A Mason legacy pursues passion for journalism

Sarah Holland — Wed, 17 May 2023 17:32:21 +0000

A Mason legacy pursues passion for journalism Sarah Holland Wed, 05/17/2023 - 13:32

Four years ago, Brad Byrne walked across the stage of EagleBank Arena for his high school graduation. This week, he will once more cross the EagleBank stage as a ��AV graduate.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

In high school, as a part of the yearbook staff, Byrne would attend conferences and hear journalism professionals talk about their work. For him, it was like a light bulb turning on. “This is what I want to do with my life,” he said. “I want to tell other peoples’ stories to the world, because everyone has a story.”

This week Byrne is seeing that dream come to fruition as he graduates from Mason with a bachelor of arts in communication with a concentration in journalism.

Byrne has a story, too: an incredible family legacy of Mason alumni going back to the 1980s when his parents both attended Mason. Multiple family members are Mason graduates or expected Mason graduates—Byrne is currently joined on campus by his brother and sister, and two cousins. “Mason has always been a part of my life,” he said, recalling going to basketball games with his family as a kid. “We're all from Northern Virginia, so for us Mason is right next door. It’s a great cost-effective option to get a great degree.”

During his time at Mason, Byrne found his niche in Student Media and worked with Fourth Estate—Mason's student-run newspaper—throughout college, becoming the sole editor-in-chief for the 2022-23 academic year.

“We had a lot of challenges, but to persevere through that as one of the first solo editors-in-chief in many years and still put out important stories for the Mason community is one of my greatest accomplishments from my time here,” he said.

The connections and opportunities available through Mason have been vital to Byrne’s past, present, and future successes. “I made lifelong friends in the newspaper and had incredible opportunities Department of Communication, like having a one-on-one interview with Senator Tim Kaine, and studying in France for two weeks.”

Brad Byrne, '23, is heading to Columbia University for graduate studies. Photo provided

With an eye for storytelling and a passion for hard-hitting journalism, Byrne is heading to Columbia University’s Journalism School in the fall to pursue his master’s degree. It’s another full-circle moment for him. “I got my acceptance into the program at Columbia six years to the date from my first Columbia conference, so I guess it was fate.”

He hopes to one day become a correspondent for a major news publication.

“Whatever I’m doing, I really want to make a difference in the world.”

Apply Now to Mason

Join the Alumni Association

Topics

Graduation

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Communication Department

Students

Supporting underserved graduate students focused on health equity research

Shayla Brown — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 19:24:51 +0000

Supporting underserved graduate students focused on health equity research Shayla Brown Tue, 12/06/2022 - 14:24

Photo by Getty Images

The Communicating Health Equity and Healing Justice Research Lab (CEHJ) came to life on ��AV’s campus in October 2021.

“It started out an all-Black women endeavor, but now it has expanded to Black and Brown men as well as alternative gender identity individuals,” said Akila Ka Ma’at, the director of the lab and core faculty member with Women and Gender Studies Program and the Communication Department.

The lab allows students to engage in the production of research projects and contribute to data collection efforts through an immersive experiential learning and training experience. Its members focus on the mental and reproductive health of Black women as well as identify factors related to internalized racism.

Ashley Dawson, who joined the lab as an undergraduate student, is getting her master’s in public health with a concentration in health promotion. She hopes to become a public health consultant as well as a program developer so she can provide health intervention for underserved communities.

“Currently, we’re working on the impact of the “Strong Black Woman” stigma on the birth outcomes in Black women,” said Dawson. “This allows us to address the intersectionality and social determinants that are either negatively or positively impacting prenatal health.”

Sahana Natarajan, who recently graduated from Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, is currently working as Mason affiliate faculty in collaboration with the CEHJ research lab.

“Health communication was something I had never really done before. Despite that, Dr. Ma’at believed in my potential and went to great lengths to mentor me,” said Natarajan. “I’m still in the process of learning how to lead. I’m starting to lead my own projects.”

Natarajan is currently working on a pilot testing a survey to access racial stress and related factors among prenatal Black Women.

“This lab is really about team collaboration. Along with that, addressing health disparities. If that’s something that’s important to you, I think the lab will really benefit you in terms of increasing your abilities and your impact in the world,” she said.

Mason sociology student J Orisha is also a part of CEHJ and working on this project. “I think it’s important that there be more spaces like this for students. [My research interests have] honestly been changing the more involved I get on campus and meet more professors, but it’s centrally around African American/Black studies and anti-racist, decolonized research,” said Orisha.

“It’s an open environment where you mess up, great, you learn and keep moving. I never experienced that in the other schools,” Orisha said. “They’re actually trying to listen to their students. They really do care, and I really, really appreciate it.”

Ma’at hopes to collaborate with more disciplines and more community stakeholders. She wants the lab’s research to extend into the African diaspora and include immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

The CEHJ Research Lab meets on Tuesdays from 2-3 p.m. and Thursdays from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Robeson Room 240A in the Johnson Center.

Topics

African and African American Studies

Women and Gender Studies

ARIE

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Research

Communication Department

Communication Department

A Mason legacy pursues passion for journalism

Apply Now to Mason

Join the Alumni Association

Read More Graduation Stories

Topics

Supporting underserved graduate students focused on health equity research

Topics