a person as he had ever been around at Virginia Tech.

“He always made people smile, always brought out the best in people,” McKee said.

Ryan was also a leader outside the Virginia Tech community. He worked at Camp Big Heart, a camp for children and adults with disabilities, during his summers at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Ga.

Jaclyn Price, a fellow employee and a student at University of Georgia, said in an e-mail that she met Ryan two summers ago when he was the music director and she was a unit leader for a cabin of boys. She said that Ryan was someone she would never forget.

“He made me feel welcome at the camp and he is the reason I wanted to come back the following year,” Price said. “He just made you so happy when you saw him and he made me laugh all the time.”

Carrie Johnson, R.A. for fourth floor WAJ, agreed that Ryan was definitely a memorable person. She said that he would come in her room and talk about anything and everything.

“You could hear him laughing, hear him coming from a mile away,” Johnson said. “(His laugh) was definitely contagious.”
Ryan was always very complimentary of others, but very critical of himself, Johnson said. She said that he always blamed himself when one of his residents got in trouble, and that he loved his residents.

“Ryan was a hero, he was just doing his job,” Johnson said. “Few of us would have been that brave.”