Transitions

Arts and Sciences

1990s

Liz Murawski, MFA Creative Writing ’91, has poems forthcoming in Antioch Review, Tar River Poetry, and Fulcrum.

Louise Robertson, MFA Creative Writing ’92, had her chapbook, Teaching My Daughter My Language, published by Pudding House Publications.

Cynthia Thurlow, BA International Studies ’93, and her husband welcomed the birth of their first child, Jackson Henry, on August 9.

Leslie Bumstead, MFA Creative Writing ’94, is one of 18 poets featured in a special section of Poetry Debuts in 2005 in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers. Her book, Cipher/Civilian, was published by Edge Books.

Jeremy Redmon, BA English ’94 and MA English ’97, was embedded in Iraq with the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team while working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He posts his stories daily at www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/guard.

Lynn Zurndorfer Collins, BA Psychology ’96, and Brad Collins, BS Engineering ’00, have a son, Will, who was born on May 12. Lynn works part time as a learning specialist.

Steve Bartlett, MS Applied and Engineering Physics ’97, has left industry and now teaches physics for the Fairfax County Public Schools at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church.

Joe Gonzales, BS Administration of Justice ’97, is a police officer in Dallas, Texas.

Bryant Hutter, BA History ’97 and MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’00, married Kristen Moolhuyzen on August 6 and is back at Mason, working on another MEd in administration and supervision.

Amy Mehringer, MFA Creative Writing ’97, was appointed communications manager in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

Kristine Morris, BA Fine Arts ’97, and her husband, Rex, announce the birth of their second child, Eli Weston, on September 28. Eli joins older sister Libby Mae, who is two years old.

Patricia (Trish) Perry, BA Psychology ’97, signed a two-novel contract with Harvest House Publishers. Her books are scheduled for release this year.

Ann Bresnahan, BA English ’98, married David Isaacson in 2001 and together they built Technology Management International from serving a dozen customers to more than 200 customers in six years. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the Arlington County Economic Development Commission have awarded the firm their prestigious ABBIE Small Business of the Year Award for 2005.

Christina V. Jones, BA Anthropology and History ’99, is a doctoral candidate in history at Howard University and was awarded a research fellowship by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

2000s

Nicole Belote, BA Government and Politics ’00, earned a JD from Regent University in Virginia Beach and is working as a prosecutor for gun-related crimes in the Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney office.

Nichole Devolites, BA Communication ’01, moved to Seattle, Washington, where she enjoys working with the Microsoft Public Sector Group to help shape the strategies in selling globally to governments.

Alhassan Elbarasse, BS Mathematics ’02, and Ghezal Saboor, BA Biology ’02, were married on September 2 and live in Reston, Virginia. The couple met in 1998 at their Mason Orientation.

Elaina Loveland, MA Literature ’02, wrote Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians, and Writers, which is now available in bookstores nationwide for students facing a college admissions process that weighs heavily on artistic accomplishments. For more information, visit www.creativecollegesbook.com.

DID YOU KNOW
U.S. bobsledder Mike Kohn, BS Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources ’97, is now driving his own bobsled. Kohn, who took home a bronze medal as a member of a four-man bobsled team at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, won his first major international medal—a silver—as driver at the World Cup race in Calgary, Alberta, in November. He and his brakeman, Alex Sprague, finished fifth overall, putting them one step closer to the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, in February.

Masuda Mohamadi, MFA Creative Writing ’02, is featured in the November 2005 National Geographic.

Jill Ahart, BA Government and International Politics ’04, has been hired by Rep. E. Scott Garrett (R–New Jersey) as a staff assistant and legislative correspondent.

Lou Pharao, MA History ’05, is a retired New York City police officer and Drug Enforcement Administration senior executive who is teaching high school as a second career. He currently teaches American government and street law at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax.

Business

1990s

Jale Aksoy, BS Finance ’93, has been appointed general manager of the Four Points Hotel in Washington, D.C., by Crestline Hotels and Resorts.

William Donovan, MBA ’94, has joined Venable LLP as a partner working with both banking and financial services and legislative and government affairs practices in Washington, D.C.

Ryan Nelson, BS Accounting ’94, and Kristy (Hudson) Nelson, BS Social Work ’93, welcomed daughter, Kate Ryan, who was born on September 2. The family lives outside Austin, Texas.

