Ryan Childress - Tulsa, OK

Ryan Childress is an attorney in Tulsa who came from humble beginnings. The son of an auto mechanic, Ryan had to work very hard in life to earn scholarships to pay for his education. In high school is where Ryan first shined bright. He worked, played tennis, maintained a 4.0+ GPA, graduated in the top 10 of his class, was twice-elected President of Key Club (a high school arm of Kiwanis that aims at public service for needs in the community), and was class president all four years of high school. The last three years, he ran unopposed. It was Ryan’s personal approach to his peers that separated him from the rest. Everyone matters, and he did everything he could to show each person that he was a sincere leader.

Athletically, Ryan was a star tennis player before becoming an attorney. He was the only four-year varsity letterman when he graduated. He was conference champion numerous times in both singles and doubles.

Ryan first learned the value of hard work in high school on the Speech and Debate team. After qualifying to nationals twice, and being ranked one of the top 25 debaters in the nation in overall points accumulated by the National Forensics League, Ryan earned a debate scholarship to attend Missouri State University. Beyond debate, Ryan earned a full academic scholarship to assist in becoming an attorney as well as several leadership scholarships.

At Missouri State, Ryan truly shined. He majored in Public Relations with minors in Technical Writing and Public Law (a minor designed to prepare a student for law school to become an attorney). Outside the classroom, Ryan worked multiple jobs while holding numerous leadership roles on campus. Those roles include, but are not limited to, a Resident Assistant, Executive Board of the Student Government Association, Tutor, Assistant Director of Forensics at Parkview High School, and he was even appointed by then Governor Roy Blunt to serve as Student Governor on the Missouri State University System Board of Governors. This was the highest leadership position on campus.

After his eight-year commitment to high school speech and debate, Ryan put his experience on paper when he wrote, “The Super-Novice File: A Beginner’s Guide to Policy Debate.” The National Forensics League (now National Speech & Debate Association) was so thrilled with the work they made it their official guide to policy debate for the entire country for beginning coaches and students.