experiential learning

From the classroom to the courtroom: George Mason Scalia Law School student assists veteran at hearing

Colleen Rich — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:29:31 +0000

From the classroom to the courtroom: George Mason Scalia Law School student assists veteran at hearing Colleen Rich Thu, 10/31/2024 - 17:29

M-VETS gave ��AV third-year law student Danny Jenkins the kind of courtroom experience that no classroom could.

From left, M-VETS Director Timothy MacArthur, Student Advisor Danny Jenkins, and Assistant Director Raphael Johnson. Photo provided

Jenkins, a student advisor in the Scalia Law School, played a crucial role in helping a former servicemember take a substantial step toward securing the benefit he was owed.

The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) provides free legal services to veterans and servicemembers, making it a unique program in legal education. Since its founding in 2004, it has become a model for similar clinics at law schools across the nation.

“That’s exactly why I wanted to be part of it,” said Jenkins, a 28-year-old Provo, Utah, native. “I’ve always felt indebted to our servicemembers for their sacrifice, and being able to really make a difference in a veteran’s daily life is extremely satisfying and rewarding.”

M-VETS Director Timothy M. MacArthur emphasized the clinic’s collaboration with George Mason’s Office of Military Services, the Military, Veterans, and Family Initiative, and the Center for Community Mental Health to better support veterans.

M-VETS enables George Mason law students to assist veterans, servicemembers, and their families with a wide range of litigation and non-litigation matters. Over the past two decades, the clinic has helped hundreds of clients from all five branches of the armed services, offering services like appeals for the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Board of Veterans Appeals for disability and educational benefit claims, and the filing of requests for increases in disability ratings. M-VETS services are available regardless of the veteran’s state of residence.

“Supporting our veterans is incredibly important, not only because of their sacrifices, but also because of the unique challenges they face after service,” MacArthur said. “They’ve served our country, and providing legal support is a way for me to show my gratitude.”

Jenkins, who plans to join the Army JAG Corps after graduating and passing the bar, volunteered to take on a case involving a client M-VETS had represented since 2018. The case stemmed from a claim for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for a DVA home loan, and finally went before a judge on Aug. 23 after nearly six years of litigation.

Jenkins conducted the hearing, arguing for the COE under MacArthur’s supervision, before the DVA’s Board of Veteran Appeals. The client, a Virginia Army National Guard veteran, had been denied the COE because he hadn’t met the required six years of service. During his initial training, the client had injured his right ankle while on active duty, which led to his discharge. Exceptions are allowed for those discharged from service due to a service-connected disability, but the veteran’s discharge papers didn’t indicate an injury-related separation.

Jenkins argued the motion and presented evidence proving that the discharge papers were inaccurate. While M-VETS awaits the ruling from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, it is helping the veteran to correct his records with the Board for Correction of Military Records to reflect a medical retirement.

“The most challenging part of this case was preparing for the hearing,” Jenkins said. “I needed to make sure I had information and research for any potential questions or issues that would arise, which required a tremendous amount of time and effort.”

While Jenkins doesn’t have a personal military background, his grandfather and father-in-law are veterans. Reflecting on the case, he described the experience as “incredibly satisfying,” offering the kind of real-world experience and personal satisfaction that no classroom could ever provide.

“I came to law school to help people, and most of your time in law school is spent in classrooms,” Jenkins said. “This unique opportunity allowed me to step outside the classroom and make a real difference in someone’s life.”

Learn more about the Antonin Scalia Law School

Topics

Students

Veterans

Antonin Scalia Law School

experiential learning

Veterans Day

FedWriters strengthens ties with Costello College of Business by joining Corporate Partners Program

Greg Johnson — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 19:48:26 +0000

FedWriters strengthens ties with Costello College of Business by joining Corporate Partners Program Greg Johnson Fri, 10/25/2024 - 15:48

Though they have offices and staff members across the United States, FedWriters’ headquarters is conveniently located just down the road from ��AV’s Fairfax Campus. FedWriters is a professional writing, research, and communications company serving more than 80 federal agencies across the scope of the federal government, including the Department of Transportation, every branch of the United States military, and science agencies such as NASA, NIST, and NOAA.

FedWriters team at headquarters with CEO Mitchell Cho (far right). Photo provided

CEO and George Mason alum Mitchell Cho founded FedWriters at the Mason Enterprise Center in 2010 as a one-person company, which today boasts $40 million in annual revenue with more than 375 employees.

