Page 19 - MidWeek - July 21, 2021

JULY 21, 2021 MIDWEEK 19
Maruyamas Helping Others Find Their Path Forward
FROM PAGE 14
The empire that the duo is currently constructing can be attributed to hard work and communication — but not a college education. Coming from two sides of the spec- trum, Hannah dropped out of college at age 18 and Ryan received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Universi- ty of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Af- ter donning a cap and gown, Ryan worked for a local bank and, although he was utiliz- ing his degree in the real world, the Kapahulu native
if they didn’t love their day jobs so much, that is.
wasn’t fulfilled and experi- enced what he describes as a “quarter-life crisis.”
Meanwhile, Hannah, who’s moved 34 times in her nearly two-and-a-half de- cades before calling Hawai‘i home, felt that the college environment wasn’t one she was destined to be in, so she made a decision and has nev- er looked back.
“I was doing work that was just soul-sucking; it was just crushing. I hated it,” Ryan recalls. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and my friend was living in North Carolina at the time and had an extra room. NC State Uni- versity and the surrounding schools have good mechan- ical engineering programs, so I was like, ‘OK, well, I guess I’ll move up there and become a mechanical engi-
“I was sitting in my sociol- ogy class and they put the midterm in front of me and I filled out two questions and I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t want to be here.’ So I tore it in half and threw it in the garbage and walked out. I think if you’ re going to quit college, that’s definitely the most fun way to do it,” Hannah chuckles. “That mo- ment was as big as it sounds for me; it was a huge turning point.
MORE OF THE MARUYAMAS
Ryan and Hannah Maruyama are not your typical couple. Along with their jam-packed day jobs, the entrepreneurial twosome co-own tat- too shop YAMA Studios (yamastudios.co), as well as co-host Degree Free Network, a podcast that hopes to inspire people of all ages to explore options outside of a college education. The show talks about self-education, building businesses and
more. Visit degreefreenetwork.com to learn more, or scan the QR code above.
‘college degree required,’ and when I got to the inter- view, they didn’t even ask me about it. That’s when I was like ‘wait a minute, hold on,’ which began this entire journey of me realizing that you don’t need a college de- gree for jobs that say ‘college degree required.’ Sometimes, you don’t even need experi- ence.
“We had a conversation with our sisters, who were both 18 at the time, and we said, ‘Hey, you don’t have to go.’ We didn’t say ‘don’t,’ we just said you don’t have to go. His sister — and I’ll never forget this — looked at us and said, ‘No one has ever told me that.’ No one ever told her she didn’t have to buy a college degree for six figures. I think that’s a huge thing that people don’t realize, especially 17- and 18-year-olds, they can’t comprehend how much mon- ey that loan is. For a lot of people, their college degree is the most expensive pur-
neer.’ I applied for the school, got accepted and then I moved. While I was there, I realized that I didn’t
chase they’ll ever make.” Discussions like that make up Degree Free Network’s approximately 45-minute ep- isodes, which will also dive into topics like self-educa- tion, industry possibilities, small-business opportunities, paid on-the-job training and
I walked this path. As soon as I decided I wasn’t going to get a second degree, I was lost and I had to trudge my own path. But it’s also ex- tremely liberating because now you can create whatever career you want.
want to do that. I was just throwing darts at a dartboard — and I didn’t want to throw
“I moved back to New York and that’s when I ap- plied for a job that said
that $70,000 dart.”
more.
“The first thing we feel
“There are no rules — you can tattoo people’s heads for living,” he laughs. “Every- thing is open to you.”
Along with his duties as co-owner of YAMA Studios (top) and co-host of Degree Free Network, Ryan Maruyama spends most of his time as a City & County of Honolulu firefighter; pictured (above) with his grandfather, Dr. Don Maruyama, during a pinning ceremony. PHOTOS COURTESY THE MARUYAMAS
“Career-wise, I’m happy right where I am, and I know Hannah really likes her work, too. It’s a big blessing to be content in our jobs.”
that we need to address (on the podcast) is that it’s OK for you not to go to college — you’ re not alone,” notes Ryan. “If you decided not to do it and there’s a bunch of people in your life asking you, ‘When are you going to go to college?’ or ‘When are you going to go back to school?’ — don’t worry about it. We’ve talked to so many people about this and they feel like they’re not sup- ported, and that it’s constant pressure and shame about not going to college.
Since crossing paths six years ago, and getting engaged only a couple of months thereafter, Hannah and Ryan are stronger than ever before, as they make it their journey to help others define one of their own.
“Once you decide on not going, the whole world opens to you. It’s not easier — to not go to college is diffi- cult —and I know because
“Having a family is get- ting closer,” says Ryan when asked what’s next. “That’s been a driving goal for a lot of our work, getting to a place where that is fi- nancially responsible, so it’s humbling to see where we are now.