Ryan Hogan
Senior Business Development Strategist
AKA “Heroic Hogan“
A veteran admissions and marketing expert based in southern Georgia, Ryan Hogan works closely with Spark451’s partner institutions primarily in the Southeast to help them achieve their enrollment goals.
Ryan brings valuable strategic insights drawn from 22 years in admissions and marketing at Valdosta State University, where he most recently served as Director of Undergraduate Admissions.
Throughout his career, Ryan has used data-driven decision-making and his vast knowledge of multichannel marketing to deliver several major recruitment wins for Valdosta. In fact, he even helped the institution enroll its largest freshman class in history in Fall 2020, in spite of all pandemic-related obstacles! Other milestone achievements include: developing and implementing the university’s graduate recruitment strategy from scratch, increasing the institution’s Hispanic student population through targeted marketing campaigns, and helping the university launch an online college for career advancement.
Ryan holds both a B.BA in management and an M.Ed in educational leadership from Valdosta State University.
In his spare time, you can find Ryan on the road with his wife Micha, and their two young boys, Abram and Archer. As a family of self-proclaimed “national park geeks,” they are always on the hunt for new breathtaking vistas. (So far, Hawaii’s Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park remains a family favorite.)
What do you love most about working in higher education?
My college journey started at seven years old; not because I was a child prodigy, but because my mom went back to college in her 30s while working and raising my sister and me. We would go to class with her and sit at the back of the room with our coloring books. Later, when I was a college freshman, I took a job on campus that lit a passion in me for higher education that has spawned a 22-year career. To watch the transformational power education has over a person’s life — whether they are right out of high school or as a working adult — is a true gift. Now that I am with Spark451, instead of just leading those efforts for one college, I can bring my experience to help many institutions change the lives of their students.
What do you enjoy most about your position at Spark451?
I have held various positions working in higher education, so I can often relate to the college or university partner I am working with because I have been in their position. I understand firsthand the pressure to achieve enrollment goals, often with limited resources. When an admissions leader decides to partner with Spark451, they are not getting one person’s expertise, but they have the support of the whole company helping them achieve their goals.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
When I was young, my mom always said, “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That has been my experience ever since I started working on a college campus, and it continues today now that I’m working at Spark451.
When you aren’t busy being a Sparkler, what is something that you like to do?
My family and I are on a quest to visit all of the national parks in the United States. We love being outside, hiking, and seeing the true wonders of the Earth.
