Ryan Inglis '21 Recruiting Profile

I am currently a senior at The Morgan School in Clinton, CT, and have been playing football since the 5th grade. I immediately fell in love with the sport. There is no other sport like football; it teaches more life lessons than any other sport I have played. I play football for grit, the challenge, and camaraderie. One of my proudest accomplishments besides achieving All-Conference/DB last year and being elected captain by my peers this year was receiving a special award from my head football coach. This recognition was called the "Togo Award." Togo was a lead sled dog that made a treacherous journey across Alaska in 1925 to bring a life-saving serum back to a village so that hundreds of children could be saved from Diptheria. Togo represents the heart of a survivor who never gives up no matter the circumstances. He led his team through some of the worst weather conditions and had the longest stretch in the journey to get this medicine to its destination: two hundred and sixty miles of the six-hundred and seventy-four-mile trip. My actions on and off the field for the last four years of high school football have demonstrated that I am determined, disciplined, passionate, caring, and loyal. I care about being a good role model for others, I am committed to the journey no matter how hard it may be and never want my teammates to give up on their goals. 

Aside from football, I want to attend a college that also fits me academically.  I have plans to major in Criminal Justice. I have been a member of our local police youth group for the last three years. We participate in various community fundraising events including food drives and volunteering in our local food pantry. 

I am also a proud member of our school-based substance-abuse prevention club. As part of this club, we raise money for our local social services department to help families in need. We also educate our peers about the importance of remaining sober and substance-free. Due to the recent increase in depression, anxiety, and suicide among young adults nationwide we have also been spending a large amount of time spreading awareness about the importance of a teenager's emotional and social well-being. I recently received a three-year certification in the Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Program. The QPR program was developed to detect and respond to anyone showing suicide warning signs.  As a gatekeeper I have been trained on how to "Question" a person that may be exhibiting suicidal thoughts, "Persuade" an individual to get help by being an attentive listener, and how to make a "Referral", connecting a person with a mental health professional. This training provided me with the critical ability to recognize the signs of someone struggling and the confidence to help a person get in touch with a qualified medical professional. 

In closing, I would like to share a part of my Football Captain Application Essay, which I wrote earlier this school year. It describes how I feel about true leadership.

"A leader does not have to be the strongest, the fastest, or the most talented. Leadership is a mentality. A mentality to pull the sled, to find the light at the end of the darkest tunnels, the ability to strive when there seems to be no hope and all the fight in their breath has disappeared. Not only does a leader have to portray this mindset but also spread it amongst his peers or teammates. Leaders build relationships and trust.  The team and its leaders will all have the same vision, the same path, to become the best version of themselves and strive to the top. A leader commits actions and makes decisions that benefit others and the shared goal of his/her followers; that is leadership. A successful leader inspires action and camaraderie."