Ryan Symes, ’08, majored in accounting at Whitworth and competed his junior and senior years on the men’s basketball team. As a forward, Ryan was instrumental in leading the team to two straight Northwest Conference championships and appearances in the NCAA Division III national tournament.

In his senior year, Ryan led Whitworth in scoring in 19 of 28 games, and led the NWC in free-throw percentage. He was named to the 2008 National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division III All-West Region First Team and was voted All-West Region Player of the Year; he was also honored with election to the D3hoops.com First Team All-Region and the All-NWC First Team, and he was named Northwest Conference Player of the Year.

“There is a great basketball tradition at Whitworth, and I’m glad I was a part of it,” says Ryan, who is now an accountant for Moss Adams LLP, in Spokane. “The coaching staff did a great job preparing us for upcoming challenges. There are a lot of things I learned on the basketball court that carry over into life as well as into the workforce.”