Bringing multiple perspectives together is this freshman's passion

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Grace McIntyre is an incoming freshman in the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution who is in the Honors College

Grace McIntyre sitting down at an ancient archaeological site
Photo provided

Jeffrey Zitomer: Where are you from?

Grace McIntyre: I’m from North Carolina, born in the mountains. When my Dad went to Seminary, we moved to New York for three years. But afterward we moved back to North Carolina. For the last two years, I’ve been living in India at an international boarding school. More than 60 countries were represented. The goal of the school was to unite people from different cultures and backgrounds to work together to pursue peace and a sustainable future.

I travelled around India a lot and played Ultimate Frisbee with the Maharastra Team. We went to the Ultimate Nationals!

Jeffrey: What are you passionate about?

Grace: I love frisbee! That’s a big one.

I also like to dance, all different types of dance, but I’ve never done it in any kind of professional setting.

I’m a percussionist, and I play drums and other instruments. I tried to learn banjo, but I kind of failed at that! I really wanted to be able to play Bluegrass. Bluegrass is cool. One day!

I’m passionate about community engagement. Before I went to India, I created a club at my school to combat human trafficking. My town was a hot spot for human trafficking. We tried to educate students on the signs and how they can take action. For example, we organized a barefoot walk, in collaboration with Joy International, which over the past few years, raised more than $10,000.

Jeffrey: What most excites you about college?

Grace: Meeting new people. I’m also really excited about the Carter School! I would like to join clubs and see the different opportunities at [George] Mason. Every time I turn a corner, I see something new I want to be involved in.

Jeffrey: Why did you choose the Carter School?

Grace: I’ve been in many situations where people disagree with each other, but I noticed that they have underlying similarities in what they want and in their thought processes. I’m interested in gaining the skills to articulate these similarities and help them communicate and gain respect and acceptance for one another.

I wanted to be in DC, because there’s so many opportunities and people trying to make change, and I wanted to study peace. The Carter School really stood out to me.

Jeffrey: Ideally, what would you like to do, post-graduation?

Grace: I would like to be in a position where I feel like I’m of service to people and engaging with some kind of community where I can help people understand each other better – it could be an NGO, interpersonal, local, government, or international.