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From South Sudan to Virginia, Eliuda delivers for George Mason

Colleen Rich — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 18:48:23 +0000

From South Sudan to Virginia, Eliuda delivers for George Mason Colleen Rich Tue, 01/07/2025 - 13:48

Growing up in Juba, South Sudan, James Eliuda knew nothing about America and never thought about picking up all his things and leaving his hometown.

This past season, James Eliuda has solidified himself as an integral piece to the best season George Mason’s soccer program has had since joining the A-10 conference. Photo by Art Pittman/Mason Athletics

"I was just playing soccer, having fun, living with family … everything happened so fast," he said.

In South Sudan, Eliuda lived with his mother and eight siblings and proved at an early age to be leaps and bounds ahead of his hometown's competition. Most soccer players in South Sudan have few opportunities to grow and showcase their talents and skills. Eliuda is the exception to this rule.

Playing at Future Stars Academy in Juba and graduating from Juba Diocesan Secondary School at just 15 years old, Eliuda was afforded the opportunity to train with South Sudan in the under 15 and under 17 competitions.

After impressing the head coach, he and a few others were invited to train with South Sudan’s first division team, and Eliuda was soon training with a professional team in Kenya.

After three months of valuable training, as well as plans to travel to Dubai that fell through, Eliuda decided to make the drastic move to the United States to continue his soccer journey at DME Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Although grateful and excited for with the opportunity to play high-level soccer in the United States, Eliuda had to adjust to being a student-athlete and living in an new environment, thousands of miles away from his family.

Future Stars Academy in Juba, South Sudan. Photo provided

"Everything was different: the weather—in my country it is always hot—and I was tired when I came here. We used to write on blackboards back home, but when I went to DME, they gave me a computer [that] took me almost one month to learn," he said.

This is where ��AV men’s soccer head coach Rich Costanzo saw Eliuda on the pitch and knew he was the right fit to bring to George Mason.

"You could see how much quality he had, but how much more potential he has to give. I could tell he was a good player," said Costanzo. “Everything I heard about the type of person he was, I knew he'd be someone we'd want to work with and someone who'd be receptive to becoming a better player."

"No one talked to me about how I played and how they wanted me to play for their team, so when he said that to me, I was like 'this guy believes in me,' so if I go there, I'm going to believe in myself even more that I'm a good player," said Eliuda.

As a freshman, his dreams were put on hold when Eliuda was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for much of the Patriots’ season in fall 2023. He already had a year of eligibility stripped due to his two-year absence from traditional schooling before DME Academy, bringing his NCAA eligibility years down to three.

"We had to do waivers and petitions, and he is still entering college at 18 like everyone else. It took all year," said Costanzo. "Every time I'd ask him [how he was doing] he'd say to just trust in God, and we're going to get there."

After a hard-fought battle with the NCAA, Eliuda was permitted to play the remaining five games of the season and also granted all four years of eligibility.

"We cried when we got approved. It was a real blessing, for him, for us, for everything," said Costanzo.

Eliuda’s time finally came in October 2023 against the University of Dayton. Since coming off the bench in the middle of the first half of that game, he has started every game. He scored his very first goal for George Mason in the next game against Radford, which the Patriots won 7-0.

This past season, Eliuda has solidified himself as an integral piece to the best season George Mason’s soccer program has had since joining the A-10 conference. He scored two goals and tied for second in the club in assists this season, helping the Patriots win their first-ever A-10 regular season championship with 13 wins. He was also named Second Team All-Conference for the midfield position.

"I never thought of the personal accolades," said Eliuda. "Our goal is to win."

Although he is a proven and dedicated athlete, Eliuda is a student first and foremost. His phenomenal academic track record can be traced all the way back to his formative years in South Sudan. He received the 2023-24 A-10 Commissioner Honor Roll distinction for his academic performance in his first year at George Mason. He plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in sport management.

Outside of class and on the pitch, Eliuda can almost always be found at the George Mason Field House working out, getting treatment, and being a social butterfly.

"The first thing you notice when you speak to James is his smile, he's always talking and smiling," said George Mason basketball player Chase Tucker.

Although George Mason has embraced Eliuda as one of their own, his heart will always be with his family in Sudan, who he hasn't seen since he came to the United States. "It's so hard because the time difference,” he said, “I'm sleeping when they're waking up."

Despite his homesickness, Costanzo and the George Mason faculty have helped Eliuda navigate life in Virginia and feel at home.

"There's a lot I can say about [Costanzo] … not playing all last season, that was the toughest moment, and I give credit to him the most … he's taken [me in] like a son,” Eliuda said, expressing his gratitude.

"We use the term Kaizen—we try to get better a little bit every day, and [Eliuda] embodies that," said Costanzo. "At his core, he's a winner, whatever he does he's going to be great."

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George Mason BOV approves design for student-athlete center, adopts institutional neutrality principles

Colleen Rich — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 21:08:16 +0000

George Mason BOV approves design for student-athlete center, adopts institutional neutrality principles Colleen Rich Wed, 12/11/2024 - 16:08

The ��AV Board of Visitors has approved the schematic design for the Basketball and Academic Performance Center, a Fairfax Campus project that will upgrade and expand the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC) and modernize facilities to better serve the university’s student-athletes.

Plans call for a 30,000-square-foot multi-story addition to the RAC as well as a 14,000-square-foot renovation of the building. The Basketball and Academic Performance Center will occupy the northwest corner of the RAC, which originally was the P.E. Building, built in 1972, and renovated in 2009.

