Ryan Miller fully admits his eyes have been opened in his short time as an intern with LifePath Christian Ministries.
Part of his awakening comes from his own story.
After graduating from West York Senior High School, Ryan enrolled in the Nursing program at Liberty University in Virginia. Soon after, though, he developed Lyme disease and became too sick to manage his course load.
He later switched majors and moved into a Public Health degree with a concentration on Health Promotions.
And that’s what led him to LifePath, where his work has given him a different kind of education that helps him see where he’s needed most as he prepares to enter the job force.
“The suburbs can be pretty sheltered,” he says. “You grow up in a typical suburban neighborhood, go to school and church, graduate, and go to college.”
But, his internship has really opened his eyes to not only how other people who are less fortunate struggle but also to the really great things happening in downtown York.
In the month he’s been an intern with LifePath, he’s worked in the food barn, the learning center, and shadowed case managers to watch how they help the homeless people in the life track program get back on their feet.
He’s been amazed to learn how some of the men in the program, who have been released from prison, often need so many resources in order to apply for a job or get housing — things such as copies of their birth certificates, driver’s licenses and social security cards.
“My heart has changed toward these guys,” he says. “You don’t know the whole story until you get down and talk to them.”