The company was recently recognized as NOAA’s Small Business of the Year, Washington Post’s Best Places to Work, Inc. 5000's fastest growing companies in America, Washington Business Journal's Fast75, and more.

Cho sits on the board as chair for the Fairfax Economic Development Authority, where he first learned of the Costello Corporate Partners Program from Patrick Soleymani, associate dean for outreach and strategic engagement at the Costello College of Business.

“I thought it was an ideal opportunity for us to expand our profile and really market the company to the student body as an exceptional place to start their careers,” says Cho. “We really see George Mason as the perfect kind of platform to hire people and help them grow because that’s what we’re all about.”

The FedWriters team was already an engaged partner with George Mason, conducting mock interview sessions, reviewing resumes, and participating in career day events. “When this opportunity popped up to be a corporate partner, we jumped on it,” says Cho.

Moreover, much of their engagement focused specifically on the Costello College of Business, including supporting a student team in the Patriot Pitch Competition and speaking with business students about career opportunities in government contracting. In addition, they worked with a few different groups of students from the Professional Readiness Experiential Program (PREP) taught by Brian Ngac, instructor in information systems and operations management at the Costello College of Business. “I think I've personally done two letters of recommendation and validated work experience for three of those students out of PREP,” says Marc Fain, chief revenue officer.

Becoming an official corporate partner has strengthened FedWriters’ ties with the business college, as they support recruitment, internship opportunities, scholarships, student activities, faculty awards, and the Dean’s Excellence Fund as part of the program. In return, FedWriters receives high visibility, increased student recruitment, special invitations, and named scholarships, among other benefits.

Having graduated from George Mason with a BA in political science in 1999, Cho estimates that he has close to 60 George Mason alumni employed in their Fairfax office. “We love having that kind of network and pool of really great candidates that we can pull from, and we also love to hire people directly who are early in their careers and help them grow,” he says.

As FedWriters continues to grow rapidly—hiring about 100 new employees so far this year—they typically first look at George Mason via career fairs and Handshake, George Mason’s platform for students seeking jobs and employers.

A few of the publications from FedWriters. Photo provided

Since its inception, FedWriters has only gathered more steam growing both their staffing and client list and earning remarkable accolades along the way. “The employee’s experience matters to us, making sure that they know that we support them when things happen in their lives,” says Susan Parr, chief operations officer. “When you take care of people, they perform. Our customers are happy, and the company grows.”

With the constant growth and acquisition of new contracts, and because government contracts are finite, employees are provided with new opportunities to work for causes that they are passionate about.

Housing the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, the first-in-the-nation university center to address the business, policy, and regulatory issues in government contracting, the Costello College of Business continues to build connections with the top minds in government contracting, many of whom directly share their expertise with students in the classroom. These well-prepared Costello students can look forward to entering into a stable industry.

Student Alejandra Villanueva sits down for
one-on-one coaching during FedWriters
Takeover Day. Photo by Greg Johnson

“Government services are always needed, and they play a big role in keeping our society running," says Cho. "Government contracting helps make sure these services are provided, and there will always be opportunities for people to work in various fields, such as defense, science, environmental, and finance.”

With their mission of “communicating the business of government,” FedWriters has embraced the innovative business collaboration at the top business school in the region by joining the Corporate Partners Program, and they look forward to preparing and recruiting many George Mason students.

Learn more about the Costello Corporate Partners Program

In This Story

Patrick Soleymani

Brian Ngac

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Community Partners

experiential learning

Alumni

Mason Enterprise

Strategic Direction

George Mason students travel to Japan to learn about international approaches to supporting older adults

Taylor Thomas — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 13:25:23 +0000

George Mason students travel to Japan to learn about international approaches to supporting older adults Taylor Thomas Mon, 08/26/2024 - 09:25

In This Story

Megumi Inoue, PhD

Across the globe, the number of older adults is rapidly increasing and health care systems around the world are adapting to the needs of this population. This summer, a group of ��AV graduate and undergraduate students, led by Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work Megumi Inoue, participated in the study-abroad program in Japan—Rise of the Super-Aged Society.

Students explored policies, programs, and services to meet the unique needs of an aging global population. During the program, students visited governmental and nonprofit agencies working with the older population and interacted with local older adults in community settings.

“Study-abroad programs offer students experiential learning opportunities in different cultures that go beyond traditional classroom education. By immersing themselves in new environments, students gain practical skills in cross-cultural communication, adaptability, and problem-solving while they are studying a specific topic. They also develop a deeper understanding of local issues and perspectives, enriching their academic knowledge and broadening their worldview,” said Inoue.

