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As a child, Nathaniel Socks said he was restless, and could often be found tapping his hands on nearby objects. His mom enrolled him in drum lessons in second grade, he said, which led to his favorite hobby—one that taught him valuable life lessons.

“I got to see how if you put in hard work and dedicate yourself to something really hard, how cool the product can be,” the incoming ����AV freshman said. “That was one thing that really got me into drumming—you can see the progression of practicing.”

Mason’s Honors College has expanded an initiative launched last year to help cultivate an anti-racist community through discussion groups. The program, called “Honoring Our Community,” provides opportunities for students to have honest conversations about racial and social justice with the goal of cultivating an anti-racist culture and tighter sense of community.

With 80,000 streams on Spotify, music technology major Jessica Taylor is on a fast track to her goal of a successful career in the music industry. She sees her time at Mason as an opportunity to advance her skills as a singer, songwriter and producer by taking courses in music theory, keyboard and voice lessons.

����AV is disbursing millions of dollars in CARES Act funding to more than 14,000 eligible students this fall, with the latest funds to be awarded in early September.

After coming to the United States from El Salvador to join her mother late in 2010, she enrolled in Mason's Early Identification Program and was an academic star at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Leah and Peregrine Pistone, incoming freshmen at ����AV, are used to learning together. The siblings were homeschooled by their mother throughout their K-12 years. While they say they are grateful for the experience, they both are looking forward to engulfing themselves in a large university environment with diverse classmates.

The tourism and hospitality industries have been confronting increasing challenges related to both the pandemic and climate change, according to experts from ����AV’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).

Over the two past years, two ����AV systems engineering senior design teams developed a tool to help two Maryland counties make complex financial decisions to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Natalia Kanos and Veronica Mata met as they searched for roommates prior to starting as freshmen at ����AV. Now they are leading Student Government.

����AV President Gregory Washington and a host of Mason student, faculty and staff representatives welcomed the largest incoming class in the university’s history at two convocations Friday, Aug. 20.