����AV

����AV students used their winter break as a chance to gain valuable professional experience through the Break Through Tech Sprinternship program.

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.

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

Freshman Daksha Magesh traveled 3,000 miles with an impressive pre-college resume to come to the Schar School. “I know I made the right choice,” she tells us.

Solving climate change is a grand challenge facing the planet. As more individuals and leaders are recognizing the need to switch to environmentally friendly practices, ����AV’s Local Climate Change Planning Initiative (LCCPI) is helping make that a reality for counties across Virginia.

“Our vision is to have Mason be the lead university in helping counties that lack the resources and expertise in [addressing climate change] get this done,” said Paul Bubbosh, a 1988 Mason alumnus and adjunct professor at the Schar School and College of Science.

A Q&A with a Schar School freshman from Oregon who is interning on Capitol Hill. Meet Molly Izer.

Patricia Tran became interested in health informatics while working as a nurse. She is now pursuing a Master of Health Informatics degree at Mason, where she obtained an internship with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) over the summer to research how 5G-enabled technology can transform telehealth care.

Libby Bradford, coordinator of outreach and student career management at Break Through Tech for the Department of Computer Science at George Mason University, dedicates her time to help students get into the tech workspace and harness their talent.

During Hunter Kelly’s final semester at Mason last spring, he took a 12-credit internship at the Nationals, which led to many long but productive days through spring training and beyond.

One undergraduate student shares the value of her three internships. Her advice? Go for it.

Faith Spillman (MSW, '16) shares her experience as a MSW graduate student and reflects on how an internship with the Alexandria Public Defender's Office inspired her to pursue a career of supporting court-involved youth as a social worker.