transfer students

Graduating senior’s compass pointed her to an English degree with a side trip to Ireland

Shayla Brown — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:52:46 +0000

Graduating senior’s compass pointed her to an English degree with a side trip to Ireland Shayla Brown Tue, 11/26/2024 - 11:52

��AV senior Katarina Benson has had five different majors throughout her college career. “Choosing what to study [was] very difficult for me, because so many fields interest me,” said Benson, who transferred from Delaware Valley University.

Benson, who grew up in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, previously majored in agribusiness, film and video, among other subjects before choosing and completing an English degree with a concentration in cultural studies.

“I’ve always loved reading and English was my favorite subject in middle school, so I eventually found my way back to where I was supposed to be,” said Benson, who is in the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society.

Benson wore many hats during her time at George Mason including editor-in-chief of Her Campus, a peer reviewer on the photography and the poetry and prose teams for Volition Literary and Arts magazine, a member of the George Mason’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and a buddy in the International Buddy Program. 

Benson took advantage of George Mason’s study-abroad opportunities in summer 2024 by attending the University of Galway in Ireland for four weeks for the International Summer School where she took two classes, “Representing Ireland: Literature and Film” and “The Archaeological Heritage of Ireland.” Learn more about her study-abroad experience.

Katarina Benson. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

She also worked as an editorial assistant to the university’s Mason Spirit magazine and as a public relations student coordinator in George Mason’s Office of University Branding.

What’s your best memory of George Mason?

I have so many good memories from the past few years but I’ll always remember when my family came to visit for Homecoming 2023. My dad, brother, and I spent the morning together making waffles in my dorm kitchen and then we went to the tailgate. George Mason men’s basketball won, and it was a really great game! I’m really close with my family and Homecoming was a great opportunity to enjoy George Mason together.

How have you grown while at George Mason?

George Mason and specifically our English Department, is one of the most welcoming and diverse communities I’ve ever been a part of. The understanding and accepting space they’ve given me has allowed me to truly explore my interests and identity. I have learned so much about myself over the past few years because of the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met at George Mason. 

Best piece of advice for incoming students?

Don’t limit yourself. I’ve tried so many new things that I've unexpectedly loved! One of my favorite experiences was going abroad, and I didn’t know if that was something I felt fully comfortable doing until I took the risk and went anyway. I had an amazing time and highly recommend just going for whatever it is that you may want to do! 

What’s next for you?

I’m taking a gap year and freelance writing. Then most likely going to graduate school. I plan on getting a master’s in something English-related; it’ll probably end up being either cultural studies, literature, or library science. 

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Mason honored for an innovative approach to serving contemporary students

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:50:17 +0000

Mason honored for an innovative approach to serving contemporary students Lauren Reuscher Wed, 01/31/2024 - 15:50

More about Contemporary Student Services

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Contemporary Student Services

��AV’s Contemporary Student Services has been recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), a leading voice for student affairs, for its innovative approach to serving post-traditional and off-campus students.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Contemporary Student Services (CSS), part of University Life, earned the Bronze Excellence Award for supporting success in "Commuter, Off Campus, Military-Affiliated, Non-Traditional, and Other" student populations. Mason’s approach to serving these students sets it apart from other institutions of higher education. The CSS office launched in 2019 as a first-of-its-kind unit dedicated to serving the multifaceted identities of contemporary students at Mason.

The choice to include a variety of post-traditional student populations under one umbrella was intentional. At Mason, “contemporary students” include those who are adult learners (25 and older), living off-campus, transfer students, married/widowed/divorced, veteran or military-affiliated, returning to college after taking three or more years off, pregnant or parenting, or previously in the foster-care system. The definition is flexible and may continue to grow.

“Contemporary Student Services provides the latitude to evolve alongside our student population and remain flexible and inclusive,” said Joisanne Rodgers, director of Contemporary Student Services. “Mason didn't take the path of creating individual units to serve specific contemporary populations, because most contemporary students hold more than one of those identities—for example, they're a military-affiliated student parent living off-campus. The Venn diagram of contemporary student identities has a lot of intersections.”

