As a freshman, George Mason Honors College student Marley Oare chose the Global Affairs program because she pictured working for the CIA or in a global role with the United Nations.
That quickly changed when she took a natural science course her first semester. The class, which focused on climate change, sparked an environmental interest.
“This is so fascinating, how can I integrate this into my program of study?” she recalls pondering.
Unbeknownst to Oare, she could stay in the Global Affairs program and pursue a concentration in the environment.
“The biggest thing I learned from that class was how interdisciplinary environmental science is,” she said. “Kind of learning how I can contribute to helping the climate crisis or how I can contribute to conservation, which is cool to me. Because we do need more than just scientists. That’s what I have really loved about the Global Affairs program is that it provided me so much flexibility that I was really able to focus on what I enjoy while still working toward my degree.”
Oare completed her bachelor’s degree in global affairs with a minor in Spanish this semester and is now heading to the University of Rhode Island where she will enroll in the Master of Environmental Science and Management program, specializing in conservation biology.
In addition, the student-athlete will use her fifth year of NCAA eligibility to compete on the women’s track and field team at Rhode Island. Over the last four years, she has participated as a pole vaulter for George Mason’s indoor and outdoor women’s track and field teams.
This past winter, she landed on the podium at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Conference Championships, finishing third in the pole vault. It was the culmination of hard work for Oare, who didn’t begin pole vaulting until high school and walked on at George Mason. Her freshman year in 2023, she came in clearing the bar at 10 feet, 6 inches. This past January, she set a personal best with a jump of 12 feet, 6 inches—a two-foot jump over three years.
“There are a lot of folks who do not end up progressing by those kinds of margins so it’s pretty remarkable,” George Mason track and field head coach Andrew Gerard said. “We knew that, if she performed at her capabilities, she'd be a very strong contender for a podium finish and that came to fruition.”
The Warrenton, Virginia, native, has also excelled academically.
Enrolled in the Honors College, Oare has balanced the heavy workload of classes, practices, track meets, and the travel that comes with it, along with internships and jobs. This past spring, she was named a Peter N. Stearns Provost Scholar Athlete for the third time. The Provost Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes student athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher with at least 38 credit hours.
“She’s always been good at planning her classes and her work ahead of time, charting out a plan to take high level courses, including in marine ecosystems,” Oare’s advisor and global affairs associate professor Matthew West said. “Her success in the classroom has made the work she’s done juggling her training and competitions as a student-athlete all the more impressive.”
Looking forward, Oare wants to work for an environmental nonprofit after graduate school, preferably in marine biology but is open to field and office work in wildlife conservation, grasslands, or forestry.
Her passion for nonprofits has been spurred by past internship experiences in both high school and college. She worked with the PATH Foundation, which provides grants and programs for organizations in Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Culpeper counties.
Through the PATH Foundation, she was placed in an internship with Just Neighbors, a nonprofit that supports low-income immigrants in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties with free or reduced legal services. Oare said those relationships, along with learning in the Global Affairs program about the importance of indigenous communities to environmental sustainability, have showed her how local progress can influence global issues.
“I think community-driven solutions are the best way to solve community problems,” she said. “That’s why I really want to get into environmental nonprofit work because I think the smaller organizations, because they understand so well what the community needs and issues are, are the best way to solve those problems. Local representation is so important.”