Ryan Schiltz

Background

About Ryan Schiltz

My name is Ryan Schiltz, and I work for the missionary organization FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) as a campus missionary at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign! My current role is to engage with students on campus and help them to walk in their faith. This includes accompanying students in retreats, Bible studies, small group discipleship, mission trips, and more. To learn more about my story and my role as a campus missionary visit: https://focus.org/missionaries/ryan-schiltz/ I graduated from Iowa State University in the spring of 2024 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Biology. At Iowa State I focused on engineering classes as well as pre-medical classes while preparing for a career in the biomedical engineering field. This has given me a background in topics such as organic chemistry, physiology, and nutrition in addition to my core engineering classes. At Iowa State, I was involved in several research groups as both an undergraduate research assistant and a member of the Freshman Honors Mentor Program. This included studies in forensics nanotechnology and biomechanics studies. Outside of my studies I was able to dedicate time by serving in roles for my church, the engineering career fair, and my fraternity Phi Kappa Psi as the scholarship chair. Additionally, I had the opportunity to be involved in other opportunities such as Dance Marathon, dormitory floor committee, and raise money through philanthropic organizations such as Special Olympics Iowa and YSS family counseling. I had the opportunity to intern at Abbott Laboratories in Plymouth Minnesota in the summer of 2022. I was placed in Research and Development in the Medical Devices unit working in the Electrophysiology Department. This gave me the opportunity to work closely with RF ablation catheters at a developmental level while also focusing on my own project. In the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in a summer formational program offered by FOCUS known as Summer Projects. For the program, I lived in Big Sky Montana while working a serving job for the resort. Alongside a full time job, I had the opportunity to participate in my Catholic faith through various formational activities while also living in community with other college students.