Schar School of Policy and Government

Senior of the Year Celine Apenteng has made an impact during her time at George Mason, and she isn’t done. After graduating this spring, the Silver Spring, Maryland, native will continue to pursue her master’s through the university’s accelerated master’s program.

As a first-generation Guyanese American student, Zayd Hamid has found his calling in empowering his generation of student leaders with the education and experience they need to solve the world’s grand challenges.

Lydia Sigman grabbed every Schar School opportunity to position herself for a career in government.

Meet the two rising seniors who won a competitive scholarship within the Honors College: Aarush Jambunathan and Sebastian Rodinov.

Molly Izer’s political curiosity knows no bounds. As a second-year student in the Honors College, Izer has already explored a range of political advocacy spheres. From her high school origins in grassroots organizing in Oregon to her freshman-year congressional internships in Washington, D.C., Izer is now taking the next step with policy research at George Mason University and beyond.  

When a candidate chooses to run for public office, they are agreeing to place not only their policies, but also their character up for critique. 

People want to know who they are really voting for and the media will do its best to dig up all they can on what may lurk in their past. For that reason, the job of an “opposition media consultant” is imperative to have on the campaign team.

What is the job of a political reporter in an age of widely spread “fake news”? “It is our job to tell the truth,” said Amy Gardner, who covers national politics for the Washington Post. Easy, right?

Sharing and consuming news has come a long way over the course of the past few political campaigns, where bias competes with accuracy for the spotlight, and every week seems to come with a new headline scandal that had been covered up by officials in public office. As Gardner detailed in her conversation with Mason Robinson Professor of Public Policy Steven Pearlstein in the First Tuesday series of webinars, many depend on newspapers to stay up-to-date with crucial information in a time where “all norms have been shattered.”

Despite a path to George Mason University that was challenging and, in her own words, “unconventional,” incoming freshmen Juliette Reyes moved on to campus this fall.

The Parkland, Florida, native will be double majoring in government and international politics and conflict analysis and resolution, a decision based on an initial interest in politics in high school that grew into a passion.

Political campaigns are complex—even for political scientists. For students studying the field, understanding what is happening behind the scenes of a campaign can be difficult. For the average citizen, the confusion can be even greater.

That’s why Steven Pearlstein created the First Tuesday speaker series. The Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University hopes it can help broaden perspectives on politics and challenge misconceptions that lead to political cynicism.