Xia Amari Parkes

Alumnus Jeff Shen, President of Red Team Consulting, to speak at Honors College Graduation Reception

rstaffo2 — Wed, 08 May 2024 14:56:13 +0000

Alumnus Jeff Shen, President of Red Team Consulting, to speak at Honors College Graduation Reception rstaffo2 Wed, 05/08/2024 - 10:56

The Honors College is pleased to announce that Jeff Shen (BS Management Information Systems, ‘96), a University Scholar alumnus and the President of Red Team Consulting, will be the Spring 2024 Honors College Graduation Reception Speaker. Red Team Consulting is a strategic growth consultancy that helps companies scale in the government contracting market. For more than 20 years, Red Team has helped thousands of companies achieve their growth targets with full lifecycle business development, capture, proposal development, pricing, and training services.

Since January 2023, Shen has given back to George Mason by serving on the Honors College Advisory Board. In this capacity, Shen recently leveraged his professional networks and gave generously of his time to pull together the Honors College Government Contracting Roundtable, an event co-sponsored by the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting. At the Government Contracting Roundtable, Honors College students had the opportunity to learn directly from Mason alumni who are now corporate executives and leaders in the government contracting industry. Meeting with these leaders gave students the opportunity to appreciate the many pathways to success and the multi-dimensional nature of today’s government contracting companies. It also gave the Honors College a unique opportunity to showcase the immense talent of our student body to major industry leaders in our region.

In his time on the Advisory Board, Shen has shown a deep commitment to helping Honors College students see themselves as the leaders of tomorrow. At an Honors College Professional Development Workshop this Winter, Shen met in a small group setting with a select cohort of Honors College students. He spoke about his experiences leading Red Team Consulting and his pathway from George Mason to his current success, then answered student questions about professional development, telling their own professionalization stories effectively, and his view of key issues in his industry.

Students who participated in both the roundtable and workshop events described experiences where they networked, gained valuable professional experience, and learned about aspects of government contracting they would likely not have encountered without Shen’s help. Two current George Mason students, Jessica Taylor and Avery Shippen, both following in Shen’s footsteps as a part of the University Scholars program, discussed their experience participating in the Honors College Professional Development Fellows Government Contracting Roundtable event.

Jessica Taylor, a Junior pursuing a BFA in Music Technology with a minor in Computer Science, highlighted the importance of the conversations she was able to have:

“An incredibly unique opportunity to have meaningful conversations with leaders in the government contracting industry. As a student with an untraditional background in the field I’m pursuing, this event was a great way to get ahead of the game and improve my professional presentation. I learned so much about the industry and made strong connections that I have since followed up with and look forward to maintaining!”

Echoing Jessica’s sentiments, Avery Shippen, a Conflict Analysis major, highlighted the value of building her professional network and getting a realistic idea of how she might fit into the government contracting industry:

“The roundtable was an incredible experience that allowed me to grow my network connections as well as my career development. The event helped me learn the inner workings of the field and how I could fit into the government contractor space. I’m so grateful to have been a part of this experience.”

The Honors College is immensely grateful to Shen for helping establish the Honors College Professional Development Fellows program and the Government Contracting Roundtable. Plans are currently underway to continue this project in the coming year.

As a member of the Honors College Dean's Advisory Board, Shen helps provide advisory feedback to the Dean and Honors College administration about the business community's expectations, messaging opportunities, employment trends, and demands for workforce development at Mason. Shen and other board members assist the Honors College in creating new partnerships, promoting internships, developing new service-learning opportunities, and cultivating donors.

The Honors College is exceedingly thankful to Mr. Shen for his service to his alma mater and for sharing his words of wisdom at the Honors College Graduation Reception.

Topics

Graduation

Center for Government Contracting

Honors College

A Journey Through Time: Honors College Students Explore the Library of Congress

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 17:37:27 +0000

A Journey Through Time: Honors College Students Explore the Library of Congress Wasiq Muhammad… Wed, 03/13/2024 - 13:37

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, its collections encompassing more than 175 million items. And it sits less than 30 minutes from George Mason’s campus. On February 17, Honors College students were given the opportunity to discover for themselves this bastion of American culture.

During the visit, the students were able to see some of the Library of Congress’ most significant exhibitions and collection pieces – including a replica of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, whose books are part of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Jefferson’s library comprised over six thousand volumes on politics, history and science. A selection of these books is encased in the display. As the group walked around, they admired the wide variety of literature Jefferson exposed himself to as well as the authors and titles that shaped his thinking.

“Seeing what topics Thomas Jefferson had read and the influential authors he was inspired by was intriguing. His books about botany also surprised me.”

Matthew (Matt) Nguyen

Among the special collection pieces on display is a Guttenberg Bible, one of the earliest books to be printed using mass-produced movable metal type. The Library of Congress’s copy is printed on vellum – thin parchment made from animal skin – and is one of only three complete vellum copies that survive today. This artifact's historical significance and its contribution to the dissemination of knowledge continue to remind the Honors College students, and all visitors, of the transformative power of information that the library represents.

