Ryan’s Tough Year Leads to a Fresh Start

Getting on the wrong bus that day led Ryan to landing exactly where he was supposed to be.

2015 was a tough year for Ryan and his family. He lost his job which led to losing his car and included some family struggles all at the same time. Ryan got back on his feet with a job making deliveries for a company called CityDash. His first encounter with CityLink was making a delivery there through his job at CityDash. Ryan was intrigued by CityLink and asked lots of questions to learn more about it. 

Ryan ended up moving to Phoenix, Arizona shortly after this delivery for five years with his cousin for some warmer weather and some much needed space from the previous year of struggles. When he moved back to Cincinnati, he began his new job search. While working to get reconnected with friends and opportunities, Ryan rode by CityLink on the bus thinking he needed to check out that place again. Turns out, he was on the wrong bus and had to walk right by CityLink to catch the right bus so he decided to go on in for more information.

His hands were open, he was ready for whatever God had next for him. Ryan was not afraid to walk right in CityLink that day…he felt a nudge. Getting on the wrong bus that day led Ryan to landing exactly where he was supposed to be.

In 2022, Ryan began his journey with CityLink and IT training through the Per Scholas Program. Without a car at this time, Ryan learned about the Vehicle Purchase Program at ChangingGears and was able to buy a car that helped him get to and from Per Scholas training in order to complete the program. 

Ryan purchased his car in the spring and paid it off in the fall, being one of the fastest car payoffs we have ever experienced at ChangingGears! He shared that he had some help making extra payments to get it paid off as quickly as possible so he could get back to Arizona where he had met his future bride a few years ago. The most amazing part about this story is how open he was to what might be next. 

Just this past Fall, we got to hand Ryan the title to his new car so he could drive his new Toyota Yaris cross country to Arizona (1,802 miles to be exact) to start a new job and marry his now bride two weeks later. This is a story of trust and new beginnings that is inspiring to us all.