“Yes, let’s go!” Senior Thomas Ryan roars as he successfully blocks an incoming hit. All around, from the volleyball court to the sidelines, his teammates celebrate with him. A pulse of excitement travels through the entire team with his display of enthusiasm, spurring them on to win the game.

Thomas first began playing volleyball in ninth grade and continued it as his main sport after quitting basketball a year later. Seeing that the sport had a relatively low barrier of entry encouraged him to try out for the school team, and he eventually joined a club team at Mountain View Volleyball Club as well. Junior varsity boys volleyball coach Diana Melendez remembers how Thomas at first approached the sport with caution and high standards for himself, but soon grew more familiar with both volleyball and the Harker team.

“In the beginning, he was very humble in his success,” Melendez said. “Whenever he would celebrate or be excited, it really hyped up everybody else to see him express himself that way when it was way out of his element to display that kind of excitement. Seeing him grow out of being a perfectionist and out of his comfort zone was one of his biggest challenges but also one of his biggest successes.”

Although Thomas began playing volleyball much later than most of his peers, he quickly adapted and found joy in the sport. The way that a volleyball team allowed for both individual skill and teamwork spoke to his collaborative nature.

“There’s really specific specialization in volleyball that isn’t present in most other sports,” Thomas said. “In volleyball, in most positions, you are delegated to exclusively one role aside from some extraneous circumstances. It’s less individual, and emphasizes teamwork more than anything. Everybody has a role to play, so you can’t slack off.”

Similarly to volleyball, in pursuing singing, Thomas was not afraid to pivot. He first joined choir in high school, when he decided to switch his instrumental certificate for piano to the vocal track in tenth grade. Previously a member of Festival Chorus and Rhapsody, Thomas is now part of the group Capriccio.

“Like volleyball, choir is very open to new people,” Thomas said. “They’re very patient, even if you’re not immediately musically up to par. If they find someone who’s new and willing to come and they’ve already got some amount of musical knowledge, they will welcome them with open arms because they’re going to be an easy person to turn into a good singer.”

Close friend senior Krish Arora participated in many of the same ensembles as Thomas and expounds on Thomas’ cheerful personality and his growth throughout singing. He also recalls how he once contemplated quitting choir in tenth grade but, due to Thomas’ support, decided not to.

“He’s a really good friend and he’s really funny, always positive and energetic,” Krish said. “Even if I’m tired, he’ll brighten the mood of everything. He’s also really confident in himself in the way that he’s not afraid to express himself, have fun and be himself in choir.”

For Thomas, stage fright and having to compete for a piano position was what initially compelled him to join the vocal program instead. Throughout his choral journey, he worked to focus on the members of his ensemble and the product he is trying to create rather than the audience.

“It’d be easy to say just perform like nobody’s there, but it’s unrealistic because you always subconsciously know that somebody is watching,” Thomas said. “But the end product you’re trying to deliver should always be the focus. Rather than focusing on the audience, you should just be focusing on what you’re doing and how you’re contributing to the people around you.”

Harker volleyball teammate senior Kairui Sun applauds Thomas’ dedication to his team. Kairui pointed out how, rather than only centering on his own personal achievements, Thomas often sees the larger picture and how he can add to it.

“I really respect Thomas a lot as a person and a friend because there’s not a lot of people, especially in this environment, that can actualize a sense of the team and the community above themselves,” Kairui said. “Even if something doesn’t really benefit Thomas himself, but it does benefit the team, Thomas is always just as happy. That is just such an underappreciated trait.”

In both volleyball and choir, Thomas showcases his willingness to continually try new things as well as putting the team and others above his individual self. Despite starting most of his hobbies in high school with little experience before, he is able to work hard and become an integral member of each community he is a part of.

“With these activities, there’s definitely an essence of being willing to try something different, something new and alien,” Thomas said. “You have to have a certain level of self-confidence, or at least stubbornness, to keep coming back and trying something that initially you’re bad at. Each time, you have to show up knowing you’re going to try to do your job so the overall product benefits.”