Samiah Clark, a bachelor of social work student set to graduate in May of 2025, attests to how students gained valuable, firsthand knowledge that can only be accomplished through immersing oneself in the culture.

"The trip enhanced my education and observational skills surrounding the cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan,” Clark said. "Additionally, I learned about their customs of respecting older adults and traditions families partake in when caring for their parents. If I had the chance, I would go again."

The course is designed to introduce and examine strategies implemented in Japan in response to issues and challenges surrounding its rapidly aging population. Students explore the strengths and limitations of strategies that Japan has incorporated expanding their perspectives on interventions for other aging countries, including the United States.

“Taking students on study-abroad trips is important for their educational and personal development,” said Inoue. "It enriches their academic experience, enhances cultural competence, and prepares them for the globalized world. After the program, students often express how cultural exposure facilitated personal growth, professional development, and self-reflection."

Learn more about the Japan - Rise of the Super-Aged Society Mason-led study abroad.

Topics

study abroad

International Health Policy

Older Adults

healthy aging

Social Work Faculty

experiential learning

Students

Learning Laboratory for Community Health prepares graduate students to solve real-world public health challenges

Taylor Thomas — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:55:33 +0000

Learning Laboratory for Community Health prepares graduate students to solve real-world public health challenges Taylor Thomas Wed, 06/05/2024 - 11:55

The Learning Laboratory for Community Health at ��AV held the first in-person Learning Lab Challenge at the Inaugural Empowered Communities Conference. For the challenge, graduate research assistants (GRAs) were tasked with developing an intervention that addressed the very real public health issue of opioid use disorder among adolescents and young adults.

Over the semester, GRAs worked in interdisciplinary teams, with community stakeholders providing insights into their research process and conducting interviews with affected youth and families to determine how to best meet the community's health needs.

Ashley Wiest

“We were excited to showcase student milestones achieved, challenges overcome, and collective triumphs that define our community journey toward a healthier, more equitable future,” said Ashley Wiest, a research faculty member in the College of Public Health and the Learning Lab project coordinator.

The challenge concluded with GRAs presenting their interventions to a panel of experts, who evaluated and selected the intervention that will be implemented at the Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics. The experts included

Kadhambari Sridhar, Community Preparedness Coordinator at the Fairfax County Health Department;
Jennifer Felts, Population Health Epidemiologist specializing in substance use and mental health; and
Shannyn Snyder, an adjunct faculty in the Department of Global and Community renowned for her expertise in socioeconomic disparities and social justice issues.

Under the guidance of Lisa Gring-Pemble, an associate professor in the Costello College of Business, the winning intervention, titled "Club Culmore: A Place-Based Wellness Model for Adolescents and Young Adults," was designed by three GRAs:

Shams Hadi Al Jassar, biology major and pre-medical student
Olivia Hutton, Master of Health Administration student
Eyesha Shaikh, Master of Social Work student

Shams Hadi Al Jassar

Olivia Hutton

Eyesha Shaikh

Club Culmore presents a comprehensive seven-step approach to wellness. From mental health services to tailored social media campaigns, workforce skill development, and a dedicated medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic, this innovative proposal promises to address the opioid epidemic through community collaboration and tailored services for at-risk youth.

“It was rewarding to celebrate the transformative impact our Mason students have had on the landscape of community health. Their dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment to excellence have enhanced their individual growth and enriched our community,” said Wiest.

The Learning Lab was created with support from a $1 million Health Services Research grant, made possible by Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia's 11th District, who shepherded the proposal through Congress. Rebecca Sutter serves as the grant's project director and principle investigator. The mission of the Learning Laboratory is to support multidisciplinary training for public health students and professionals, with special attention to marginalized communities within Northern Virginia.

The Learning Lab’s impact on students and the community

Since its inception, the Learning Laboratory has been highly successful. In the second year of the lab, students reported the lab

increased their knowledge of community stakeholders,
increased confidence in discussing core public health topics, and
significantly improved their critical thinking skills related to community health, networking and research, problem-solving, and professional development.

“The Learning Lab is dedicated to equipping students with the multifaceted skills essential for success in the workforce after graduation. Our teaching models foster proficiency in research, interviewing, data collection, administrative tasks, and community resource utilization alongside technological competencies, thus nurturing a generation of adept community health professionals,” said Wiest.

Read the Lab’s 2023-24 Impact Report.

