The Untold Story of... Ryan Decker '08

1. I was born in Buffalo, New York. My father worked for the railroad and we moved six times before I turned eight. Our shortest stay was in Pittsburgh where we lived for only six months. When I was eight, my family settled in Delmar, New York and that is where we remained for the rest of my childhood.
2. My most memorable experience was going to Greenland with Dr. Allan Weatherwax and the 109th Airlift Wing. The purpose of the trip was to repair antennas and a research computer that had failed. Apparently, Musk ox like to chew on the antenna cables. I can't image why. They taste terrible!
3. I started working for Siena the day after I graduated in 2008. I am thankful to the people who helped me develop and grow as a professional: Ken Swarner, Angelo Santabarbara, Mary Parlett-Sweeney, Andy Nipon and the late Mark Berman. Without them, I would not be who I am today.
4. I have had the same group of friends since primary school. We try to meet for breakfast at least once a month.
5. My wife, Laura, and I knew of each other growing up. We were in the same grade, our sisters were friends and we lived directly behind each other. We reconnected in our mid-twenties much to the delight of our mothers. We were married in Siena's Chapel by Fr. William Beaudin '76 , O.F.M. The chapel ironically is located directly above my office.
6. My wife failed to mention that fraternal twins run in her family. To only my surprise, my wife and I found out we were expecting twins during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our twin boys, Tony and Frank, were born May 2021. Due to the pandemic, no visitors were allowed in the hospital nor was I allowed to leave. My wife and I are very thankful to the staff and nurses at St. Peter's Hospital for their help during our stay.
7. I also have a daughter, Isabelle, who is nine. Her goal is to visit every state in the United States and we are slowly helping her achieve that goal. So far, we have only visited six, with the hopes of visiting more this year.
8. My favorite vacation was our Hawaiian honeymoon. We explored the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Pearl Harbor, but the highlight was visiting Maui. We feel very fortunate to have experienced the beauty of Lahaina just before it was destroyed by the 2023 wild fires.
9. I am a huge home audio enthusiast and have built many speakers and subwoofers.
10. My family and I love to go to the beach. Every summer we spend a week at the Jersey shore. My only worry when we go on this vacation is not the Garden State Parkway but the sun. I sunburn extremely easily. The first year we went I developed such a horrible sunburn that I will never make that mistake again.

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