As the students’ tour continued, the group climbed the stairs to the observation deck to view the Main Reading Room below. While floor access is restricted to researchers, the panoramic view from the balcony gave them a glimpse of the gravitas of the space. The mission of a library and its contents can be seen in the building's architecture. According to the Library of Congress, the eight large statues that circle the reading room each represent a category of knowledge understood to symbolize aspects of civilized life and thought: philosophy, art, history, commerce, religion, science, law and poetry.

The Library of Congress began as a small resource for the use of Congress. Lost in a fire during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library to replace the library’s collections, from which its contents have only grown. The main building, with its recognizable façade, officially opened to the public in 1897. Since then, the Library of Congress has been on the forefront of modernization, pioneering digital library catalogues in partnership with UNESCO, among other innovations.

The Honors College strives to offer a well-rounded education to its students, promoting their intellectual and cultural development though various thoughtfully selected events. Keep an eye on the weekly newsletter for new opportunities to join Honors College trips.

Topics

George Mason Honors College

Honors College

Keeping Cool with Cones and Conversation

gsehgal2 — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:24:36 +0000

Keeping Cool with Cones and Conversation gsehgal2 Thu, 08/31/2023 - 15:24

Mason’s Honors College hosted its annual ice cream social on Friday, August 25th in the HUB. The Annual Ice Cream Social welcomes first year and transfer students to the Honors College community with frozen treats and an opportunity to meet their fellow classmates, and the Honors College faculty and staff.

Students gathered around tables, indulging in games, conversations, and ice cream. The new student cohort chatted with upperclassmen and learned more about the Honors College experience. Many also took advantage of the ice cream social to introduce themselves to the faculty and staff, particularly their advisors who they may have not met before The event kicked off the Fall semester and is one of many more exciting events ahead.

Topics

Honors College

George Mason Board of Trustees Invites Honors College Students to Present Their 2023 Research Projects

gsehgal2 — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 23:06:43 +0000

George Mason Board of Trustees Invites Honors College Students to Present Their 2023 Research Projects gsehgal2 Mon, 07/03/2023 - 19:06

Honors College students conduct exceptionally ambitious and important research starting in their first semester at Mason. To help tell that story to the world, three of our most motivated Honors College students presented their research project to The George Mason Board of Trustees on the morning of June 15th in Merten Hall. Representative of the Honors College student body, these students, Lina Hussein, Rakibul Alam Anik, and Molly Izer represented a wide range of interests, from healthcare to sustainability.

The George Mason Board of Trustees serves the George Mason University Foundation, ensuring that its fundraising efforts support, promote, encourage, and contribute to the Mason community. Through fundraising, George Mason University Foundation helps Mason serve the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Washington DC region, and the world by providing exceptional research and cutting-edge facilities. The George Mason University Foundation additionally strives to increase student financial aid, expand learning programs, and improve career support for students and alumni.

Invited to speak to the Board of Trustees by Trishana Bowden, the Vice President of Advancement at George Mason University after their presentations at the 2023 Spring Exhibition, these projects demonstrated what motivated Honors College students can do if taught to ask good questions, systematically pursue and evaluate the best available evidence, and approach research with an openness to multiple perspectives. Each of them began learning these skills in Honors 110, during their first semester. Honors 110 provides a foundation that many Honors College students use later in their academic careers by continuing to conduct research and present their findings. Lina Hussein, Rakibul Alam Anik, and Molly Izer are among the Honors College students who have done so.

Lina Hussein’s research examined the impacts of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act on safety in hospitals that serve at-risk or vulnerable populations. She also explored how reforming these provisions could help reduce healthcare inequity. She conducted a literature review in order to develop new criteria to identify “safety net” hospitals. Her research revealed that Disproportionate Share Hospital payments had varying impacts on these hospitals, the Value-Based Purchasing program had the potential to affect quality of care, and the Hospital Readmission Reduction program had negative impacts on hospitals serving at-risk and vulnerable populations. Lina Hussein, a neuroscience major with a minor in Public Health and an Honors College student, conducted a research project in her Honors 110 course under the guidance of Stephen Hixon.

Rakibul Alam Anik His research question was focused on how sustainable agriculture could address issues concerning high soil salinity in Coastal Bangladesh and how farmers could be empowered and educated to adopt such practices. His methodology involved an extensive literature review to develop the best practice proposals. The review revealed that rural farmers in Bangladesh are crucial but often lack updated knowledge. Practices like agroecology, ridge-and-hill planting, and improved crop rotation can address water, salinity, and soil nutrition issues, but coordinated planning is necessary. Rakibul Anam Anik conducted research under the guidance of Dr. Caroline West in Honors 110.