In This Story

Shannyn Snyder, MAIS

Ashley Wiest, DNP, FNP-BC

Rebecca Sutter, DNP, APRN, BC-FNP

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble

Topics

experiential learning

Impact

Community Health

Mason and Partners Clinic

Public Health Students

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies

Greg Johnson — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:09:06 +0000

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies Greg Johnson Thu, 05/16/2024 - 11:09

When hearing the term “sustainability” in business circles, there’s often a misconception that it hinders growth. For the last three years, the MBA elective course Environmentally Sustainable Operations has offered interested graduate students from across ��AV the opportunity to work with companies from multiple industries on making the business case for sustainability.

Dominic Leone, Jordan Heisen,
Sabrena Snow (Hyde), Rachel Edwards

Each year, new companies participate, mobilized by George Mason alumni, faculty and staff, and other community members. “I only need to have one conversation with them, and then they're on board,” says Ioannis Bellos, an associate professor of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM) at the Costello College of Business at ��AV and director of the MBA Program; Bellos developed the course and has been teaching it since Spring 2022. This latest semester the course featured consulting projects with: Schneider Electric, 4P Foods, Hyde, MAXSA Innovations, and Future Acres Urban Farming.

Because of the partnership building done by Bellos and others at George Mason, this course offers an excellent experiential learning opportunity where students help real companies, gaining insight from the executives in the process. “It was an exceptional opportunity to mentor MBA students from George Mason’s Environmentally Sustainable Operations course,” says Kevin DeLeon, program manager of sustainability business at Schneider Electric. “We were excited to participate and offer students a glimpse into the practical aspect of driving sustainable improvements. This collaboration is a reflection of Schneider Electric’s mission to champion sustainability and our commitment to engaging and educating future leaders.”

MBA students Rachel Edwards and Jordan Heisen had previously participated in the Global Residency program at the Costello College of Business, where they visited Sweden and Denmark to meet with businesses in the sustainability field, sparking both of their interests in the subject. For their sustainable operations project, they joined fellow MBA student Dominic Leone to work with Hyde, a Washington, D.C., based company pioneering AI-driven solutions to combat excess inventory in the apparel industry. The three of them worked closely with Hyde representatives to examine ways they could make their practices more sustainable.

“Apparel clothing discarded in landfills is now visible from space,” says Sabrena Snow, Hyde’s vice president of partnerships and sustainability. “We began working with the Costello College of Business to really quantify the impact of excess inventory, and its disposal, on the environment.”

The team of Costello MBA students examined Hyde’s business practices to see how they could best help them.

“A lot of companies are pumping out new fashion trends,” says Leone. “If that trend is going to continue, how can we do it in a more sustainable way where we don’t overorder and have a crazy amount of excess inventory?”

Once a week, the team met with CEO Rahul Jindal and Snow. “Going through the paper with Hyde and hearing the feedback from both representatives, they were an incredible pleasure to work with,” says Heisen.

“By building a framework, and combining our EPA data, company interviews, and Hyde's proprietary data, the George Mason team was able to size the impact of producing and dumping excess apparel inventory in the United States,” says Snow. 

The Hyde representatives took it a step further and connected the students with high-profile contacts from the fashion industry’s sustainability field. “When we started this project, Hyde was trying to get partners and funding,” says Edwards. “Being able to attach this white paper to any sort of funding that they’re trying to get later, this is their documentation of what’s going on.”

One of the community partners who worked to recruit participating companies for the course was Fairfax County Government’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination. “When we were approached about working with Professor Bellos, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for companies in our Green Business Partners program,” says Gina Weil, co-manager of the Green Business Partners program. “We know that green business is good business, and helping businesses identify both the economic and environmental benefits to adopting sustainable practices is central to our mission.  We were thrilled to be able to connect his students with Future Acres Urban Farming, and we know the experience for the students and the company was incredibly positive and beneficial for both.” The mission of the Green Business Partners program is to support Fairfax County businesses in creating a carbon neutral economy through collaboration and learning opportunities that advance climate action.

Students with guest speaker Ian Gayman,
MBA '23 (Partner at Environmental
Resources Management)

Though there was more to the course than this collaborative project, the experiential aspect brought the learning experience full circle. Bellos worked closely with the company representatives to ensure that their organizations got the most out of the projects.

Heisen appreciated how he explained case studies in the classroom. “He does a really great job of breaking down each case and ultimately getting you to thinking of another perspective,” he says. Sustainable operations lead to profit, says Edwards, “Unless it’s actually making money and it’s financially viable, there’s no reason for a company to do it.”

