Red Bank Regional senior Ryan Lloyd, pictured at his future school, St. Joseph University in Philadelphia, received the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Sam Mills Scholarship in the State of New Jersey, given to a high school club member who has overcome great adversity.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
It took a serious injury from a traffic accident — and the chaos in the wake of Superstorm Sandy — to endow Ryan Lloyd’s life with challenges and adversity. It took faith, courage, and dedication to confront those challenges, and to earn the Red Bank Regional High School senior a well-deserved recognition from the New Jersey Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Each year, the Fellowship presents a scholarship to the male and female member who have most triumphed over adversity. This year’s recipient of the Sam Mills Memorial Scholarship award (for young men) was bestowed upon Ryan Lloyd.
Ryan became the Vice President of the Class of 2014 in his freshman year, played football, ran outdoor track and bowled. He found a very happy home in RBR’s Academy of Sports Medicine and Management, concentrating on a subject he hoped to pursue in college. By June of his sophomore year, he was chosen to be the schools HOBY Ambassador for leadership. He was an active volunteer in his community, where he served as a camp counselor 20 hours a week at his hometown’s summer recreation program since he was in eighth grade.
One day in 2011, he was riding his bike home from his volunteer job at his town’s recreation program, when he was hit by an SUV. He sustained a serious head contusion and endured a painful recovery, suffering debilitating headaches from the injury. No longer able to play football, he turned his enthusiasm for the sport to the role of team manager and mascot and donned the costume of the RBR BUC at every game. Acting as RBR’s biggest sports fan, Ryan soon learned he liked playing the BUC, even more than playing football.
Following his recovery, Ryan made the most of his high school experience and participated in the Key Club, Indoor Track, Men’s Choir, and was selected as a Student-to-Student Peer Leader, and of course, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which over time became very important to him.
“We discuss topics in the bible and sports, and how it relates to life,” he explains. “It gives me courage and perseverance.”
That perseverance was essential to Ryan when tragedy touched him again during last school year, as SuperStorm Sandy seriously damaged his home and displaced him and his family for over five months.
Approaching the end of his high school career, Ryan could barely contain his enthusiasm with his acceptance to his number one choice, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Ryan, having family roots in the area, is the biggest Philadelphia sports fan—whether it be the Eagles, Philles, Flyers, or Sixers.
As Ryan states, “The school is perfect for me as it is located in my favorite city, is a Jesuit school, and has a great sports management program.”
The Sam Mills Scholarship will help fund Ryan’s studies in sports marketing.
