A Hampton County native represented the South Carolina Lowcountry as a member of the United States Naval Academy’s Class of 2025 while thanking the local mentors and supporters who helped her achieve that goal.
On May 23, Katherine Ryan of Hampton “successfully completed four years of challenging academic, physical, and professional military training,” states a U.S. Navy release, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy.
Ryan will begin Naval Nuclear Power School in the fall of 2025 and will begin serving as a submarine division officer the following fall.
Ryan, a graduate of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville, S.C., was a member of the academy’s 28th Company and was selected as a Bowman Scholar. She also participated in a military exchange with the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.
“I am honored to have represented Hampton County on the national level at a United States service academy,” Ryan told her hometown paper, The Hampton County Guardian. “The Naval Academy has shaped my character through challenges and rigor, as well as relationships and mentorship that are not available anywhere else in the world.
“I am incredibly grateful for the support of family and friends at home, as well as my classmates and company mates in Annapolis, who never failed to put a smile on my face after a long day. The Naval Academy gave me a great education and the opportunity to lead some of the best people in the world, U.S. Navy Sailors, but it also gave me memories and friends that will last a lifetime.”
Throughout her time at USNA, Ryan was a member of the company Academics Staff, counseling midshipmen who were facing academic difficulties, and Adjutant Staff, creating company watch schedules for different duty stations.
As a Physics major, Ryan also served as a tutor in the company for several years. During her junior year, she was privileged to study abroad at the Royal Military College of Canada as a part of a military exchange program, studying alongside cadets from the U.S., Canada, Austria, Germany, and France.
During her senior year, Ryan served as the Brigade Religious Programs Officer, a midshipman liaison to the Chaplain Center for the entire Brigade of 4,000 midshipmen, communicating services, assisting religious clubs with logistics, and building a team of Battalion level representatives to better meet the needs of the Brigade.
As a Bowman Scholar, Ryan has completed research in the field of Physics and was selected early for service in the Nuclear Navy.
Ryan credits her success in large part to the support and mentorship she received from her parents, Jake and Erin Ryan; grandparents Marvin Murdaugh and Jake and Bobby Ryan; NJROTC Instructor and mentor, Commander William Murtagh, USN; influential teacher Holly Hughes; Wade Hampton High School band director E. L. Manigo; and coaches Rob and Myrriah Hanna and Bert Burch.
“I would also like to thank all of the educators and coaches at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics for their support, influence, and expertise… and thank Mrs. Paula and Mr. Bobby Cope for their consistent support during my time in Annapolis,” said Ryan. “Your postcards always brightened my days.”
Provided by the U.S. Navy
Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a prestigious four-year service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. U.S. News and World Reports has recognized the Naval Academy as the 2024 #1 public school and #3 best liberal arts college.
Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular activities. They also study subjects such as leadership, ethics, small arms, drill, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, and military law. Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree in a choice of 26 different subject majors and go on to serve at least five years of exciting and rewarding service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.
The Brigade of Midshipmen is comprised of approximately 4,400 students from every state in the union. Each year, about 1,200 students are admitted to the Naval Academy’s incoming class.
The academy’s alumni include one U.S. President, 31 members of Congress, five governors, 73 Medal of Honor recipients, two Nobel Prize winners, 55 astronauts, 55 Rhodes Scholars, and over 4,000 admirals and generals.
Hampton County native graduates the United States Naval Academy as a leader, Bowman Scholar – Bluffton Today