Recently, 68% of all prospective graduate students surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council said that sustainability is important or very important to them. This course is in direct response to this increasing market need.

If you want to learn more about how you can become a business leader with a sustainability mindset, please learn more about the Costello College of Business MBA program.

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Costello College of Business Students

MBA Program

Sustainability

experiential learning

Students

innovative classes

impact fall 2024

Learn more about the Costello MBA Program

In This Story

Ioannis Bellos

Fairfax City and Mason come together to spur economic growth and student success

Colleen Rich — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 14:06:58 +0000

Fairfax City and Mason come together to spur economic growth and student success Colleen Rich Mon, 10/02/2023 - 10:06

Fairfax City mayor and ��AV alumna Catherine S. Read, BA ’84, and Mason's School of Business Dean Ajay Vinzé signed a partnership agreement on Oct. 2 aimed at promoting economic growth in the city while giving students access to experiential learning opportunities that will benefit local businesses and students.

Students get hands-on retail management experience at Fairfax Ace Hardware. Photo provided

This partnership will extend the walls of the business school’s classrooms into the local business community, by affording business students with the opportunity to learn and practice leadership skills across several industries in the “classroom beyond the classroom.”

“Our collaboration with the ��AV School of Business is about investing in our future, and being open to change and innovation,” said Read. “By welcoming Mason students and faculty into our business community, we’re bringing fresh faces and new ideas to city planning in support of our vision for a vibrant commercial district.”

“The School of Business emphasizes student experience and career readiness via public, private, and academic partnerships,” said Vinzé. “We see Mason as your hometown university, and this partnership is an exciting opportunity for us to invest in the growth and economic development of this wonderful city, while providing our students with a hands-on learning experience that will prepare them for successful careers in business.”

Experiential learning opportunities in Fairfax are expected to draw Mason students from each of the business school’s four centers of excellence—Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship (CREE), Center for Retail Transformation (CRT), and the newly named Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting.

With some programs already underway and additional planning discussions on the horizon, both sides are looking forward to expanding the current collaboration in the spring. Among the projects slated to launch are

a CIE-led vendor management experience for students with retailers in the Old Town Fairfax Business Association (OTFBA)/FCED “Wander In” retail incubator,
a CREE site plan analysis for determining best use options of commercial real estate sites in the Northfax Small Area Plan and other areas of Fairfax City,
an in-store retail management experience with CRT students and Fairfax City retailers, and
a study by students from the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, in coordination with the Mason Enterprise Center, to identify ways to improve business outcomes for small business federal contractors.

“What makes this program unique among ‘classroom beyond the classroom’ partnerships is our collective focus on leveraging the short-term benefit of student employability into a longer-term relationship with our city and its business community,” said Christopher Bruno, executive director and CEO of FCED. “One of the reasons we decided to partner with Mason is its track record of driving economic growth in the region—close to 70% of its alumni live and work in a 50-mile radius of the Fairfax Campus—and the confidence that gives us that many of the relationships we form now with Mason students and alumni are going to serve as a magnet for new businesses in the future.”

People Mentioned in This Story

Ajay Vinzé

She has ideas to bring Mason and Fairfax City together

“You look at our downtown and where are the students, where is the activity, where is the energy?” said Catherine Read, the first Mason alum, and first woman, to be Fairfax mayor. "What kind of things can we do between the campus and the city? That’s what we should be asking ourselves."

Learn more about her plans >>

Road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? New student research addresses community-based solutions.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 15:47:36 +0000

Road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? New student research addresses community-based solutions. Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 04/28/2022 - 11:47

Learn more about SMSC

Road salt has been touted as a lifesaver when it comes to combatting icy roads. Yet using this snow-melting mineral has a dark side once it enters waterways. Graduating senior Maggie Walker, through the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), is gathering data at local streams to influence change.

“When excessive road salts get into streams, they can have devastating effects on the ecosystems in the streams,” said Julia Sargent, director of programs at Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. “The salts impact vegetation and very small river life, and that in turn can have effects on larger life, like fish, and in high concentrations, those salts may not be filtered out by our water treatment plants.”

Maggie Walker, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation student, collects water samples in Strasburg, Virginia to measure road water pollution. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/��AV

The Impact of Road Salts

Chloride pollution, which mainly comes from road salt, can also lead to corrosion, changed soil compositions, fish die-offs, algae blooms, and more, said Walker, who is partnering with Sargent’s organization for her SMSC practicum. “For people that need to be on low salt diets, they can actually exceed their daily salt requirement just from their drinking water, so that can end up being a health concern.”

