Alyssa Ryan

Alyssa currently serves as the Assistant Director for the Immersive Media Design program. She is pursuing her M.A. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Maryland, College Park. She started at the University of Maryland in 2012 and received her M.A. in American Studies with a focus on phenomenology in digital space. Her B.A. is from SUNY Purchase and focused on race, gender, and sexuality representation in virtual worlds. She joins Immersive Media Design after being a senior academic advisor in the Computer Science department for 4 years. Previously she has worked with the Freshmen Connection program and Letters and Sciences on campus. Alyssa's primary research area is state-level higher education policy as it relates to merit scholarships and low-income students in the rural United States. She also researches LGBTQ+ student and faculty retention in STEM disciplines. Alyssa is an avid hockey fan (go Bruins!), enjoys playing video games, and spending time with her family.