Finding the door and walking through it

Some students plan every step of their college journey. Ryan Hampton? He just walked through the next open door – and hasn’t stopped since.

“I didn’t go looking for this. I kind of fell into it,” said Hampton, a senior from Midland, Michigan. “But if I fell, I fell forward.”

Ryan is triple majoring in finance, accounting, and personal financial planning, and he’ll graduate this spring with real-world experience, industry connections, and a future that’s already in motion. He started as a co-op at Dow Credit Union, working the front desk. Today, he works in the Retirement and Investment Center at the credit union – and plans to continue after graduation.

“It’s funny how life works,” he said. “If I hadn’t just happened to walk through their front door that day, none of this would have happened.”

That theme – saying yes to opportunity – shows up again and again in Ryan’s story. After earning a Centralis scholarship and choosing to commute from home, he discovered that his schedule allowed flexibility to stack majors and finish in four years. By creatively using transfer credits, summer courses, and tuition assistance, he added accounting and then personal financial planning. “It was only four more classes, and I still had room on my scholarship,” he explained.

That momentum carried over outside the classroom. Ryan joined the Central Michigan University Financial Planning Association student chapter his sophomore year and quickly became president. “It was just like, well, who’s the most qualified person that seems like they can carry the rock here? And that was me,” he said. “I kind of got sought out once I introduced myself and found the door to that community.”

Under Ryan’s leadership, the FPA chapter brought in weekly speakers, strengthened alumni and professional connections, and attracted more members. The experience helped him grow not just as a planner, but as a person. “It definitely helped me grow as a leader,” he said. “You’re running the schedule, the room reservations, the marketing … there’s a lot behind the scenes just to make a one-hour meeting happen.”

Ryan also competed in the Financial Planning Challenge hosted by the University of Florida and participated in College of Business finance trips to Chicago and Minneapolis. He’s appeared as a guest speaker, collaborated with other student organizations, and even created an honors capstone to present financial planning careers to high school students in his hometown.

When asked what stands out most about his time at CMU, Ryan didn’t hesitate. “Definitely stuff with the FPA,” he said. “The meetings, the late nights, the people – that’s where the core memories are going to be.”

He credits faculty members like Brad Taylor and Mark Potts with providing support and pushing him to think critically. “Brad’s classes run around Harvard case studies. You see all these different real-world examples and learn from them,” Ryan said. “Mark helped me build out my independent study and fit everything in.”

Looking back, Ryan doesn’t regret how it unfolded – but he does wish he’d gotten involved earlier. His advice to incoming students?

“Be open to what doors could open. Look for opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” he said. “Bring some energy to the table and good things can happen. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to walk through the door.”