Walker’s research is assessing the scope and impact of road salts locally.

Walker, an Honors College student studying biology, selected four streams near urban land cover, including sidewalks, parking lots, and cities, that are likely to be vulnerable to chloride pollution. For five weeks this semester, she has been heading to those streams to record the water temperature and collecting samples of stream water to measure chloride levels.

“It’s important that we establish what are the baseline levels of chloride in our waterways,” Walker said. “That way we can test it throughout the years, throughout the seasons, see when levels fluctuate, when they’re highest, how road salting events impact the water quality.”

Walker measures the chloride levels using a QuanTab strip. Photo by Evan Cantwell.

Engaging the Community

There’s also a community aspect to the project that Sargent said Walker helped inspire.

“I’m creating a survey about people’s attitudes and behaviors toward road salt and road salt usage,” said Walker, which aligns with her interest in the intersection of conservation, human well-being, and community involvement. “We’re hoping to disseminate it to people who live in the North Fork… and then ultimately, using the data, determine one behavior to target for change.”

Though changing behavior and reducing road salt usage is outside the scope of this semester, Walker said the research is an important first step.

Walker, who is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she chose ��AV because she wanted to attend a school with excellent research opportunities, like SMSC.

“This program is helping me develop a lot of skills in a wide variety of areas within conservation that I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Walker said. “My experience at SMSC has been really awesome.”

“Getting to hear from and work with so many different conservation professionals is really inspiring,” Walker said, adding that they actively engage with students.

It’s rewarding for mentors, too.

“It’s been inspiring to get to know and work with these young people who are just getting their start along their career paths in conservation,” Sargent said. “Seeing their passions and being a part of that process is a big honor.”

SMSC is not an opportunity to pass up.

“If you are even remotely interested in conservation, you should definitely make every effort you can to come out and enjoy SMSC,” Walker said. “It really sets you up for success in conservation [by] introducing you to all the opportunities and allows you to explore things while you’re still in college.”

“If you’re a conservation-minded person, this is definitely the place to be.”

Maggie Walker collects water samples in Strasburg, Virginia to measure salt water pollution. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/��AV

Topics

Smithsonian

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Conservation

Conservation Biology

Undergraduate Education

biology

Biology Research

College of Science

experiential learning

Campus News

Students

Students support tribal nation justice reform in new Mason law program

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:58:32 +0000

Students support tribal nation justice reform in new Mason law program Mariam Aburdeineh Wed, 03/23/2022 - 13:58

Adam Crepelle had just started law school at the time of the 2010 BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As a citizen of the United Houma Nation, a historic Native American tribe, Crepelle felt that the consequences of the spill hit home hard.

“The Houma were getting spilled on quite heavily by BP, and everyone in Louisiana was getting BP money, except the Houma Indians,” he said. “I assumed my professors would know how to solve this problem—but I quickly realized none of my professors knew anything about Indian law, and I couldn’t find anyone who practiced Indian law in Louisiana either.”

Crepelle took it upon himself to start learning Indian law, he said, and published widely on the subject. Now the assistant professor of law at ��AV is also the director of Mason’s new Tribal Law and Economics Program (TLEP), which includes a federal Indian Law course and the Tribal Sovereignty Clinic, where students work directly with tribes.

Adam Crepelle is assistant professor of law and director of Mason’s new Tribal Law and Economics Program. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/��AV

What is Indian Law?

“Tribes are separate sovereigns in the U.S. Constitutional order,” said Crepelle, who serves as an associate justice on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Court of Appeals. “You have the federal government, state governments, and Indian Tribes.”

Because the 574 federally recognized tribes are sovereign governments, the presumption is state law does not apply on reservations, Crepelle said.

It’s a clash over who governs Indian lands, he said.

For example, according to Indian law, to arrest someone you must determine whether the victim and perpetrator are Indians, assess the type of crime, and the status of the land.

“This causes lots of public safety issues because nobody knows who can arrest who,” Crepelle said. “Law and economics study institutions and their efficiency…[the work of TLEP] is important because federal Indian law is anything but efficient.”

Working with Tribes

“Students benefit by being a part of this clinic because they get to work with tribes and implement policies that make a change in the real world,” Crepelle said. “They’re actually helping build institutions, writing laws for a sovereign nation.”

Eight students are enrolled in the clinic this semester, Crepelle said, with many working on projects related to tribal court development.

One project aims to implement the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

“The general rule is if a non-Indian beats his Indian wife on a reservation, the tribe can’t do anything about it,” Crepelle said. “By implementing [VAWA], now the tribe can prosecute him for domestic violence.”

