Ryan Reaves was a Texan undergraduate student completing his B.A. in Liberal Arts at UMass Dartmouth online. Unfortunately, he died last December, shortly after earning his degree cum laude. The university presented his family with his framed degree, commencement regalia, and a medallion with his name and UMass Dartmouth engraved on it at the 2015's commencement ceremony.

The Ryan Reaves Memorial Scholarship was created to support online undergraduates at UMass Dartmouth. An anonymous donation of $250,000 was given to the university in honor of Reaves.

"Ryan David Reaves, 23, beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend, passed away on December 24, 2014 at Houston Methodist Hospital, two days shy of his 24th birthday. Ryan was born December 26, 1990 in Columbia, Maryland, lived in New Orleans, LA until 2009 when he moved to his adopted hometown of Houston, where he enjoyed living until his death. Ryan was an 18 year survivor of Childhood T-Cell Leukemia and a 9 year survivor of a Heart/Lung Transplant, which he received at Texas Children's Hospital in November of 2005. Ryan recently completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Philosophy at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth."

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