Class of 2016: WHS senior has a gift for language

Two weeks into Ryan Brown’s freshman year at Whitefish High School, he had already advanced out of Spanish I. At the end of his sophomore year, Brown took the Advanced Placement Spanish test and scored the highest grade possible.

“Spanish always came so naturally to me,” said Brown, who will graduate next month with the Whitefish High School class of 2016. “My thought process from there was that if this comes so easy to me then why would I limit myself to just Spanish.”

So the summer of his junior year he started dabbling in French and German by playing a language game on his smartphone.

“I played that game a lot that summer,” he said. “It gets harder as you go and gets pretty complicated.”

He soon had a firm grasp of the languages and continued his studies in French at the high school and German through the Montana Digital Academy. He now can hold a conversation in four different languages, and often seeks out the foreign exchange students to test his abilities.

While his natural ability for linguistics is obvious, he downplays the gift when talking about it.

“It’s relative,” he said. “The more you learn the more you realize how much you don’t know.”

“Once you understand how to learn a language, it becomes easier to learn the others. There’s a foundation. You know what to look for and what questions to ask.”

Brown plans to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., next fall. He hopes to one day pair his diverse language skill set with international business or foreign relations.

“I want to apply my knowledge of language to different fields,” he said. “It’s important to know a language, but also know how to apply that skill. Otherwise, it’s just a hobby.”

One of the reasons he chose Pepperdine was for the opportunity to immerse himself in Southern California’s more varied culture. There’s also an option to study abroad his sophomore year or to study in Washington D.C.

“I’m excited for something new and a new experience,” he said.

And the beaches and sun, that won’t be too bad, either.

“I’ve never tried surfing, but I will probably have to,” he said, smiling.

Outside of the classroom, Brown has excelled in as many sports and clubs as one teenager has time for.

He’s participated in DECA all four years, he was on student council, National Honors Society, Whitefish Credit Union Junior Board and HOSA.

He’s also a section leader in the drum line.

“That’s one of my favorite things here,” he said. “It’s fun and that’s why I do it.”

In athletics, Brown has made it to the state tennis tournament and he played an important role on the varsity football team before an unfortunate injury sidelined him prior to his senior season.

Brown tore ligaments in his shoulder the week before the divisional tennis tournament last season. He continued to play, opting to serve underhand in the tournament. He and his playing partner, Chaffin Ross, took fourth place and made it to state, even through the injury.

But the soreness in his shoulder only sharpened over the summer. Doctors couldn’t pass him on the required physical.

“I couldn’t imagine playing football at that point and hitting people with my shoulder,” he said. “It just wasn’t going to happen.”

He decided it would be best to have surgery and not risk a lifelong injury. On Aug. 23 — the beginning of football practices — Brown went under the knife.

“That was it for the season,” he said. “It was definitely tough. I had been on that same team since fourth grade. This was the year we were always looking forward to. It was a big disappointment not to be able to play.”

But a testament to Brown’s character, he stayed with the team and helped out any way he could. Wearing a sling, he ran up and down the sideline at games taking stats on his phone. He attended most of the practices, as well.

“People who aren’t a part of football don’t understand the brotherhood that goes along with it,” he said. “For me, I couldn’t imagine not being a part of that team.”

Of course, the Bulldogs went on to win the school’s first State A championship in 30 years that fall with a thrilling win at Dillon.

“That was just really exciting to be a part of,” he said.

As an exclamation point, his father, Chuck Brown, played on the 1979 Whitefish championship team.

“We’re probably the only father-son duo to do that,” Brown said.