“For too long [Indian nations] have been locked out, in many ways, from the opportunities and outcomes afforded to the broader U.S. population,” said Michael B. Miley, a third-year student from Vermont. “Federal Indian Law is an important and enlightening class because it precisely elucidated the myriad ways we have arrived at our current status quo.”

“Armed with this knowledge, students…are able to better meet, analyze, and resolve specific legal challenges that Indian tribes and tribal governments confront today,” Miley said.

It’s a unique opportunity for everyone involved.

“When else is a law student going to get an opportunity to write a code of civil procedure that will actually go into effect and see real cases?” said James Gray, a second-year law student who’s drafting code for an Intertribal Commercial Court about on-reservation investments and commercial disputes.

It’s more than a class assignment; it’s a responsibility.

“Mistakes could negatively impact the tribes and businesses conducting cases in the court,” said Gray, who is working with a judge from the Tunica-Biloxi tribe.

Gray said helping tribes use their sovereignty to advance their economies has been rewarding. He has also enjoyed learning from guest speakers, from tribal council members to Indian Law practitioners to former Senate advisors on Indian affairs.

“The Tribal Law and Economics Program is a really exciting opportunity for the school to grow into a field that law schools have under-invested in,” Gray said. “I think there's lots of room to make rapid progress.”

Topics

Antonin Scalia Law School

Law/Legal

Scalia Law School

Tribal Law and Economics Program

Native American

American Indian

experiential learning

Tribal Sovereignty Clinic

Working on spacecraft and 3D-printed solar cars, junior accelerates his career at Mason

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 19:15:24 +0000

Working on spacecraft and 3D-printed solar cars, junior accelerates his career at Mason Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 01/25/2022 - 14:15

In This Story

John Shortle

Syed Abbas Zaidi

Michael Riggi, president of Mason's solar car team, Hypernova Solar, poses with Orion, a solar car his team revamped. Photo provided by Hypernova Solar.

Since Michael Riggi was about six years old, his father and brother would take him to a “Cars and Coffee” show in Great Falls, Virginia, on weekends. Being around classic automobiles and luxury vehicles, Riggi said he developed an appreciation for cars, and other machines that go fast, including planes, boats, and rockets.

Riggi developed an appreciation for cars at a young age. Portrait by Michael Riggi.

Now, as a junior at ��AV, his career path has also been racing forward.

The systems engineering major working on an accelerated master’s degree is the president of Hypernova Solar, a student organization creating what they believe will be the world’s first 3D-printed solar car.

Ultimately, Riggi said he aspires to work in the aerospace industry. His work with Hypernova Solar combined with his degree helped him land an internship with the global aerospace, defense, and security company, Northrop Grumman, he said.

“[Systems engineering] is in high demand in almost all tech industries,” Riggi said.

“Mason is one of the only schools I found in this area that offered a system engineering major, and Mason’s program was ranked higher than [the University of Virginia]’s,” he said. “I chose Mason off their great program.”

When Riggi interned with Northrop Grumman in summer 2021, he said he worked on spacecraft that go up to the international space station—in particular, the Cygnus Mission. Riggi said his tasks involved taking measurements, estimating error, and creating a CAD model of the thruster.

Riggi interning at Northrop Grumman. Photo provided.

“We made a tool that allowed Mission Control to quickly throw in measurements of the motors to see how it affects the angle of the spacecraft on-the-fly, so they can steer the spacecraft,” Riggi said.

“The qualities about Michael that impressed me and my colleagues [at Northrop Grumman] were his imagination and ability to tackle a task that was initially beyond the scope of his previous experience,” said Roseann Alvarez, systems engineering manager at Northrop Grumman. “He shows plenty of growth potential and will be an asset to any future employer.”

“Based on Michael’s performance and his contributions to the [Commercial Resupply Services] program, I would highly recommend Northrop Grumman recruitment of Mason interns and graduates in the future,” she said.

Riggi said he’s excited to intern again with Northrop Grumman in summer 2022.

“There’s something about being on the cutting edge of technology and science that I really love,” he said. “[My internship] helped me realize what traits I value in a workplace and helped me realize specific parts of my education to focus on because I’ve seen what’s actually needed in the workforce.”

In addition to opportunities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Riggi said he has enjoyed learning from supportive Mason professors including John Shortle, Abbas Zaidi, and Colin Reagle.

