George Mason University

Podcast - EP36: Charles Chavis: The truth will set you free

Damian Cristodero — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:39:43 +0000

Podcast - EP36: Charles Chavis: The truth will set you free Damian Cristodero Fri, 02/18/2022 - 09:39

In This Story

Charles Chavis, an assistant professor of conflict resolution and history, and director of African and African American studies at Mason, talks to Mason President Gregory Washington about his new book that explores the lynching of a young Black Man in Salisbury, Md., and how understanding his story and the Black experience in the United States can help find ways to fight anti-Black violence. Chavis also pushes for a National Truth and Reconciliation Program to give the country the chance to reset and “deal with the truth.”

Topics

George Mason University

Access to Excellence podcast

podcast

Podcast Episode

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

African and African American Studies

Critical Race Theory

Celebrating stories of personal growth from these graduating seniors

Damian Cristodero — Fri, 22 May 2020 09:30:00 +0000

Celebrating stories of personal growth from these graduating seniors Damian Cristodero Fri, 05/22/2020 - 05:30

Gabrielle Jackson, Community Health

Gabrielle Jackson came to Mason because she said she wanted to be close to Washington, D.C., and she admired the friendliness and diversity of the campus. She also appreciated Mason’s interdisciplinary approach to community, global and public health.

“I wanted to be well-versed in the social and economic issues affecting health access,” Jackson, 22, said. “I was able to get the big picture view of community health at Mason.”

Jackson has taken on a number of leadership and mentoring roles while at Mason, including resident advisor, peer student success coach and peer research mentor.

Jackson of Voorhees, New Jersey, is a member of the Honors College and is a University Scholar, Mason’s most prestigious merit scholarship. Jackson, who minored in Spanish, said she was grateful for the opportunities she had to travel and learn about other countries.

That will continue as Jackson, with a Fulbright Scholarship will be a teaching assistant in Colombia, teaching English and math, and providing additional support to professionals who wish to improve their English. The program is on hold until at least January 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jackson spent a semester in Mason’s study-abroad program in Spain and traveled with Mason to Cuba. In 2018, Jackson received the prestigious Boren Award for International Study to spend a summer learning Portuguese in Brazil.

“That was a pivotal Mason experience for me,” Jackson said. “It was a chance to challenge myself.”

After graduation, Jackson will be working as a project assistant at Justice & Sustainability Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based firm specializing in alternative dispute resolution in public policy and civic engagement.

— Anna Stolley Persky

Patrick Grady, Government and International Politics

Patrick Grady really took advantage of the Mason’s proximity to Washington, D.C., while working on his degree in government and international politics with minors in criminology, law and society and legal studies.

The Honors College student from Kennebunkport, Maine, interned on Capitol Hill with his state representatives, Congressman Jared Golden and Senator Susan Collins, and Maine’s Democratic Party.

His service work wasn’t limited to the Hill; Grady was also very active in Student Government and as resident advisor. He also led the student organization InvestinYOUth, a youth mentoring program with at-risk high school students.

In his junior year, he received a prestigious Truman Scholarship, which provides $30,000 for graduate work for those pursuing public service careers. Grady has deferred graduate school until a later date and has accepted a year-long Truman-Albright Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health Policy.

“One of the issues I will be focusing on is the opioid epidemic and more broadly drug misuse and mortality in rural populations,” he said. “I want to investigate what policies are needed to curb the issue and ultimately move our country to a place where this is no longer a problem.”

Of his time at Mason, Grady said, “I think what made Mason such a great place for me was being in an environment where I was exposed to so many different people and ideas while also being encouraged to do well in my classes and make an impact in my community. It was the perfect formula for me to learn and find direction.

— Colleen Kearney Rich

Ben Rhoades, Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Ben Rhoades said he didn’t realize the breadth of environmental science before he came to Mason. That is why it’s been difficult for him to decide on a master’s program, and why he is looking for a job.

“I’ve learned about all these issues and academic fields,” said Rhoades, who recently researched the amount of microplastics in the Potomac River. “I want to be involved before I narrow it down for the rest of my career.”

A member of the Honors College and a University Scholar, Rhoades, of Midlothian, Virginia, said his Mason experience has been one of personal and academic growth.

Never a joiner, Rhoades has been part of Roosevelt @ Mason, a nonpartisan student policy organization; Green Patriots; the Mason Environmental Justice Alliance, which advocates for diversity in the environmental movement; and Alpha Kappa Chi, the environmental science professional fraternity.

“I could never have expected everything I got out of Mason,” Rhoades said. “The professors were amazing. I never thought I’d be doing undergraduate research, but that’s been a defining part of my time at Mason.”

— Damian Cristodero

Sarah Richart, Conflict Analysis and Resolution

While working as a waitress at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon last summer, Sarah Richart’s coworkers instantly noticed the patient way she dealt with the elderly. While some people might have gotten frustrated with them, Richart said she found them delightful.

“My whole life I’ve gotten along with older people, and my grandmother and I were very close,” said Richart, an Honors College student from Philadelphia. “It hit me this summer that this is something I could do with my conflict resolution degree.”

