His memories of campus are good ones, and he can list plenty of great teammates who are still friends. This golfer-turned-financial planner came to Lipscomb from Evansville, Indiana, and he’s made Nashville his home. We learned an entertaining story about Coach Will Brewer, the direction of his personal life, and the greatest lesson he took from Lipscomb when Ryan Terry sat down this week with LipscombSports.com.
What years did you compete for Lipscomb? 2010-2014
I played two years for Coach Buddy Harston (2011 and 2012) and two years for Coach Will Brewer (2013 and 2014.)
What teammate was most memorable?
I was fortunate to play with so many great guys. Dustin Wilder was my roommate for three years and one of my best friends. Blanton Farmer and Nathan Mueting went on a few mission trips with me, and I was also very close with Paul Kleine-Kracht, Taylor Combs, and Alex Cox. We had a pretty great group of guys during the years I played.
What degrees have you earned?
I graduated from Lipscomb in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management. Since then I also completed the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation in 2016.
Why did you attend Lipscomb?
I attended Lipscomb because I wanted to go to a Christian school that also allowed me to compete athletically at the highest level. It also helped that Lipscomb is in Nashville, and slightly further south than where I grew up in Indiana.
What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?
One of my favorite “competing” memories came in the spring of my junior year. We played in a tournament in Louisiana around Spring Break week. This was Will Brewer’s first year as our head coach, and we were still building and improving. The tournament had a strong field of 12-14 good teams, and the last day of the tournament our team shot the low round of the day. Our whole team played really well, and it was exciting to see some good results beginning to show. As we were about to leave for the beach, Will Brewer began to cry as he told us how proud he was of us. Envision a group of college guys and consider the possibility that we might have given him a hard time about that for a while. But the truth is, it was great to see how much he cared about our success.
Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?
There were many people who had appositive impact on my athletic career. Coach Brewer and other players definitely did the most to push me to improve athletically, and others like Brent High and Chris Klotz made a great investment into me as spiritual leader.
What do you remember about Lipscomb campus life during your time here?
I have plenty of good memories about campus life during my time at Lipscomb. I remember going to just about every sporting event that our schedules allowed. I have fond memories of eating Chick-fil-A and drinking Starbucks way too often. I spent many nights playing ping-pong in High Rise dorm, and I have some funny memories of playing “dodgeball” in the Fanning Hall event each year. Our team had a few unique team themes during those years.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?
My time at Lipscomb was so valuable in teaching me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. Lipscomb does a great job of providing opportunities for growth without forcing it too much. I also learned the value of building relationships. As I look at my life now, I have very few relationships that didn’t stem from the community at Lipscomb.
Who were your favorite professors?
For Bible classes, I really enjoyed having Dr. (Ken) Durham for several classes. He was a great professor and friend to me. In the business department, I really enjoyed Allison Duke, Joe Ivey, and Leanne Smith. The professors I enjoyed most were those who went out of their ways to pour into me outside, as well as inside, the classroom.
What do you do now?
Since graduating, I have been working as a financial advisor at Southwestern Investment Group in Brentwood. I’ve been here over five years now, and it has really been a great fit for me. I enjoy getting to help others out, and our firm has enjoyed a long-standing endorsement from Dave Ramsey, so it is a good culture fit as well.
I also continue to play competitive golf in my free time. I play in most of the big state amateur events.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan won last week’s Municipal Amateur Championship in Nashville with a final round 67.
Tell us about your family.
My parents still live in Evansville, Indiana. I have a sister, brother-in-law and nephew in Evansville as well. My other sister just finished college and is planning to move to Nashville in August. I have a brother and sister-in-law who live in Seattle.
I am not married, but I’ve been dating Leah Fortune, the associate head coach for the Women’s Soccer Team, for more than a year and a half.
You can reach Ryan via email at ryan.terry@raymondjames.com