“Michael embodies the ideal of a systems engineer, being able to assemble and lead a large team of students with diverse skills to design, build, and test a complex system,” Shortle said. “He’s a great ambassador for the discipline and will be a great asset in the workforce.”

When he’s not leading Hypernova Solar, Riggi said he enjoys going off-roading and taking photos.

When he's not leading Hypernova Solar, Mason student Michael Riggi enjoys going off-roading with his truck and taking photos. Photo by Michael Riggi.

Photography by Michael Riggi.

“It’s really a great way to blow off steam and relax,” Riggi said, suggesting diverse activities help keep his life balanced yet exciting. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being bored.”

That’s another reason he appreciates the opportunities at Mason.

“My favorite part of Mason is the community,” Riggi said. “The diverse student population has taught me so much and helped me make so many friends, the amazing faculty have been so helpful, and the community of Fairfax is very diverse and a great space to explore.”

Riggi (front left in green) with members of Mason's solar car team, Hypernova Solar. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��AV

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Mason, FARO announce partnership to advance forensic science research

John Hollis — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 20:24:15 +0000

Mason, FARO announce partnership to advance forensic science research John Hollis Fri, 09/24/2021 - 16:24

Anthony Falsetti, an associate professor in the Forensics Science Program, explains the significance of the program's partnership with FARO Technologies, Inc. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

The ��AV Forensic Science Program has further established its place as one of the nation’s premier programs in its field with a partnership with FARO Technologies, Inc. that will result in the world’s first FARO-certified forensic science laboratory.

An industry leader in the kind of high-tech 3D measurement and imaging that leading law enforcement agencies and others use for crime scene investigation, FARO will lend Mason $300,000 of equipment for use by students training in state-of-the-art forensic science technology. Students will also have the opportunity to work alongside law enforcement partners such the ��AV Police, Fairfax County Police, Fairfax City Police and others, including the U.S. Army.

Kimberly Rule, an assistant professor in the Forensics Science Program, discusses the program's partnership with FARO Technologies, Inc. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Much of the research will be done at Mason’s new five-acre Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory in Manassas that is one of just eight in the world capable of transformative outdoor research in forensic science using human remains. Mason is the first university to do so and offer FARO equipment certification.

“Whether a student is learning how to process an outdoor scene at the university’s ‘body farm,’ measuring a murder scene inside the Forensic Science Crime Scene House or testifying in court as an expert witness, they will walk in the shoes of real forensic scientists and learn how to apply their science and skills to get answers about how crimes are committed and how to solve them with the accuracy and precision of 21st-century technology,” said Mary Ellen O’Toole, the former FBI profiler who heads the Forensic Science Program within Mason’s College of Science. “This exciting FARO-Mason Forensic Science partnership is the first of its kind in the world, and the opportunities we can now give to our students and develop with our external partners can only be imagined.”

As a direct result of the partnership, Mason’s Forensic Science Program will soon become the first in the nation to offer a 3D course in crime scene documentation.

Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, the dean of Mason’s College of Science, lauded the partnership for taking forensic science research, education and training to the highest standards of achievement.

“This first-of-its-kind merger of FARO forensic technology and the expertise in Mason’s Forensic Science program positions it as one of the most complete and diverse programs of its kind in the country, offering unique, hands-on training and certification for students and law enforcement officials in 3D crime scene processing, forensic anthropology, and even forensic artistry,” Miralles-Wilhelm said.

Forensic science has changed considerably over the years, with technology such as 3D scanning and reality capture now playing a critical role in the preserving of crime scenes so that investigators may continue to return to the virtual crime scene to evaluate evidence. By storing that information digitally, forensic investigators can review even the most minute details and share that information before returning to the crime as many times as needed.

Mason and FARO Technologies, Inc. will use 3D technology to advance forensic science research. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Mason forensic science students will immediately benefit from that real-world taste and hands-on experience with the latest technology.

“I feel well prepared for whatever I’m going to see,” said forensic science graduate student Samantha Hadley.

Alina Burroughs, FARO’s senior business development manager for public safety, said her company was thrilled to team with the Mason Forensic Science Program because of a shared commitment to innovation.

“FARO and GMU have a unique partnership based on the common goal of advancing the field of forensic science through innovative technology,” Burroughs said. “Our powerful, non-invasive laser scanning solutions allow investigators to document scenes, supplying more comprehensive data faster, resulting in more accurate analysis, identification of victims, and resolution of cases. We are proud to work together with George Mason to build the next generation of forensic investigators through this shared vision.”

The Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory expects to receive its first donations of human remains next month.

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