Richart said her senior capstone project is centered on the experiences of elderly refugees, and she’s already been applying for jobs that would allow her to connect elderly refugees with helpful services.

“I’ve really had a great time,” Richart said. “The thing I loved most about my time at Mason is that there are so many different things I can be involved in.”

That includes running Division I cross country and track, being a Peacebuilding Fellow who interned with Churches for Middle East Peace, studying international security in Switzerland, and pursuing research through the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR), she said.

Whether it was researching how female authors like Zelda Fitzgerald had their narratives influenced by their husbands, or finding ways to combine her passions, Richart’s Mason experience “has been a dream come true,” she said.

— Mariam Aburdeineh

Zaria Talley, English

Zaria Talley has been busy in her four years at Mason. She’s majoring in English with concentrations in literature, and writing and rhetoric, and minored in African and African American Studies and Criminology, Law and Society.

The Honors College member worked as a Mason Ambassador; an editor for Volition, an undergraduate literary and arts journal; and on the communication team and as a peer mentor for the Honors College.

“Getting involved with Volition and becoming an editor was really a big stepping point in moving my career and advancing what I want to do after graduation,” Talley said. “Volition has been a big part of my Mason experience.”

As a Mason Ambassador, Talley was the first face some incoming freshmen saw on campus, and that experience can be pivotal. At Volition, she helped create an expressive community for students.

About the Honors College, she said, “Being able to work as a mentor and help guide [freshmen] through their Mason journey, give them some advice on what I learned … it was a good opportunity for me.”

Talley has a post-graduation job lined up in editing and publishing.

— Delaney Harrison

Farhaj Murshed, Applied statistics

It was the kind of rare opportunity that few ever have, let alone a young college student. Farhaj Murshed spent the latter part of 2018 in his native Bangladesh doing fieldwork that would help better inform policymakers about organ trafficking. Talking with legal and illegal kidney donors, the Honors College student in the Volgenau School of Engineering gathered critical information needed to protect those most vulnerable from unscrupulous dealings.

It was the fourth time Murshed had been funded by Mason’s Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR). His research mentor’s team received additional funding from the National Science Foundation.

“It was a great experience,” said Murshed, 22, from Lorton, Virginia, “and it felt great to know that you’re contributing to the field of research you’re in and making an impact. I feel I was able to do that.”

Murshed was also selected for a Critical Language Scholarship, and spent the first half of 2018 in India, honing his skills in Bangla.

— John Hollis

Leaders highlight Winter Graduation

Damian Cristodero — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 10:30:00 +0000

Leaders highlight Winter Graduation Damian Cristodero Thu, 12/19/2019 - 05:30

These George Mason University winter graduates not only pushed the envelope in their fields of study, but pushed themselves out of their comfort zones.

With expanded knowledge and gained experience, they have forged a path by not only thinking but doing.

Photo by Lathan Goumas.

Thalia Dimopoulos
MA Psychology

Thalia Dimopoulos said she wants to do research for the rest of her life.

That wasn’t always the case. Originally she wanted to be a hospital geriatrician. But after a research opportunity through Mason’s Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR), in which Dimopoulos explored if mushrooms could diminish the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in mice, she was hooked.

“Those are skills that really do carry on, not only for your academic a career, but one day, your professional career, too,” said Dimopoulos, whose concentration is in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience.

Working in the lab of Department of Psychology associate professor Jane Flinn, and with the approval of Mason’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Dimopoulos fed mice who had the Alzheimer’s gene about six grams of white button mushrooms a week, about five percent of their diet, for six months.

The research builds on similar studies that have shown how mineral metabolism imbalances may play an important role in Alzheimer’s progression.

The mushrooms contain selenium, an antioxidant that improves spatial memory or, in other words, the ability to navigate space.

Dimopoulos said the mice with the Alzheimer’s gene showed a 10% improvement in navigating a water maze. The maze contained a raised platform that provides the swimming mice a safe harbor. The research tested the ability of the mice to recall the location of the platform.

Dimopoulos said such experiments can help find treatments for Alzheimer’s in people.

“The research can go further than just studying mushrooms,” Dimopoulos said. “I can see selenium-fortified human clinical trials happening even now.”

— Damian Cristodero

Shreya Bhatia
BS Computer Science

Mathematics has always been personal for Shreya Bhatia, and she has literally taken it to heart.

She was still a child when she underwent open heart surgery, and it was her fascination with math that helped during many subsequent visits to her cardiologist.

“When I would see their medical equipment, I would get so intrigued about how math was used to calculate the health of the heart,” said Bhatia, who will graduate from George Mason University on Dec. 19 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. “In 10th grade, I began taking calculus classes where I learned about integrals and Riemann sums [which approximate the lengths of curves], so I imagined how the surface area of the heart was likely scanned and used to calculate the volume of the heart changing during beats.”

Next up for Bhatia could be a master’s degree in computer science through Mason’s Accelerated Master’s Program. She’ll be completing her coursework while working as a system development engineer at Amazon Web Services, where she had an internship.

