Meet Chloe Ryan, 2019 Alum
Chloe Ryan graduated with Patterson’s 60th cohort in 2019. Currently, Ryan is a Special Assistant at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Science and Technology Branch (STB). The STB is comprised of five disciplines: Forensics, Scientific analysis, DNA analysis, Criminal Records and Information, and Operation Technology. As a Special Assistant, Ryan handles administrative coordination and assists in project management for the branch. Ryan’s long-term goal is to pursue a career in public relations or as an analyst in the FBI.
Ryan is working towards her Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence at the National Intelligence University through the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). She is using this opportunity to grow her knowledge and help inform where she wants to take her career.
Ryan says she draws on her knowledge acquired at Patterson every day. Specifically, she found that the Patterson School’s different exercises helped frame her mind for what she could expect in real world situations. She also said that the balance between academic professors and career professors at Patterson was helpful for her to get multiple points of view on problems and how to approach thinking as it relates to international security and diplomacy. She credits Amb. Cavanaugh’s International Ethics class for providing her with an understanding of how to apply different theories to different problem sets.
Ryan has always had a passion for helping people, she just didn’t know how. After a tour at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., she was sold. She didn’t know what she wanted to do for the FBI, but knew she wanted to work there because it “seemed like a really interesting way where I could marry my passion of helping people, but then also my love of learning about politics and sociology.” The FBI would also provide her with the opportunity to be hands on, analytical, or technical. To anyone wishing to pursue a career with the FBI, Ryan advises you to always be open because whatever job gets you through the door does not have to be your entire career. She also advises you not to discount any role because no matter where you work, or where you go, you don’t really know every aspect of it.
When asked what advice she has for current and incoming Patterson students, Ryan offered an important piece of advice: If you have a dream field or a set career path when you join Patterson, she recommends being open minded to taking internships or taking classes outside of that discipline to help broaden your understanding of different things and other people’s points of view.