Education

1970s

Diane D. Painter, BS Elementary Education ’74 and PhD Education ’94, was awarded the Business Software Alliance’s first Cyber Education Champion Award for her commitment to teaching students and educators about cyber ethics, intellectual property, and the importance of respecting creative works online.

1980s

Diana Lambert-Aikens, MEd ’85, principal at West Gate Elementary School in Manassas, was named the Prince William County winner of the Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards given by the Washington Post.

1990s

Charlotte Young, MEd School Administration ’91, has been married to Phil Young for 15 years and has two daughters, Caroline (7) and Catherine Ann (4).

Timothy T. Murray, MEd Early Childhood ’97, has formed Murray Financial Inc., a Chantilly-based investment advisory and financial planning firm registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

2000s

Craig M. Ashbrook, DA Community College Education ’02, was awarded the National Association of Geoscience Teachers’ Neil Miner Award at their annual luncheon on October 16 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Donna F. Timmons, DA Community College Education ’04, was selected for inclusion in the seventh edition of Who’s Who in American Education, the 60th diamond edition of Who’s Who in America, and the 25th edition of Who’s Who of American Women.

Stephen Despot Jr., MEd ’05, is teaching ninth-grade English and is head coach of the JV baseball team at Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Georgia. Stephen married Megan Joy Thompson on July 4.

Nursing and Health Science

1990s

Theresa A. Becker, BSW Social Work ’97, has a daughter, Chloe, who was born on September 30, 2004.

Rachel Myers, MSN Nursing Administration ’99 and Certificate Nursing Education ’00, is a nurse consultant with her own consulting business, Rachel Myers Consulting.

Information Technology and Engineering

1990s

Imran Qayyum, BS Computer Science ’93, married Linda Yim on July 30. Mason alumni attending the ceremony included Fauad Qayyum, BS Decision Science Management Information Systems ’99; Vaqar Nadir, BA Economics ’95; Sohail Khan, BS Decision Science and Management Information Systems ’02; and Shaharyar Nadir, BS Marketing ’05. Imran completed an MS in information systems technology at George Washington University and now works for Hewlett-Packard in New York City.

Sirin Tekinay, PhD Information Technology ’94, an associate professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was named program director for the Theoretical Foundations Cluster in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Computing and Communication Foundations.

Michael L. McCloud, BS Electrical Engineering ’95, has joined the technical team of TensorComm, a wireless technology company in Denver, Colorado.

Law

1980s

John J. Byrne, JD ’83, joined Bank of America as an anti-money laundering strategy executive in the bank’s Compliance Risk Management Division.

1990s

Gigi Hyland, JD ’90, was nominated by President Bush and approved by the Senate to a position on the board of the National Credit Union Administration.

Michael L. Goodove, JD ’92, a partner in the Norfolk law firm of Rabinowitz, Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove P.C., received the “Top Forty Under 40” annual award from Inside Business Magazine.

DID YOU KNOW
Thom Shepherd, BA Communication ’93, cowrote the country-western song, “Redneck Yacht Club,” the #1 hit on the Radio and Records (R&R) chart in November. Performed by Craig Morgan, the song sat at the #3 spot on the Billboard chart at the same time.

Public Policy

2000s

Thomas Ammazzalorso, MA International Commerce and Policy ’04 and MEd Educational Leadership ’05, was selected for Aramco Educations to Saudi Arabia Program to examine Saudi Arabia education from November 15 to 30. He teaches world history in the Washington, D.C., Public Schools.

Visual and Performing Arts

2000s

Meghan Walsh, BA Theater ’05, was selected as a member of the 2005–06 Arden Professional Apprentice Class. She was a 2004 finalist in the D.C. Improv’s D.C.’s Funniest College Stand-up Comedy Competition and a former intern at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Deaths

Karin B. Bahner, BA Communication ’94, October 2, 2005

Mary E. Cunningham, DA Education ’90, October 26, 2005

Barbara Jean MacRae, BS Business Administration ’80, November 16, 2005

Linda King Scheffer, MEd Guidance and Counseling ’88, September 19, 2005

James Turner, BS Decision Science ’90, August 10, 2005