Interview Paper

Ryan Wrubel.

What pops into your mind when you read that name? Why should you care? More importantly, why is this entire piece revolving around him?

Physiologically, humans always paint a picture of what they read; after all, it is one of the brain’s most powerful abilities to embed an idea, a memory, or whatever else it may be. Yet it’s interesting to anticipate the image that pops into somebody’s head when a name is read. Before you begin reading this, go to the top of this page and read “Ryan Wrubel” one more time. Now focus on what image pops up in your mind. Now let me change it.

Ryan, a moderately tall, light-skinned, and light-haired individual seems like a normal college student to the untrained eye. If you ever were to meet Ryan outside of this paper, you would probably think of him as a young, content individual who always seems to have something on his mind keeping a smile on his face. The human mind is smart enough to sense what and how a person is feeling at a certain point in time simply based on a person’s facial expression, and similarly is able to differentiate between, say, a fake smile and a real smile just by recognizing the minute muscle activities near the face. Yet there is nothing about Ryan’s routine, daily expression that implies anything less than genuine. Furthermore, because of his enduring smile and inherent playfulness, I suppose a stranger would characterize him a nonchalant, carefree student. Specifically, a happy, social, and possibly comedic personality is the first image a stranger would receive. But that’s Ryan on the surface. Ryan and I met last year when he was joining the fraternity that I am a member of, and ever since then, I have gotten to know him very well. And how much deeper he is.

Let me digress for a second. Perhaps it is noteworthy to go into a little personal theory I have on our inherent images of other people. Literally everything is based off of the image. As residents of the United States and inhabitants of western civilization, our journey through life has been filled with television, movies, video games, mass media, etc. Overtime we have created several niches (aka roles) of a typical person. For example, if I put you into a room with two vastly distinct people and told you that one person was a doctor and another was a garbage man. The gentlemen on the left is holding a book in his hand with an interested facial expression as he reads about the Magna Carta doctrine produced in 1215, while the other gentlemen is busy reading the latest contemporary sports magazine. Who’s the doctor and who’s the garbage man? A typical answer here is obvious. This vague example illustrates the depth of Ryan Wrubel.

Ryan is studying Biochemistry at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. Biochemistry!. This academic pathway, a path I am currently taking as well, is known to be one of the most difficult paths a student can take, and are typically reserved for those students who want to continue on with their career as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, etc. Yet a social conversation with Ryan would never reveal this! He is planning to one day become a Doctor and change the way medical practices are operated today.

He is also a student activist, like me. From the countless “lower our tuition” campaigns to the endless “we can’t find parking” movements, Ryan has been there to attempt to correct a problem that he felt students were encountering.

Can you see why Ryan is such a perfect subject for my interview? My research paper is on the topic of Health Care Reform, and not only can Ryan answer my survey questions and give me insight into his views on the issue, Ryan has also given me a plethora of images to describe him, vividly.

When I sat down with Ryan, he took a nonchalant slouched seating position before we began, as we discussed what our plans were for the upcoming weekend. His relaxed stature revealed a feeling of carelessness in terms of topic of the night (the interview, of course). We sat at a long, seemingly newly polished, rectangular wooden table on the second floor of the library with windows oddly shaped with the bottom of the window extending beyond, into the outside, than the top of the window. The well-lit area reflected upon his blond-highlighted hair as we discussed our plans and engaged into the interview.

As soon as I asked him how he would rate health care, an immediate position change was evident. He sat up in his seat, took off his jacket, and revealed an almost serious overtone within his facial reaction. The light reflecting over him seemed almost… golden. It always interested me.
“How would I rate health care?” – He said.
“Listen Moneer, honestly I don’t really talk about this issue to many people, because nobody really understands the issue like I know you do. I’m going into Medicine for a reason. That’s where the money’s at. Unfortunately, the money’s there because our government is completely ignorant on trying to create a more quality-centered health care system, and just continue to throw money at it left and right. That gives you my answer.”

And so illustrates the depth of his character. Two minutes ago we were talking about the Halloween costumes our girlfriends were interested in, and suddenly this intellect came out.

Ryan has always been a hidden intellect that I could count on. I don’t think of him as somebody that dumbs himself down in different social environments. In fact, he is so intellectual that he can essentially transform his abilities and cognitions from one social aspect to another.

Inherently, I do have a bias in this analysis. Ryan is a good friend of mine. We are fraternity brothers, friends, and self-proclaimed intellects that assist each other in every possible avenue we can think of. I interviewed him on all the questions I posted on the health care debate on an earlier assignment. This is simply a small profile on Ryan, and therefore I will keep the contents of his answers outside of his profile (the first question gives much insight into his perception of the health care system in the United States, however).

And so, for you, the reader, I will leave you with a proposition.

Remember what you thought of Ryan when you first read his name at the beginning of this piece.
Now read this:

“Ryan Wrubel”
Are they different? Are they similar? How has your image changed based on what I’ve told you?
Such is the power of a human intellect.