In the daytime, Ryan Davis is a business analyst at Cerner Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. At night, Davis moonlights as a rapper, producer, and trombonist. He has collaborated with underground hip-hop artists Richie Branson and Mega Ran and with renowned voice actor Steve Blum. He has produced music for Toonami Asia, opened for hip-hop star B.O.B., and performed live at the Cannes Film Festival.
In delivering the Honors Day address, Davis told New College scholarship recipients that it is his interdisciplinary degree that has allowed him to marry his diverse passions. “New College provided an environment in which I could satiate my hunger and embrace whatever risks came with it,” Davis told the packed audience.
Davis said that New College created for him a culture in which he did not fear failure, but rather embraced it. He emphasized the importance of taking risks with a closing quote from University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari whose team narrowly defeated Michigan in the Elite 8 with a last minute 3-point shot: “You can’t be afraid to miss the shot. You just have to take it.”