Today, we launch our podcast series, featuring interviews with GGI students, alumni, and faculty. Here is faculty member Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg interviewing student Ryan Richards. Listen to the podcast here.

Ryan Richards, a Health Arts and Sciences student, shares his visionary work in bringing together Chinese philosophy, conflict resolution, the power of numbers to be effective symbols, and the kind of contemplative education that can empower individuals and build communities. “Primarily, everyone wants to be heard. You can’t resolve any conflicts without an open arena where people can communicate,” he says, explaining how a new approach can help people find a middle ground where spirit and matter, and science and symbols can meet. He’s currently working toward a thesis as well as an interactive webpage where people can learn, meet, and discover greater ways forward. He says of the Goddard approach, “This is the only program where you can pave your own path.”