Volgenau School grad Kelsey Ryan, graduatied with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. As part of a military family, she lived all over the country, but her family currently lives in Sterling, Va.
As a competitive swimmer on Mason's swimming and diving team and a member of the Honors College, Ryan liked Mason's perfect balance between academics and athletics.
"Mason has offered me the opportunity to continue my competitive swim career in a great program as well as join an exciting, dynamic engineering program," Ryan says. "I can't imagine my college experience without athletics and swimming."
It's no surprise, then, that her most memorable experience at Mason was her first invitational meet.
"As a freshman, I was so excited and nervous to show my coaches, team and myself what I was capable of doing," Ryan says. "I ended up going best times in all of my events for the meet, and I was so excited that all my hard work was paying off. I'll never forget how excited I was to be living my dream of swimming in college."
She's grateful for the many opportunities she had while studying in the Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering Department to establish her foundation in the field. In fact, after graduation, she's staying right here to complete a master's degree in environmental and water resources engineering.
"After that, I plan to work full-time and pursue my licensure as a professional engineer," she says.
She advises students to get involved and step out of their comfort zones. "College is a great time to explore old and new interests, and you are guaranteed to find a group of people on campus that share those interests," she says.