Ryan Hughes grew up in Mesa, Arizona. He attended Brigham Young University, where he majored in Middle East Studies/Arabic. His studies led him to become deeply interested in religious freedoms and how religious minorities are treated throughout the world. He participated in a study abroad in Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. After graduating magna cum laude in April 2015, he decided to attend the J. Reuben Clark Law School. During summer 2016 he was an ICLRS Student Fellow and served an externship to Frankfurt, Germany. Ryan was a member for the 2016-2017 Student Management Board and has been reappointed for 2017-2018.