I am Ryan Van Wagenen from Austin, Texas. I am a senior majoring in Jazz Composition at University of Texas at Austin. I am set to graduate in 2014 and hope to also complete a minor in History.My grandmother always told me to follow my dreams. She reached her dream of becoming a published novelist in the 1960s. She finished her first manuscript while she was pregnant with my mom, and publishers at that time wouldn’t even give her the time of day. Some of her close friends suggested she publish under a male pen name, but she wouldn’t give in. She felt her manuscript was a piece of her soul, and she wanted her readers to know the woman behind the words. My grandmother became a published novelist. I hope to one day reach my goal of making in big in production.