Ryan Gaynor is a summer student with a bright future; and not just because it’s summer. Ryan is everything you want in a videographer. And now we’re here to inspire you with this light, funny and blissful interview…

Ryan goes to Ryerson. As funny as that is to say it’s true. Ryan Gaynor does indeed go to Ryerson University. The videographer is currently enrolled in the RTA Media Production program. Within that program he is studying all things video related to become a bigger and better videographer. Ryan does mostly video field production, interviews and cinematography, but videography is not Ryan’s only area of expertise. Ryan also has a love for writing. In fact, during his years of high school, English was his favourite subject. “I just really enjoyed writing. It’s something that I could do naturally and do well at. At English I could just show up at and do well.” All the meanwhile Ryan was in high school, he completed his volunteer hours at a local church he grew up with and a local television station, where he would practice his skills in the field of videography.

Ryan is a very creative and artistic person. Music, photography and food are the three main things that make up who Ryan is. He said he is inspired by the creative musical writing of Neil Young. He said that he really likes his style and the way he writes his songs. It really speaks to him. While he’s got a taste of ease and mellowness to him, Ryan always enjoys a good game of sports, specifically football. In high school, he was part of his school’s football team and also was the fastest runner in his grade, he said. He was on the track and field team and did a one hundred meter sprint. Now that his time as an athlete has come and gone, Ryan explained that he enjoys his sports more as a fan than as a player.

When asked what Ryan aspires to be when he’s older, his initial response was, “Hopefully (a) human of some kind.” But on a serious note, he said “I want have a job where I feel what I’m doing at work is not just going for a 9-5 day. I want to hopefully travel and see the world. I like at this job here, the videos I’m doing here are cool.”

“I enjoy the videos but then they’re also helping impact people and they’re telling the stories of the organization.”

As a videographer at Habitat, Ryan’s time is mostly spent being creative. His job is to be present at all Habitat events to take videos, photos and get full coverage. Editing, post production and video narration, it’s all in the package. He also interviews at times. “It’s cool that I get to flex my creative muscles a bit. When you’re in the editing stage, you don’t have the final project yet. It’s like baking a cake, you can see it rising in the oven but it’s not done,” he said.

Ryan’s current projects that he’s working on are: Year of the Story, promo videos, training videos and interviews. Year of the Story is a project that Habitat For Humanity Halton-Mississauga is currently doing, focusing on the inspiring stories of Habitat’s families. Ryan’s involvement has to do with filming videos for the campaign. He will be doing three 5 minute videos that have a behind-the-scenes look at the family, and will show how Habitat has impacted their lives.

“I think Habitat does an amazing thing by helping these families get into that environment. And I really like that Habitat is not just handing over the keys to the car you know? It’s teaching them how to drive and handing them the keys because they’re not just giving you a house they’re helping build their life. I think everyone deserves the opportunity to experience a good life and to have a good home.”

Ryan believes in the mission of Habitat because employees go above and beyond with their work and strive to help others in the best possible way. “When you think (about) what Habitat does, it doesn’t just stop at someone getting a home. You think of the kids of these parents that now have a home. They’re gonna be more responsible and more knowledgeable with their money and end up in a home themselves.”

He enjoys not only the atmosphere of his workplace but the people in it as well: fellow marketing team members Sherina Harris and Nicole Fratesi. These two fellow summer students recently threw a small surprise for Ryan’s birthday. “We’re all working together to reach a common goal,” Ryan said.

This is what Ryan’s co-workers had to say about him:

“He’s really hardworking, dedicated, and has a lot of video skills to bring to the table to help the marketing team.” – Sherina Harris, Marketing and Communications Assistant

“He has his own ideas which is really nice because sometimes it’s nice to have a fresh set of eyes.”- Nicole Fratesi, Digital Marketing Assistant

“Ryan is really great about taking our brand and image and transitioning that to whatever we ask him to do.” – Sarah Golan, Marketing and Communications Manager

Ryan’s ultimate goal is to just get more content to his own creative advantage. “Here (at Habitat) I’m happy and I feel like I’m part of something good.”