EIP Graduate Juan Escalera Gives Back to Mason Through Honors College Communications Team

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 20:47:20 +0000

EIP Graduate Juan Escalera Gives Back to Mason Through Honors College Communications Team Wasiq Muhammad… Wed, 06/01/2022 - 16:47

“I am always interested in learning something new, or even better, be[ing] told of something I did know but from a different perspective.”

Juan Escalera, a senior Marketing and economics major, spoke these words as he thought back on his time in George Mason’s Honors College. With graduation on the horizon, the effect that the Honors College and all he has learned during his time in it has become more prominent.

Escalera began his time in the Honors College in the EIP—the Early Identification Program. This program identifies promising first-generation college students while in middle and high school, and guides them through their college application process and their first steps into Mason.

Having benefitted from this program, Escalera decided to pay the experience forward. In fact, he returned to be employed by the same office that had guided him, working as the photographer for many of their events.

“Being able to give back and support the program directly has been a great opportunity and has allowed me work alongside familiar faces.”

Moving forward with his time at Mason, Escalera soon enrolled in Multidisciplinary Practicum (HNRS 360), taught by instructor Mr. Richard Todd Stafford. During this class, he created an official marketing plan to help his employer. Using this plan, he analyzed analytics for the EIP’s social media posts, and conducted interviews with the intent of growing their social media presence.

From this experience, Escalera’s talent for social media marketing and photography was nurtured by his instructor, and following this project, Escalera was hired to the Honors College Communications Team by Stafford. Here, he now serves as the head social media intern for the team, teaching his peers and learning new aspects of communications work every day. He demonstrates to the team how to appropriately run various social media accounts and camera techniques—skills that are much appreciated by his peers. The Honors college provided him with a bridge between his professional and academic life, shaping Escalera into a well-rounded student during his time in college.

Escalera has always remarked that he loves to learn something new. From EIP to a future Honors College graduate, his passion for learning and appreciation for discovering something new has shaped his experience.

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Service to others has long been a part of Muhammad Farhan Babar’s life

John Hollis — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 17:27:25 +0000

Service to others has long been a part of Muhammad Farhan Babar’s life John Hollis Wed, 09/08/2021 - 13:27

Muhammad Farhan Babar speaks at the EIP graduation ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

It’s less a hobby as much as it is just something that is an integral part of who Muhammad Farhan Babar is deep down.

Volunteering his time to help others has helped shape the George Mason University freshman and Honors College member into the selfless young man he’s become.

And Farhan, as he’s known to those closest to him, says he’d have it no other way.

“Volunteering has always been a big thing for me,” said the 18-year-old Early Identification Program (EIP) graduate and aspiring computer science major from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia. “It’s just something I do and it’s really shaped my personality. It’s changed me a lot. It’s shaped how I think, who I am and how I view life.”

Those who know Babar are hardly surprised. Khaseem Davis, the director of EIP, recalled Babar as a great student who had immediately made a positive impression on him.

Photo provided

“He was always pleasant, respectful and super inquisitive,” Davis said. “I’ve learned you can tell the quality of a student by the types of questions they ask. Farhan didn’t waste words, was always direct and asked questions of substance. I am happy he chose Mason, and I only see him excelling in his studies.”

Babar, who grew up in nearby Prince William County, is one of four boys and had originally dreamed of being a doctor. He credited one of his brothers for getting him started volunteering at a local medical center during his junior year of high school. His duties there often included signing patients in at the front desk, visiting patients in their rooms to see if they needed anything, and fixing beds, among other chores.

Babar has a history giving of himself to help others. He was just a freshman in high school when he first began tutoring middle school students in math, including his younger brother.

“It’s incredibly satisfying when you see them start to get it,” he said.

Babar hopes to do more of the same as he gets his bearings and becomes more acclimated to his new surrounding on Mason’s Fairfax Campus. His volunteer experiences have prepared him well, giving him more patience and a broader world view.

“I believe that everybody should have that opportunity,” he said.

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Students (14101)

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