User:Kopf1988/Ryan Kopf

Ryan Kopf is a youth-activist and businessman who ran for mayor of Muscatine, Iowa, in 2007. After the campaign, Kopf advocated for a nonprofit youth center focused on video games and technology.

Later, Kopf transferred to the University of Iowa to study computer science and organize anime conventions. During that time he worked as the director for student technology affairs for the University of Iowa Student government for two years, after a time as executive director of the associated residence halls. He was also a campus ambassador for Sun Microsystems, and the creator of an online news magazine in Iowa City.

Campaign For Mayor
In 2007, at age 18, Ryan ran against the incumbent mayor of Muscatine, Iowa, claiming Ryan's energy and his new ideas would help Muscatine grow. Ryan ran with a focus on bringing Muscatine's budget back into perspective while also expanding the use of Open Source software throughout the city. Ryan cited also as top concerns for his campaign: a need for increases in state and federal funding, a need for youth activities, and a need for drug prevention. Ryan emphasized heavily on a need for more youth activities as a primary tool for drug prevention. Upon hearing of his defeat, Ryan said, he was "of course, a little disappointed," but was still happy for earning 421 votes at such a young age.

Campaign for Student Government
In 2009, Ryan ran for the presidency of the University of Iowa Student Government. His platform focused on increasing lobbying for education funding for the University and freezing tuition. .

Youth Center
With the help of the owner of the historic Pearl Plaza building in downtown Muscatine, a seventeen-year-old Ryan opened Chrono Game Central, a video game arcade/LAN center/cybercafe located in the basement. Eventually, due to a lack of initial funding, and no ability to advertise&mdash;as well as to Ryan still having to work a part time job&mdash;the project ended after five months Yet Ryan continued to work towards building a youth center, and to focusing his efforts around the same themes of his bid for the mayor's office&mdash;that is, that middle and high school students need an alternative to drugs and alcohol.

Business Efforts
Ryan currently owns Chrono, LC, a limited liability company registered in Iowa. Through Chrono, LC, Ryan designs websites for local businesses. He also manages a news website, Iowa City Owl, which covers news about Iowa City. Iowa City Owl is a branching of his original Muscatine news website, Muscazine, which covered news in Muscatine.

Achievement
Ryan was awarded Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor in September 2005, and became an AP Scholar with Distinction in September 2006.