Finding happiness in an unexpected way
Psychology professor Ryan Hovis finds his home and future at Bethel University to pursue his dream of being happy.
Leena Darwish | Reporting I Student
Ryan Hovis grinned from ear to ear when he received his acceptance to Bethel University. Hovis knew Bethel was where he was meant to grow and become what he wanted to be: happy.
Hovis attended South Dakota State University for a few years and then realized he didn’t want to continue with his chosen major, electrical engineering. Electrical engineering fueled his given talents in math and science, but after some time he realized he had no passion for engineering. Hovis felt lost and stuck in his major and feared that his future wouldn’t be bright and passionate. It was the lowest point of his life, realizing he was on the wrong path and at the same time still developing his identity and who he is as a person. He wished and looked for answers but came to the conclusion that though his situation was not ideal, every bad moment could be seen and changed into an opportunity.
“I think the thing that came from that, even though engineering came to an end and even though my time at SDSU came to an end, I was going to be starting something far more wonderful,” Hovis said. “And I am grateful that I did not allow the depression or the sadness of the moment of an ending keep me from moving forward to a new beginning.”
Hovis was given the chance to be happier and go on to something wonderful, even though he didn’t know what it was going to be.
“To take such a meandering path from engineering to clinical psychology was not what I expected to happen.
But I ended up where I wanted to be and where I hope to be which is happily doing something that had meaning to me” — Ryan Hovis, Psychology Department professor
Hovis did not allow that sad moment to keep him away from discovering his new beginning. He transferred to Rochester Community and Technical College where he found his love for psychology for two years before he applied to Bethel University to start his junior year.
“To take such a meandering path from engineering to clinical psychology was not what I expected to happen,” Hovis said. “But I ended up where I wanted to be and where I hope to be which is happily doing something that had meaning to me”
Unexpectedly, Hovis loved people, both helping and understanding them. After taking a few psychology classes and speaking to professors, he knew that going into psychology would make him happy.
“I think I’m shaped by what I do, in the sense that I am in awe of the human spirit that it gives and leaves me far more hopeful than I would have ever anticipated that in doing my work, whether it’s in the classroom or in a clinical room, that people amaze me,” Hovis said.
“At other schools there wasn’t a sense of encouragement, the way that I experienced here at Bethel, to say, develop a community here. And it was something that I didn’t know I needed until I got here and it was fantastic,” Hovis said. “Discovering how powerful it played a role in my life and becoming a better person.” — Ryan Hovis, Psychology Department professor
Going to Bethel allowed Hovis to practice his beliefs and grow into his field while growing into the person he wanted to be in a nursing community. Bethel was able to help him make relationships and have a happy future.
“At other schools there wasn’t a sense of encouragement, the way that I experienced here at Bethel, to say, develop a community here. And it was something that I didn’t know I needed until I got here and it was fantastic,” Hovis said. “Discovering how powerful it played a role in my life and becoming a better person.”
After getting his Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Bethel, Hovis went to Wheaton College in Illinois for his masters in Clinical Psychology and stayed to get his Psy.D as well. He then returned to Bethel to teach alongside being a clinical therapist.
Hovis was able to achieve his goals, doing something he loves and being happy surrounded by people he loves and appreciates who also feel the same way about him.
“Dr. Hovis is a gracious, warm and humorous person.”, Psychology professor Angela Sabates said.
“I want to leave the world, on an individual level, a little kinder and a little more loving, even if it’s on an individual level, even if it’s on a familial level. That I leave a legacy of love and a legacy of kindness and a legacy of inclusion and allow the rippling effects of that to carry out beyond my lifetime.” — Ryan Hovis, Psychology Department professor
He hopes people understand that everyone is amazing, challenges don’t define a person and everything has a deeper store the people see on the surface.
“I want to leave the world, on an individual level, a little kinder and a little more loving, even if it’s on an individual level, even if it’s on a familial level,” Hovis said. “ That I leave a legacy of love and a legacy of kindness and a legacy of inclusion and allow the rippling effects of that to carry out beyond my lifetime.”
