Ryan Santos: A perfect mix of academics and sports

MANILA, Philippines — It’s rare to find a student who excels both in academics and multiple sports disciplines. But that rarity exists in 17-year-old Ryan Santos, a high school senior at International School Manila (ISM), whose stellar performances in both rugby and track and field have led to potential national representative honors.

Ryan is the eldest son of Rick Santos, the chairman and CEO of the global property consultancy, Santos Knight Frank based in Makati City. Following strong performances both at domestic and international levels, Ryan was recently selected to join the Philippine Volcanoes (men’s national rugby team) training pool and the US High School All-American rugby team. He also aspires to represent the Philippines on the international stage in the javelin and discus events.

We asked this young athletic and academic star what makes him tick, and where he plans to take his aspirations for school and sports. Read on.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Where do you get the energy and enthusiasm for sports, specially rugby, which is still an emerging sport in the Philippines?

Growing up, I’ve always been passionate about sports. At an early age, my younger brothers Reed, Rand, and I were immersed in rugby, baseball, soccer, track and field and basketball, among others. My maternal grandfather, Bill Beagle, was an All-American football and baseball player at Dartmouth College, while on my dad’s side, my grandfather Dr. Rolando Santos — a Fulbright scholar who was born and raised in Zamboanga, Mindanao — ran track at Ateneo de Zamboanga. My uncle Rob Santos and father Rick Santos both played rugby and football for their alma maters, Harvard and UC Berkeley, respectively. It runs in the family, and now my brothers and I are very much avid athletes.

What have been your most memorable achievements in your multi-sport career?

I’ve represented my school at the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian School (IASAS) Championships for Soccer, Rugby, and Track & Field over the past few years.

In rugby, I’ve been fortunate to have been a part of many successful teams. In 2016, we won the IASAS Rugby competition for the first time in ISM’s history, defeating the International School of Kuala Lumpur, the perennial favorites to win the competition and very much the “Goliaths” of IASAS rugby. This past year we successfully defended our title, where I was also the leading point scorer and try scorer in the tournament. In 2016 and 2017, I was named the Most Valuable Player for my team.

Outside ISM, I have played with the New Zealand-based North Harbour Rugby Union team during the Manila 10s and the Makati Mavericks through the Philippine 7s, 10s, and 15s competitions. I am a Philippine National Teams rugby player and have represented the country at the U-14, U-16, U-18, and U-19 levels. Playing for the national team is always a massive honor and responsibility, as it is important we make the country proud.

In track & field, I have represented ISM at the IASAS Track competition, where this year in Bangkok I won silver in the javelin event, as well as breaking my school’s longstanding discus record. I have also participated at the Philippine National Open Invitational and the USATF Regional Championships.

How are you able to accomplish all these things, attending to school and athletics at the same time and doing well at both?

Being a student-athlete, I pride myself on being a student first and am equally passionate about my studies. In fact, I have been able to maintain an honors and high honor level GPA throughout my time in high school. This coming school year, I will wear another hat as editor-in-chief of our school paper, the Bamboo Telegraph, as well as holding leadership positions in several school-sanctioned service clubs.

Although juggling multiple sports alongside school is quite challenging, it’s all about time management, discipline, hard work, and having a good support group. It’s important to have your eyes on the goal, but you also need that work-life balance to avoid becoming burnt out. It’s that balance that keeps me refreshed every day and ready to roll.

Having my family and friends as a solid support system also helps me stay focused. My family’s love for sports has developed my competitive spirit which spilled over to other areas of my life. They motivate me to achieve the best in both academics and sports, and I owe it to them for who I have become.

What are your plans for college?

I would like to progress into the higher echelons of academics and athletics, while at the same time pursuing a top tier undergraduate degree where I’d be able to study either government or economics. I am also determined on eventually pursuing graduate studies post-college.

Ultimately, I’d like to get into a career in international business or diplomacy and I’m lucky to have met and learned from several experts on these issues, such as former President Fidel Ramos and former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario. I also spent my internship at Stanford’s Hoover Institute with now U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, Joseph Felter, which was a great opportunity to deepen my knowledge on these subjects. It would ultimately be great to leverage all these experiences and opportunities as mechanisms to give back to the Philippines, especially Mindanao.