Ryan started a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Macquarie University in 2020. In 2022, his third year of study, he completed one month of industry experience with Riverina Water, after which he was offered an extended contract and made the decision to drop to part time study to work full time. Through this he was given the opportunity to use his experience in designing a new pump station to inform my bachelor's Thesis. Throughout his employment with Riverina Water, he has been a part of a wide range of different Civil Engineering projects including structural design, safety improvements and remediation projects but it was his entry level experience in pump station design that spurned the thesis, as he thought there had to be an easier way to do it.