Kids Zone in the Contemporary Student Lounge. Photo by Joisanne Rodgers/Contemporary Student Services

The Contemporary Student Lounge, in The Hub on the Fairfax Campus, is a place of refuge and support for these students. The space includes a well-equipped Kid’s Zone with age-appropriate furnishings, books, and activities. The lounge is staffed with contemporary student employees and peer mentors who help serve these students and connect them to the broader Mason community. The space has proven to be a vital resource. Last year, the lounge relocated to a larger space to accommodate the growing number of students using it.

"It's a great privilege to work with a team of innovators who not only put our students first, but also work incredibly hard to ensure we're seeing and recognizing the unique students in front of us,” Rodgers said. “The contemporary student population at Mason keeps growing, and we're honored to be part of the support network and village that advocates, celebrates, educates, and serves our contemporary students.”

Mason will be formally recognized for its work in Contemporary Student Services at the NASPA annual conference in March. View the complete list of awardees.

A cancer diagnosis helped this Mason grad find her career path

Damian Cristodero — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 18:27:18 +0000

A cancer diagnosis helped this Mason grad find her career path Damian Cristodero Fri, 12/08/2023 - 13:27

Dulcce Valenzuela wasn’t going to say she would want to go through it again. But of her diagnosis, fight, and success beating back cancer as a teenager, she said, “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

That’s because the ��AV senior, who will graduate this month with a bioengineering degree, used the episode as a foundation for her life’s purpose.

“How can I help other people?” she said. “How can I leverage my skills to help somebody else?”

For Valenzuela, 30, from Stafford, Virginia, and a transfer student from Germanna Community College, that means medical school, a career in aerospace medicine, perhaps in the Air Force, and building off her research in Mason’s Applied Biosensing Laboratory.

There, under the mentorship of associate professor Parag Chitnis, Valenzuela is part of an effort to develop wearable ultrasound technology for the quantitative assessment of musculoskeletal injuries in military service members.

At the same time, Valenzuela is working part-time for Inova Health System as a rehabilitation technician. She previously worked part-time for Mary Washington Healthcare as a patient safety attendant.

"Dulcce is an exemplar student who not only achieved high academic standing in our classes but also made the most of the diverse research opportunities Mason Bioengineering has to offer for our undergrads," Chitnis said. "In my lab, she independently developed a method for characterizing the performance of novel, wearable ultrasound sensors, which has now become part of our standard protocol. This was an impressive accomplishment considering that she had no prior experience in this area."

“Once you’re out of the waters with something like cancer, your body is very much in fight or flight mode, and you’re just kind of surviving for a little bit,” said Valenzuela, who underwent two years of treatment to overcome Ewing sarcoma, which began in the soft tissue and bones of her shoulder and spread to her lungs. “Now I’m doing things with intention.”

It is that grit—including coming to the United States at 13 with her mother and sister from their native Honduras for her cancer treatments—that defines Valenzuela as a Mason student, said Shani Ross, associate chair of undergraduate programs in the Bioengineering Department.

“She is a good citizen of Mason,” Ross said. “From a diverse background, a transfer student, a good human being. And through her own struggles, really wants to help people.”

Added Claudia Borke, an academic advisor in the Bioengineering Department: “She exemplifies the best in a Mason student.”

Valenzuela said Mason helped pull the best out of her.

She said she immediately felt at home at the university during a field trip to the Fairfax Campus with other Germanna students. She appreciates the university’s diversity and the “tons of opportunities” for research with faculty who are “very open to having students in their labs so we can get some experience.”

“I feel I’m coming out with good relationships, good connections,” Valenzuela said. “I feel pretty ready to take my next steps.”

That includes beginning an accelerated master’s program at Mason in Spring 2024, continuing her research in the Applied Biosensing Lab, studying for the MCAT, and eventually applying to medical schools.

“I’m so excited,” Valenzuela said about graduating. “It is such an accomplishment to do that and give that to my mom and let her enjoy that, too.”

