Coming From a Real Place

Ryan Danks

“Pella is lucky to have Central and vice versa.”

– Ryan Danks

Hometown: Pella, Iowa
Education: DePauw University, University of Michigan Law School
Title: Chief, Washington Criminal I Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Location: Washington, D.C.


Ryan Danks considers himself a child of the college even though he is not an alumnus. His immediate family is comprised of longtime Central community alumni, faculty and supporters; his extended family includes many more. Many of his childhood memories revolve around Central’s campus:

  • Saturday afternoons watching football games
  • Taking classes in the Lubbers Center as a high school student
  • Playing racquetball at the H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse
  • Attending concerts at Douwstra Auditorium

As he grew older, Danks came to appreciate the important role that Central plays in Pella. Like many Pella High seniors, he took his first college course at Central: Introduction to Comparative Politics with Professor of Political Science Keith Yanner. He regularly hears about how his parents, Jim Danks ’64 and Phyllis Danks, enjoy the Central RED Society. Danks and his wife Ariel Hayes understand the need for the Pella community to support Central. They enthusiastically support Central students through the Journey Scholarship Fund and the Dr. Maureen Danks Scholarship, which is in memory of his late mother.

“She died in 1981,” says Danks, sitting at a table in Fred’s during homecoming. “After her death, friends and family sponsored an endowed scholarship in her name. Ariel and I are continuing to support that and in the last few years have begun supporting Journey Scholarships as well. We know that those funds are put immediately to use and play an important role in allowing students to be able to come here.”

“Pella is lucky to have Central and vice versa,” he continues. “A great deal of support has come to the college from Pella families and businesses—including some who, like me, are not graduates. People in Pella recognize that Central plays an important role in making Pella the great town that it is—culturally, economically and recreationally. The town also supports the college by hiring a lot of alumni and offering internships and other experiences to students while they’re here.”

“I am trying to follow the example set by my parents, Jim and Phyllis, and it reflects just how important the Central community has been to me. The most significant people in my life have been connected to the college, including many famous Central names who taught my parents or taught alongside them,” he continues. “These are the people I had Sunday dinner with and celebrated holidays with. My support for the college is a way of paying forward the contributions that they all gave me.”

What, exactly, did they give him? Danks thinks for a bit. “Coming from Pella gave me a chance to carry with me a strong sense of self and community. Growing up in Pella, everyone was expected to be involved in something beyond your day-to-day life: things like volunteering at Tulip Time or participating in school activities. As a result, I do think public service is very important. It can take many forms—volunteer activities, charitable contributions. In Pella, I had good role models for that kind of involvement, and I treasure them.”

 

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