The Mason Spirit

Mason alumna Franziska Moeckel came to the United States as an international student from Germany, searching for a university that would be the perfect fit for her. While she was accepted to several schools, Moeckel says Mason was her top choice because it allowed her to be part of a community.

Continue Reading A Road Map for the Future of Health Care

Of the nine nursing institutes in Oman, Mason alumni lead four of them—three are deans and one is a director. There soon will be a fifth. “Forty years ago, Oman had one hospital and 20 beds. Now there are 60 health care facilities in Oman,” says Kevin Mallinson, assistant dean for PhD and research programs in Mason’s School of Nursing. “Mason has had a big impact on Oman wherever in the country [these alumni] serve.”

Continue Reading Mason’s Nursing Leadership Pipeline to Oman

When Mason global affairs major Donna Imadi was still a senior in high school, she came up with the idea of a centralized community-based mentorship program that could offer support for high school students facing linguistic, socioeconomic, and other challenges outside of school. A year later, as a college freshman in Mason’s Honors College, she turned her idea into the nonprofit organization InvestinYOUth.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Donna Imadi

Growing up in Bangladesh, Shaquib Chowdhury knows firsthand the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change. Bangladesh is a low-lying country prone to flooding, and citizens from coastal towns are constantly relocating to the capital, Dhaka, already one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Chowdhury has decided to do something about it.

Continue Reading Student Profile: Shaquib Chowdhury

When communication major Katie Lai enrolled in a speech class at Las Positas College, she had no idea the course would completely change her trajectory. She found she was good at public speaking and was soon competing on the college’s forensics team.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Katie Lai

While still in high school, Nick Stasiak began reporting on the local weather on a website he created, gaining the attention of several nearby meteorologists. When he came to Mason, he began using his page Forecast GMU (now nickstasiak.com) and the Twitter and Instagram handle @GMUWeatherman to keep Mason students informed of local weather.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Nick Stasiak

When communication major Issmar Ventura, BA Communication ’16, was a small boy, he aspired to be an airline pilot. When he grew up, he worked for Air France for a while and decided that career wasn’t for him. His mother suggested he become an immigration lawyer because he loved helping others. He considered it and even shadowed one for a stint, but again—not for him. He placed himself through his years at Mason by working a sales job, yet again, it just did not fit. Now he is on his way to his dream career as a broadcast journalist.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Issmar Ventura

A ballroom dancer since eighth grade, Catherine Rochon, now president of Mason’s Ballroom Dance Club, urges others kick up their heels as a way to unwind.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Catherine Rochon

What surprised athletic training major Abigail Solis most about her internship as an athletic trainer with the NFL’s Washington Redskins was how down to earth the players seemed.

Continue Reading Just One of the Guys at Redskins Camp

For biology major Chris Fernandez, receiving the $7,000 Udall Scholarship provides an opportunity, as the rising senior says, “to understand some of the roots of the conservation movement in the United States.” In August, at a four-day conference tied to the scholarship in Tucson, Arizona, he joined 60 scholarship recipients to work with professionals on case studies concerning environmental and Native American issues.

Continue Reading Student Profile: Chris Fernandez