Molly Izer’s research explored the function of caucuses in Congress, their usefulness, and whom they benefit. To answer this, Molly interviewed key staffers for each caucus and used a unique data set to track congressional caucus membership. Her study revealed that different types of caucuses offer different benefits, mainly by connecting legislators with common interests, facilitating coordination between factions and groups, and improving congressional efficacy through knowledge of one's congressional caucus. Molly Izer is a student at the Schar School majoring in government and international politics, with a concentration in law and philosophy and a minor in American Sign Language. Molly’s interest in research began in Honors 110 under Dr. Nadeen Maklouf and continued in Government 103 with Dr. Jennifer Victor. She later worked as a data collector for Dr. Victor and received funding from the OSCAR office to conduct undergraduate research.

Topics

Spring Exhibition

Richard Todd Stafford Teaches Youths about Water Pollution and to Monitor Stream Health

gsehgal2 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 03:51:58 +0000

Richard Todd Stafford Teaches Youths about Water Pollution and to Monitor Stream Health gsehgal2 Fri, 06/23/2023 - 23:51

In This Story

Richard Todd Stafford

Honors College faculty members bring the principles of civic engagement and inclusion that they teach in the classroom to the broader community through acts of community service.

On Wednesday, June 21st, Honors College Director of Communications Richard Todd Stafford taught youths in the Warren County Izaak Walton League’s “Walton Wednesday” program about water quality and the use of benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of pollution.

The Warren County, Virginia Izaak Walton League is an organization that has worked for over 90 years to protect the natural resources in Virginia’s Northern Shenandoah Valley by advocating for clean water, healthy soil, conservation, and outdoor recreation. Walton Wednesdays is a program organized by the group to encourage youths between two and thirteen years of age to have fun outdoors while learning about environmental science and outdoor recreation.

Stafford brings the Honors College’s emphasis on experiential learning to this volunteer work.

Sharing some of his expertise at Walton Wednesdays for the third consecutive year, he offered an interactive classroom session intended accessibly introduce concepts of water pollution, water quality monitoring, and indicator species to a group with a wide age range. Stafford then facilitated a hands-on experience monitoring water pollution. The students in Walton Wednesdays assessed pollution in a freshwater creek by gathering and counting which benthic macroinvertebrates inhabit the stream, using a protocol developed by the Virginia Save Our Streams program, an initiative of the Izaak Walton League, to assess water quality. By collecting, identifying, and sorting the benthic macroinvertebrates in the stream using this protocol, his students were able to calculate a stream health score.

This real-world experience enabled participants to understand that the indicators of water pollution might often be things that would otherwise be overlooked. In doing so, his students come to appreciate humans’ impact on the local streams and creeks often extends beyond what they immediately notice. Dr. Stafford notes that the process helps to “make the issue of water pollution more vivid for these young students and also gives them a chance to really appreciate that we can’t always see whether or not the water is polluted.”

Stafford's contribution to Walton Wednesdays is part of his broader commitment to public engagement around environmental issues. He serves as the Second Vice President of the Warren County Izaak Walton League and also is on the board of Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, a non-profit organization focused on preserving a key watershed in the Shenandoah Valley.

Topics

youth programs

Children and Youth

water quality

Honors College Students Help Secure Mason’s Historic Softball Win at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship

gsehgal2 — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:45:32 +0000

Honors College Students Help Secure Mason’s Historic Softball Win at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship gsehgal2 Fri, 06/16/2023 - 11:45

When it comes to leaving an impact across campus, Honors College students on the softball team knock it out of the park. Fourth-ranked in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Mason’s softball team – including several Honors College students – battled and beat number two team, Loyola University Chicago. During the winner-take-all final game, the Patriots pulled ahead of the Ramblers in extra innings, leading the Patriots to a victory of 6-3. Student athletes from the Honors College put their exceptional skills on display on May 13, when for the first time in program history the women’s softball team won the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship.

Bringing a range of interests and talents to the Honors College community, Honors College students excel in various areas of student life at George Mason, sports included. Honors College students Zoe Vozick, Cheyenne DeGross, Charlotte Montgomery, Marlaina Bozek, and Alex Anderson are among this year’s Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship winners. Freshman Cheyenne DeGross is majoring in communications while also playing as a catcher and infielder for the Patriots. Zoe Vozick is a current junior, majoring in environmental and sustainability studies, while also playing as a catcher for Mason’s softball team. Charlotte Montgomery, a rising junior majoring in government and international politics, plays as an outfielder for Mason. Marlaina Bozek is a junior at Mason majoring in kinesiology. On the field, Bozek plays infielder for the Mason softball team. Alex Anderson, pitcher and infielder for the team, is a rising junior majoring in computer science.

These Honors College students have shown exceptional skills as leaders in the Mason community. Breaking barriers on the field and remaining relentless in pursuit of their win, these students continue to embody grit and audacity on and off the field.

Topics

Honors College

Mason softball

Atlantic 10 conference