Andrew Ryan, an award-winning journalist and Chinese language television host, was the invited speaker in Professor Patrick Corbett’s Advanced Career Writing class last week. Ryan shared his experiences as the host of a travel television show now in its second season in Taiwan, where he travels the country with a blind co-host whom he guides through experiences that are typically reserved for sighted people such as surfing, scuba diving and spelunking.
“Andrew Ryan’s visit was an opportunity for writing students at City Tech to interact with someone who has built an international career by putting into practice the core ideas and professional principles we are exploring in the classroom. His work as a reporter, television host, and expert commentator on Taiwanese culture is a case study not just in how to engage an audience through effective communication, but how to do so in a way that also serves the public interest,” says Corbett.
Students were enthralled as Ryan spoke about how he has followed his passion for Chinese language and culture from being a Fulbright scholar, to media fixer/stringer, to public radio journalist, to TV host.
“I especially enjoyed Andrew Ryan’s interpretation of the people he meets and the way he spoke about a culture that I would not usually be exposed too. I felt connected to them. Sharing their stories was a great way to get us thinking and listening! I left the presentation inspired to be more passionate in all aspects of the pursuit towards my degree and career,” says Jessica Rivera, a Bachelors’ student in the Law and Paralegal Studies department.
Andrew Ryan has been a program host and producer for Radio Taiwan International since 1999. He won two Golden Bell Awards (Taiwan’s version of an Emmy) in 2013: one for Best Variety Show Host along with Ellen Chu for Feast Meets West (about the food culture of Taiwan); and one for Best Feature, for a series of short radio plays called “Classic Shorts” which introduces Chinese language and culture. He is also the host of a TV travel program (now in its second season) on Taiwan Public Television Service called “From Hear to There,” in which he and a blind co-host travel around Taiwan in search of sounds and stories.
Ryan taking a lesson on the “yuechin” (“moon-shaped flute”), from one of Taiwan’s most respected folk musicians.
Andrew first came to Taiwan on a Fulbright scholarship in 1996 after graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in communications. In addition to his radio and television work, he is also a freelance film translator and has traveled to the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Canada interpreting for actors, performance troupes, and musicians.