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For Northern Virginia native Ryan McIntyre, the path to a master’s in at �������� began with something simple: a love for the outdoors and a family connection. 

While attending Northern Virginia Community College, McIntyre was introduced to a job opportunity in the through family friend , a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy who runs George Mason’s program with Fairfax County Public Schools. 

“I liked being outside, so I took the job,” McIntyre said. That decision would plant the seed for a future dedicated to conservation and environmental policy. 

After completing his associate degree, McIntyre said George Mason felt like a natural next step. He enrolled in Mason’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program working on degrees in environmental science, a decision that would shape his academic and professional future.

“The accelerated master’s set me on a research path,” McIntyre said. “I don’t know where I would have ended up otherwise.”

That research path led him to a recent fellowship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). His work focused on invasive aquatic plants, specifically Trapa bispinosa, a species of water chestnut known for its ability to rapidly spread across the surface of freshwater bodies.

“There’s a history of this genus in the U.S. going back to the 1940s,” McIntyre explained. “One species took over much of the Potomac River, and it took years to eradicate.” 

Now, with a new species surfacing in Northern Virginia, the U.S. Army Corps brought McIntyre on board to study how local, state, and federal agencies are managing the threat. His master’s thesis centered on observing the management techniques of different organizations, including Fairfax County Park Authority and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. “It became an observational study comparing their management techniques, how effective they are, and how they compare to each other,” he said. 

This blend of environmental science and government is no coincidence. When McIntyre earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from George Mason, he did so with a minor in public policy. “It was clear to me that you can’t protect the environment without the law,” he said. “I can do all the science I want to, but unless there is legislation in place, I don’t think we’ll make a lot of progress.” 

That philosophy inspired his leadership as president of the George Mason student organization Science Policy Network, which works to bridge the divide between policymakers and scientists. The group organizes social and professional events that bring together students from both fields. 

One of the most defining moments of his time at George Mason was a semester at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC). “It reset the course of what I wanted to do and changed my perspective on nature and ecology,” he said. 

For someone who grew up memorizing environmental trivia and enjoying time outdoors, McIntyre said it was the first time those passions were recognized as valuable academic assets. “There were a lot of skills I had that I’d never applied in an academic setting before,” McIntyre said. “That experience showed me how my knowledge and interests could contribute to a deeper understanding of ecology and biodiversity.” 

That semester working alongside Smithsonian Institution scientists at SMSC in Front Royal, Virginia, led to two internships for McIntyre. One summer he spent hunting for Virginia orchids in Shenandoah and identifying plants that grow around them, “in an attempt to understand the factors that make these hyper-specialized blooms call particular areas home.”

The next summer he found himself aboard a boat in the Chesapeake Bay counting fish as part of an internship with the in Edgewater, Maryland. There he served as an intern liaison between the Fisheries Conservation Lab and the center’s public-facing education department.  

“My background as a science communicator got me a role turning the FishCon’s work into lesson plans for the public,” he wrote in for a Smithsonian Magazine blog. 

As he prepares for the next chapter, teaching as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College, McIntyre hopes to inspire a new generation of environmental leaders.