Learn more about the 2023 Winter Commencement Ceremonies

In This Story

Parag Chitnis

Shani Ross

More Graduation News

Computer science graduate turns internship experience into a full-time position
December 11, 2024
Commencement student speaker Caroline Little found her family while at George Mason
December 10, 2024
“When one door closes, open another”: This Costello student is making his way in music industry
December 10, 2024
Graduating systems engineering student is flying high
December 4, 2024
Graduating senior’s compass pointed her to an English degree with a side trip to Ireland
December 2, 2024

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Family of the Year exemplifies the importance of student support

Colleen Rich — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 19:40:43 +0000

Family of the Year exemplifies the importance of student support Colleen Rich Wed, 11/15/2023 - 14:40

Keryssa Ward, a senior transfer student, is succeeding at ��AV with her parents’ support. “My parents have been there every step of the way and I’m very blessed and appreciative of all the things my parents do and have done for me.”

Yolanda, Keryssa, and Kevin Ward, Family of the Year 2023. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

Ward is majoring in art and visual technology at Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Her family was named the 2023 Alan and Sally Merten Family of the Year at Mason’s Family Weekend. The award, given annually, recognizes the critical role families play in their student’s experience at Mason.

Ward visited Mason twice while she was enrolled at Brightpoint Community College in Chester, Virginia, where she graduated from in 2022 with an associate’s degree. She liked Mason more each time she visited, she said, and also got to know Mason through student videos and videos from Housing and Residence Life on YouTube. She decided to enroll for Spring 2023.

Her parents, Kevin and Yolanda, said Mason has exceeded their expectations. “Keryssa feels comfortable to try new things and considers Mason her home away from home which gives us great comfort as parents,” Yolanda Ward said. “We feel that George Mason is giving Keryssa the foundation she needs to grow and navigate the road to come. She says this school is where God wanted her to be, and we are so thankful!”

Ward’s Family of the Year application essay highlighted her parents’ support for her over the past few years as she tackled college while dealing with a health crisis. During the summer after her first year at Mason, she had a total left hip replacement. She said her parents “were there for me during the painful, lonely days and nights before the surgery and after. My mother and father never left my side.” She described the experience as heartbreaking and shared that her parents’ support helped her stay focused and motivated at school.

Ward said she appreciates that she can be herself at Mason and credits her personal growth to involvement in Mason organizations. She is a My Natural Events coordinator, a member of Every Nation Campus, a member of the Active Leaders program, a shopMason influencer, and a 2023 Leadership Mason Conference attendee.

“I have been more confident and social while at Mason because of all the resources, organizations, and connections that I have,” she said. “I have gotten out of my comfort zone many times, and I’m glad I did. I appreciate that everyone has been very welcoming and helpful at Mason.”

A fond memory she has of a time when her parents supported her campus activity involvement is the time she modeled in the African Student Association fashion show. Her mother helped her get dressed and her parents were sitting in the crowd supporting her and cheering her on.

After graduating, Ward plans to return to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Her dream job is to work for Disney’s design team, and she eventually wants to start her own business. She credits her parents for teaching her that she can achieve anything she puts her mind to.

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Family of the Year

Persistence and perseverance pays off for IT graduate

Martha Bushong — Fri, 06 May 2022 16:35:51 +0000

Persistence and perseverance pays off for IT graduate Martha Bushong Fri, 05/06/2022 - 12:35

Benhur Hadgu describes his college journey as an uphill battle that taught him never to give up. He says, “It's easy to start anything but hard to finish.” Like many Mason students, he started his journey at Northern Virginia Community College so he could develop the habits and learn material that would prepare him for higher education.

Benhur Hadgu

“When I entered NOVA, I was determined to be successful and reach my goals. I worked hard to build good habits and routines to study and learn,” he says. “I took advantage of NOVA's opportunities, and I started to develop my mindset. I took Math and English courses from the beginning and worked hard to overcome my challenges. I always wanted to be in technology.”

After completing his Associate of Science degree, he found he still was not quite ready for a four-year college. He decided to get experience in IT and enrolled in Year Up (a program within the Cisco Networking Academy) which provided hands-on training and prepared him for an internship at Blue Cross Blue Shield.

When Hadgu enrolled full-time at Mason he was working part-time, but when he registered, he found out that some credits did not transfer from NOVA and had to retake core prerequisites and core programming courses. “I struggled the first semester due to the intense curriculum requirements, but I persisted, adapted, and did well in my courses after adjusting to Mason’s higher standards and more serious environment.” He says, “I made sure I was always around positive associations with people that stretch me and bring out the best in me.”

