Ryan Brubaker works in the software department at Marine Credit Union (MCU). His official title is the Software Solutions Development Supervisor. Ryan works remotely from the La Crosse area but is originally from Pennsylvania.
Ryan moved to Wisconsin after graduating from Penn State in the early 2000s. “I was struggling to find a job,” Ryan shared and explained that he made the move after accepting a position at a software company. Along with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Ryan also studied software engineering at UW-La Crosse. He shared he knew since taking a programming course as a junior in high school that this was the area that he wanted to work in. “I made the right choice,” he said.
Ryan said that he liked every job he had, but after being recruited and interviewed for a position at MCU, he said he was impressed with the organization’s mission. MCU, he said, “stood out.” He added that it’s “extra knowing the work I’m doing helps someone. Every day you wake up knowing you’re going to help someone in the community. That is definitely at the front of the mind for the entire company.”
Ryan explained that at other companies he worked for prior to MCU, he felt there was a “mismatch of alignments.” That he only had a “base level of satisfaction” with his job. At MCU, he said, “it clicks with what I want to do in my career.”
“Being in computer science and as a programmer, the pinnacle would have been working in Silicon Valley, but that never applied to me. Changing the world was vague. It wasn’t measurable.” But now, he added that living in La Crosse he is able to see “concrete examples” of how his work is making a difference in people’s lives.
Ryan came to La Crosse after growing up in a small community one hour west of Philadelphia. “It was similar to La Crosse, but not as cold.” Growing up his dad worked as an engineer and the family had a stand at the local farmer’s market. “That was my mom’s job. They sold it just two or three years ago,” he shared. “I had a good work ethic growing up,” Ryan added and remembered working at the family market stand every Friday after school. He also shared remembering smelling like peanuts from the peanut roaster. “I don’t like nuts,” he added with a smile and added that he did like candy, specifically gummy bears. “I’m still hooked a little,” he added about the candy.
Ryan and his wife Tiffany are busy raising their two sons, Max (15) and Haden (12). The boys, he shared, are different in that one plays baseball, enjoys skateboarding and fashion. “He’s the opposite of me,” Ryan added. The younger one, in addition to football and video games likes computers … more like his dad.
Ryan’s goal is to continue to grow at MCU to “help our team work as best as we can and make a larger impact with our mission,” he shared. “I really respect the team I’m on. They are talented and look out for each other. It’s a great team to work with and we want to do the best we can to help the organization.”