Bhatia, who also served as an Honors College Peer Research Mentor, was invited to speak to middle schoolers in Loudoun County by her former high school calculus teacher. She says her story is proof that school doesn’t have to be a chore.

“Learning about something new can provide you with the tools you need to build something great,” Bhatia said.

— John Hollis

Hicham Hall
BIS Individualized Study

Pursuing a college education as a nontraditional student can make for some budgeting and scheduling challenges, something George Mason University’s Hicham Hall knows firsthand.

Hall has been continuing his education with the support of his wife and two small children. A veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force and the Army, Hall will graduate from Mason Dec. 19 with a bachelor of individualized study in Islamic thought. He is fluent in English and Maghrebi Arabic, and is studying modern standard Arabic.

“I wasn’t always interested in religious studies,” he said. “I have always been, however, very passionate about whatever it is I found interesting.”

The path hasn’t been easy for Hall, who worked full-time as an emergency room technician while in school and did side work to earn extra cash. His wife oversaw things at home and even made time to organize an initiative that raised $100,000 for black churches in the South that were burned down a few years ago. She was among those honored at the White House by then-President Barack Obama.

“My days are busy, and so are hers,” Hall said. “We are making it happen day-by-day. Our kids have no idea the sacrifices their parents are making because they are too little to know. When life settles down and we settle into our careers, we will tell them stories of how it was for us.”

— John Hollis

Samantha Borders-Shoemaker
PhD Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Samantha Borders-Shoemaker noticed an unsettling trend when she conducted workshops in Fairfax County Public Libraries on how to talk with others about polarizing topics.

“A lot of [the attendees] spoke about political issues at home, how it caused divorces or in some cases fractured close family relationships,” she said. “It was quite serious.”

Borders-Shoemaker said those struggles helped spark her dissertation addressing interpersonal communication around political differences. And the conflict resolution curriculum and dialogue program Borders-Shoemaker helped develop in partnership with Fairfax County Public Library won the 2019 Gordon M. Conable Award from the Public Library Association.

“I would like to take the workshop I designed [for my doctoral research] and apply it in more rural communities,” Borders-Shoemaker said.

After graduation, Borders-Shoemaker said she plans to help address local conflicts, such as political tensions and racial reconciliation, among individuals in the Hampton Roads area.

She said she’s grateful for the connections she has made at Mason. Professors Karina Korostelina, Julie Shedd and Richard Rubenstein became mentors who “from day one invested in me and helped me succeed in a meaningful way,” Borders-Shoemaker said.

Her Christian faith and the transformative impact of others’ investment in her own life motivate her to give back, she said.

In addition to attending classes, Borders-Shoemaker worked as a certified interventionist at the Lizzy Foundation, a local suicide prevention organization, and serves families affected by dementia through storytelling therapy at the Center for Well-Being and Resilience.

— Mariam Aburdeineh

Qui “Kelly” Mai
BA Philosophy

Winter graduate Kelly Mai said she came to Mason for diversity, and as a student in the Honors College, she found plenty of opportunities to explore.

“Mason is well-known for its diversity in thought, opportunity, and culture,” said Mai. “I am fortunate to experience this richness in my courses and outside around campus.”

She completed several research projects as part of her courses, but she also participated in the Arlington Global Health Fellowship, where she was able to fuse philosophy into global issues such as poverty, immigration and health justice. She also explored other parts of the world with a study-abroad opportunity at Oxford University with support from the International Horizons Scholarship.

“The International Horizons Scholarship was a chance for me to literally expand my horizons," said Mai.

In her classes, Mai completed an ethical analysis on international pharmaceutical restrictions and another on indigenous property rights, like the Western-Shoshone peoples in Nevada, in relation to the nuclear waste conversation, in particular, the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository proposal.

After graduation, Mai said she’ll be studying for the LSAT so she can attend law school to pursue medical law.

— Mary Lee Clark

Ana Ramon Albors
MHA Health Care Administration

As a working professional, George Mason University winter graduate Ana Ramon Albors said she looked for a university that was reasonably priced with in-person classes—because she preferred them to online classes—and a flexible schedule (evening classes). With all of that in mind, she said, Mason was a great fit.

During her time at Mason’s College for Health and Human Services, Ramon worked with Len Nichols, professor of health policy, who is working on a feasibility study to prove a new model of financing social determinants of health (SDoH).

“The field was something outside my comfort zone. I am a pharmacist by training and having to focus on economic models, social determinants of health and learn about specific Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations was both challenging and very rewarding,” said Ramon. “I am very thankful that he gave me this opportunity.”

For her capstone class, Ramon worked on a memo to Congress advocating for changes in CMS policies to allow and also incentivize Medicaid and Medicare plans to invest in SDoH to implement a holistic health care approach.

After graduation, she plans to take a break after having to balance work, classes and family for the past few years. Stepping out of her comfort zone at Mason, she said, has open new opportunities in her career.

“My capstone opened new doors,” said Ramon. “I have seen how much we can do from the health care side to address social issues, interventions that will benefit population health and that I am very interested in exploring.”

— Mary Lee Clark