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About the Magazine
Mason Spirit is published three times a year by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations in conjunction with the Office of Communications and Marketing.
Staff Profiles
Meet the Mason Nation: Dan Walsch
By Colleen Kearney Rich on November 7, 2017
You might recognize Dan Walsch, PhD Communication ’11. For nearly 20 years, he served as Mason’s director of media relations and spokesperson and could be seen on the local news from time to time. He also taught public relations classes in the Communication Department for most of his 28-year career at Mason. In fact, teaching is what led him to his current position.
Meet the Mason Nation: Doni Nolan
By Buzz McClain, BA '77 on August 4, 2017
As an undergraduate, Doni Nolan, BA Biology ’14, had no visions of a future profession until she visited the Fairfax Campus greenhouse. “It was like a revolution in my life. Really, it was immediately so clear: This is what I want to do with my life,” she says. “This is everything I want. Soil, pots, a huge diversity of plants. I want to be a farmer.”
Meet the Mason Nation: Ryan Murphy
By Cathy Cruise, MFA '93 on April 26, 2017
For Ryan Murphy, coordinator of Mason Recreation’s Outdoor Adventures program, each week offers a new chance for travel and discovery. Since the program began in 2014, Murphy has spent weekends leading Mason students and faculty away from books and desks and into the outdoors. He decides what trips to take, and handles requirements for programming, equipment, permits, and trip leader training, for nearly 30 trips a year.
Meet the Mason Nation: LaNitra Berger
By Cathy Cruise, MFA '93 on July 14, 2016
LaNitra Berger helps deserving students land big awards, even Fulbrights, and is especially driven to address the underrepresentation of minority students.
Meet the Mason Nation: Katrina Sapp
By Jamie Rogers on January 28, 2016
Katrina Sapp keeps more than 65 of Mason’s Steinway & Sons pianos tuned and in tip-top condition for the hundreds of music students and faculty who play them.
Meet the Mason Nation: Robert Vay
By Buzz McClain, BA '77 on November 2, 2015
Job: Digital Collections and Exhibitions Archivist Bob Vay, BA History ’92, came to Mason in August 1985 as a physical education major. When he graduated in 1992, he took a position with the National Archives in the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. “Then I found this job in December 1993,” he said during a conversation in…
Meet the Mason Nation: Monica Marcelli
By Colleen Kearney Rich on May 5, 2015
Monica Marcelli has her dream job. “I actually like Mondays. I’m excited to come to work,” she says. Marcelli joined Mason six years ago to run its greenhouse.