It took Hadgu four and a half years to complete his bachelor’s degree from ��AV, but he says it was all worth it. “Mason is a good school that gives students a lot of opportunities. I now understand why it's essential to go to a good school. My life has improved. I have learned, grown, and become a better human being due to being challenged, disciplined, and pushed academically.”

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transfer students

Information Sciences and Technology Department

Northern Virginia Community College

American Council on Education task force report highlights Mason’s ADVANCE Program

Colleen Rich — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 19:00:44 +0000

American Council on Education task force report highlights Mason’s ADVANCE Program Colleen Rich Mon, 03/22/2021 - 15:00

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

An American Council on Education (ACE) Task Force of college and university presidents and chancellors released a report Monday highlighting the ADVANCE Program, a partnership between ��AV and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) as an example of successful collaboration to improve transfer student success.

The ACE task force report, Reimagining Transfer for Student Success, offered recommendations and best practices to higher education leaders on how to modify existing transfer and award of credit practices to support student success. The report described ADVANCE as a program that has welcomed a “remarkable” number of students of diverse and racial socioeconomic backgrounds and improved transfer success by eliminating unnecessary credits, money and time.

“The ADVANCE Program and the partnership generally between NOVA and Mason is a highly successful example of the benefit to students that comes with close coordination between institutions,” said Anne Holton, professor of public policy and education and senior fellow at Mason’s Schar School of Government and Policy, who was named co-chair of the task force while she was interim president of Mason. “Coordination such as you find in the ADVANCE Program provides students with clear structured pathways, helping with their success rate.”

The ADVANCE Program currently has more than 2,000 students enrolled and a retention rate above 80%. Faculty at both Mason and NOVA collaborate to closely design almost 100 structured degree program pathways starting at NOVA, in fields ranging from engineering to visual arts. When a student joins the ADVANCE Program, they are assigned a dedicated success coach who guides them through their entire process of getting both their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.

“We are delighted to see the ADVANCE Program getting special recognition for the work being done to improve the transfer process and promote student success,” said Janette Muir, associate provost for undergraduate education at Mason. “It has taken great effort, and tremendous goodwill, from both NOVA and Mason, to realize this dream. Students now have clear pathways to follow for just about every major at Mason, and they have a strong support system to help them stay on their selected paths.”

The ADVANCE Program students are about 60% students of color, 61% Pell-eligible and 48% first-generation college students.

“The opportunity for students to continue their education through the process of transferring from community colleges to four-year higher education institutions can be transformative for students,” said Provost Mark R. Ginsberg. “However, a number of impediments have been constraining. ADVANCE is a pioneering innovative program that successfully addresses many of the impediments and also provides important personal support for students.“

The ACE task force report finds that students attempting to transfer to four-year institutions are often stymied by ineffective transfer policies. The report calls on higher education leaders to reduce barriers for the most vulnerable students, enabling them to transfer effectively from community colleges and other institutions to four-year institutions, completing their degrees. The report offers six recommendations, including improving transparency and creating structured pathways between institutions.

“One of the important findings from this report is that students are taking courses that they are not getting credit for either at all or toward their major as they transfer institutions,” said Holton. “The message is that this is a problem that needs addressing because it has equity implications. The recommendations are intended for college presidents who are always looking for ways to improve access to education.”

Listen to an ACE podcast with Anne Holton and Northern Virginia Community College President Anne Kresse about this report.

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transfer students

Newest ADVANCE cohort connects with coaches, peers and program leaders online

Colleen Rich — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 09:00:35 +0000

Newest ADVANCE cohort connects with coaches, peers and program leaders online Colleen Rich Thu, 09/10/2020 - 05:00

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Graduation Profile: Friendship through thick and thin

Colleen Rich — Mon, 18 May 2020 09:02:25 +0000

Graduation Profile: Friendship through thick and thin Colleen Rich Mon, 05/18/2020 - 05:02

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School of Art

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

ADVANCE pathway widens to more than 1,000 students

Colleen Rich — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 21:11:52 +0000

