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OSCAR is marking its 10th anniversary this spring as part of its Spring Celebration of Student Scholarship, a virtual event, May 4-7.

Illegal goods can have deadly consequences. Whether it’s a counterfeit face mask that doesn’t provide a frontline worker adequate protection from COVID-19, or a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl (a synthetic painkiller 50-100 times more potent than morphine), millions of lives can be at risk. A multidisciplinary team of researchers and students at ����AV is working to stop such criminal activity. Thanks to a nearly $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)—and a $16,000 grant supplement awarded to two undergraduates on the team—they will be investigating how to disrupt illicit supply chains, influence policy, and ultimately save lives.

Since he was old enough to drive, Anees Mokhiber would freestyle in his car. The ����AV double alumnus has since transformed the hobby he describes as therapeutic into a career, with his car being his mobile recording studio. On April 10, during an Instagram live from his Ford Focus, the up-and-coming rapper sang his latest single “Slip,” and was caught by surprise when Justin Bieber joined the livestream to jam along. The Grammy-winning pop star gave major compliments on Mokhiber’s musical talent in front of audience of more than 60,000 people.

Doctoral student Sharrell Hassell-Goodman is co-chair of the Student Voice Committee.

Electrical engineering student Jazzmin Robinson knows the value public speaking skills hold for a career in engineering.

Junior Dominique Dowling has been working to enact social change since high school. She joined the GMU NAACP chapter in her second year at Mason, and now she is the group’s vice president. Through the chapter, she has been involved in numerous panels and committees, which inspired her to do more anti-racism work on campus.“Being part of the NAACP has exposed me to different initiatives and people who have been doing this work for years,” said the integrative studies major. “It made me realize that anti-racism work requires an ongoing dedication because there is always work to be done.”

Step into a local Total Wine or Whole Foods store and you may be surprised to find George Mason among the wine bottles on the shelves. Sporting a colonial hat with a modern pair of shades, he’s the face of ����AV’s private wine label.

For Nicole Lynn Lewis, Master’s in Public Policy ’06, completing her undergraduate degree as a single mom not only opened doors of opportunity, but symbolized how far she had come despite the challenges involved.

Fakhira Halloun holds two contradictory identities: She is Palestinian and an Israeli citizen. It wasn’t until she began facilitating peace dialogues between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem in 2000, that she realized Palestinian citizens of Israel could be the missing link in bridging ties between the two groups.

May Abboud Melki’s home was in shambles following the massive August 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Glass shards from blasted windows and debris filled her home, and nearly everything she owned had been damaged. That is, except for her piano.

Celine Apenteng may only have one biological sibling, but she regards nearly a dozen people from around the world as her sisters. This “extended family,” as she calls them, and Apenteng’s travels abroad, have had a profound impact on her view of education. “There’s always something for you to learn,” said Apenteng, whose family has hosted exchange students from France, Moldova and Germany since she was 10. “Even if it’s not something new, the way somebody says something could impact how you think about it.”

When Denys Kuratchenko began working at Northern Virginia Community College’s 3D printing lab in 2017, he didn’t anticipate that his projects would change lives. But the expression on a young girl’s face made him realize he could.