Matthew Ryan '19

Matthew Ryan graduated with Patterson’s 60th cohort in 2019. A former Army officer, he attended the University of Oklahoma for his undergraduate degree and worked as a healthcare administrator at the Johns Hopkins Hospital before joining Patterson. Currently, Ryan is a Sudan Desk Officer at the State Department. As a desk officer, he monitors and reports on different issues related to Sudan alongside his colleagues at the embassy, functional bureaus, and various other agencies. He also prepares senior officials to engage on these issues by providing them with background and recommendations. Ryan says he draws on his knowledge acquired at Patterson every day. Specifically, he found that Dr. Montgomery’s classes on Africa provided a good background on many issues he came across once he arrived at the Sudan desk job. He also said that Amb. Cavanaugh’s diplomacy classes provided him with an understanding of State Department culture, which has been of great help in adjusting to his new job. Ryan always had a passion for following international relations and a desire to work in public service. That desire and his experience at the Patterson School is what led him to choose the State Department after graduation. In the near term, he will be moving abroad for a rotation in an embassy. Currently Ryan has not decided between civil service or foreign service just yet but knows that he would like to stay with the State Department.