ADVANCE pathway widens to more than 1,000 students Colleen Rich Thu, 01/30/2020 - 16:11

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ADVANCE

Northern Virginia Community College

Northrop Grumman

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Campus News

Helping students advance, one coach at a time

Colleen Rich — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Helping students advance, one coach at a time Colleen Rich Wed, 01/22/2020 - 05:00

Mason success coach Sharon Kim advises ADVANCE student Sohail Rashid at Northern Virginia Community College. Photo credit: Lathan Goumas / ��AV

As a student success coach for the ADVANCE Program, the joint admissions partnership between ��AV and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), Sharon Kim divides her work week between Mason’s Fairfax Campus and NOVA’s Annandale Campus.

Her current caseload of about 350 includes online students, adult learners, student-parents, international students and more. ADVANCE has four success coaches, including Kim, and two more are expected to start this spring.

Part of Kim’s job is to guide students and help them stick to their degree plan. But her role doesn’t stop there.

“I try to pay attention to questions students ask, or stories that they share so that I can identify specific support that students will need,” she said.

This means that when a student shares a personal anecdote—explaining that he was late because his child’s babysitter fell through or that she’s unsure about what she wants to do after graduation—the wheels in Kim’s head are turning, and those conversations turn into opportunities to point out resources, such as child care options, or have a discussion about self-assessment and self-interest tools.

“We look at the whole person,” said Kim. “It’s not just about academics—that’s definitely part of it. It’s about life. We try to empower students to remove barriers…every student’s knowledge varies, and meeting them where they are is key to providing support.”

Kim should know. She began her own higher education journey at NOVA and later transferred to Mason, earning her BA in psychology in 2003. She also has an MEd in curriculum and instruction and a graduate certificate in English as a second language, both from Mason.

“I grew up in an immigrant family, so navigating college in the United States was just daunting,” she said. “I try to put myself in the shoes of students because I went through that process.”

Nothing like the ADVANCE Program existed when Kim was pursuing her bachelor’s degree. Now just over a year old, ADVANCE is one of the first programs of its kind.

An aligned curriculum for specific majors ensures that students waste neither time nor money on excess credits at NOVA or Mason. Dedicated support staff, including Kim, guide the students every step of the way.

That highly focused support that the coaches offer is one of the reasons the program has been successful, according to Ashlie Prioleau, executive director of ADVANCE.

“There’s one source that’s telling students how to go from point A to point B consistently,” said Prioleau. “The success coaches are generalists, but they also have to be the masters over their students’ experience as well.”

Given the diversity of the ADVANCE students Kim has seen so far, she’s learned that creating a trusting relationship is the one universal key to being a successful coach.

“It’s important to understand students’ prior experience, identify their potential roadblocks, anticipate student needs,” she said. But a success coach can only take students so far, she added

“I feel very rewarded when students actually exercise their autonomy and do research about…the topic discussed during our coaching session. Because coaching is not just about providing the information…but also [students] taking initiative of what they want to do.”

Explore ADVANCE opportunities

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Mason success coach Sharon Kim advises ADVANCE student Sohail Rashid at Northern Virginia Community College. Photo by Lathan Goumas.

Part of Kim’s job is to guide students and help them stick to their degree plan. But her role doesn’t stop there.

“I try to pay attention to questions students ask, or stories that they share so that I can identify specific support that students will need,” she said.

“I grew up in an immigrant family, so navigating college in the United States was just daunting,” she said. “I try to put myself in the shoes of students because I went through that process.”

Nothing like the ADVANCE Program existed when Kim was pursuing her bachelor’s degree. Now just over a year old, ADVANCE is one of the first programs of its kind.

That highly focused support that the coaches offer is one of the reasons the program has been successful, according to Ashlie Prioleau, executive director of ADVANCE.

Given the diversity of the ADVANCE students Kim has seen so far, she’s learned that creating a trusting relationship is the one universal key to being a successful coach.

transfer students

Graduating senior’s compass pointed her to an English degree with a side trip to Ireland

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Mason honored for an innovative approach to serving contemporary students

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Learn more about the 2023 Winter Commencement Ceremonies

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Explore ADVANCE opportunities

Mason Provides Access to a Great Education