• Home
• meetourstarts
• Meet Our Students: Celebrating Success Stories – Ryan Malabanan

Meet Our Students: Celebrating Success Stories – Ryan Malabanan

By Diana Corredor
In our Meet Our Students: Celebrating Success Stories series, we highlight individuals whose journeys reflect the power of curiosity, perseverance, and interdisciplinary learning. This edition features Ryan Malabanan, an Honours Specialization student in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE).

Malabanan was drawn to the program because of his fascination with political systems, economic models, and the philosophical questions that connect them. What stood out most was how PPE pushed him to think critically across disciplines. Through the Scholar’s Electives program, he explored his longstanding interest in universal basic income under the supervision of Dr. Bob Andersen, conducting a critical literature review on guaranteed income policies and their potential impact on the private sector. The experience, he says, taught him to look beyond surface-level conclusions and understand how research methods, populations, and assumptions shape the outcomes that influence policy.

His time in the Faculty of Social Science has also been marked by leadership and advocacy. From serving as a First-Year Representative on the Social Science Students’ Council to becoming Chair of the USC Governance & Finance Committee, Malabanan has consistently worked to amplify student voices. He has also represented Western at the Ontario Undergraduate Students’ Alliance, contributing to provincial policy recommendations, experiences that reinforced his belief that meaningful change requires patience, persistence, and listening.

Beyond the classroom, Malabanan has found another passion in dance. As President of Hip Hop Western, he grew membership by more than 45%, making the club more accessible and visible on campus. He also co-founded MOMENTUM Dance, a student-led national organization that will launch its first competition in 2026 and is in the process of incorporating as a federal nonprofit. For Malabanan, the initiative reflects his drive to create sustainable, student-owned spaces where young leaders can grow together and build lasting communities.

Recognized for both his academic and extracurricular excellence, Malabanan received a National Scholarship upon admission to Western and was awarded the Mark and Andrea McQueen & Family Award from Social Science this past year. Looking ahead to Ivey Business School, he is eager to combine business frameworks with the systems-thinking mindset he has developed in Social Science. His guiding philosophy is simple but powerful: don’t get comfortable in the comfortable.

Celebrate Ryan Malabanan’s inspiring journey with us and discover how the Faculty of Social Science empowers students to think critically, lead with purpose, and build meaningful change across disciplines and communities.

If you want to share your own story or know someone who should be featured, please reach out to us!