The Academic Service suite will provide resources for student-athletes in all of George Mason’s Intercollegiate Athletics programs and replace the academic trailers currently in use on West Campus.

The center will better enable George Mason to compete for talent with peer universities that have built new athletics facilities in recent years. The basketball practice facility will have dedicated courts for the university’s men’s and women’s basketball programs as well as team offices, locker rooms, strength and conditioning spaces, and other amenities to serve the university’s student-athletes.

"The Basketball and Academic Performance Center will truly stand as the crown jewel of George Mason Athletics," said Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and director of Athletics. "This cutting-edge facility reflects the exceptional achievements of our student-athletes, both in competition and in the classroom. It also showcases the university's dedication to supporting our basketball programs for sustained national success."

Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2025, with occupancy planned for winter 2026-27. The BOV approved the project at their Dec. 5 meeting.

“It’s a fabulous facility, and we need it desperately,” said BOV member Robert Pence, who chairs the governing body’s Finance and Land Use Committee and is one of the board’s Athletics liaisons. “As time goes by, we’re going to need this and many more additions and improvements to our athletic facilities. I think most of you know that the ground rules for NCAA schools and athletics is shifting seismically,” he added.

The addition of the transfer portal and name, image, and likeness opportunities have created additional complexity to operating college athletic programs.

Also at the Dec. 5 meeting, the board voted to adopt the Kalven Committee Principles of Institutional Neutrality, a policy that clarifies the scope of what university leaders comment on publicly. To guide its application, the board also adopted existing, informal university guidelines already used when leadership determine what issues merit an official pronouncement from George Mason leadership.

The guidelines call for statements to be balanced, and generally to occur when events of the day call for leadership to convey instructions, explanations, consolation, or messages of de-escalation.

The framework applies solely to statements coming from the president and the rector. The board reiterated that the Kalven Principles expressly do not apply to students or individual faculty or staff.

Many colleges and universities have adopted the Kalven Principles since they were developed in 1967 at the University of Chicago, including some institutions recently.

At its September meeting, the BOV directed Provost Jim Antony and the Academic Programs, Diversity and University Community Committee (APDUC), chaired by Visitor Lindsey Burke, to engage university stakeholders, including students, faculty, deans, and administrative leaders, on the possibility of adopting of the Kalven Principles.

The stakeholders’ pros for such a policy, as reported out by Antony, included preserving viewpoint diversity, establishing a consistent practice for official response, and supporting academic freedom. The stated cons for adopting the principles included the necessity of George Mason needing such a policy given its existing framework for issuing statements, determining which issues require neutrality, and running the risk of the university community interpreting a lack of university response as indifferent or being a political statement in itself.

“I do think that what the provost described is a fair description of all the possible critiques of this type of policy, [and] I agree with all of them,” said Visitor Armand Alacbay, who favored adopting the Kalven Principles. “At the end of the day, this policy is about people generally don't like being spoken for on things they’re passionate about. And when you are in a position of leadership of any institution, restraint is a virtue because the words you speak carry weight, and so there is responsibility to be representative as best as possible of this very diverse and large community.”

In a follow-up from a presentation at the September BOV meeting, Vice President for Enrollment Management David Burge provided information about how standardized test scores and median high school GPAs have increased for George Mason applicants since 2007 when the university stopped requiring SAT scores for undergraduate admission.

Burge said about 2,000 colleges and universities are test-optional, or test-blind, which means the institution will not consider a student’s standardized test score in their admittance process, unless the applicant requests that they do.

In 2006-07, 96.8% of George Mason applicants submitted SAT scores. At that time, the median SAT score was 1100 and the applicants’ median high school GPA was 3.36.

In 2024-25, 18.6% of applicants submitted SAT scores. The median SAT was 1260 and the median high school GPA was 3.75.

“During that period, we have seen some growth in some of the metrics that would be emblematic of the quality of our incoming class,” Burge said. “I think it is safe to say that there has certainly not been harm done to that quality as part of this practice and we’ve been able to grow and produce more graduates and find talent in some atypical places.”

Biology professor Aarthi Narayanan and Mary Ellen O’Toole, director of the university’s Forensic Science Program, made presentations during the BOV Research Committee meeting, highlighting the university’s expertise in viral infections and the science of decomposition, respectively.

Narayanan, who recently secured a $1.4 million grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to investigate how an infection spreads between organs and how a therapeutic will impact connected organs, discussed the necessity to scale discoveries and technologies. She also outlined the difference between readiness and preparedness. Readiness is about meeting current challenges and threats. Preparedness is about meeting future challenges and threats.

“The infectious disease footprint for viral infections is expanding nationally and globally,” Narayanan said. “What we are dealing with as a nation is certain pathogens, which were not endemic to the United States, [are] now running the real risk of becoming endemic to the United States, and that would affect not just human health but also animal health, which automatically almost immediately translates into not just a health burden but also an economic burden at the national level.”

O’Toole presented on the Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory, a Science and Technology Campus facility better known as the body farm. The lab, one of 11 in the country and the only one on the East Coast, recently received its fourth human donor.

O’Toole discussed the forensic training and expertise required to help solve homicides and missing persons cases, including locating the victims of natural disasters.

“People have to be found,” she said. “Their loved ones don't want closure…They want to be reunited with their loved ones. We want to be able to not only prosecute people that are responsible for homicides, but in doing that, we exonerate the innocent.”

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The world of MLB is no longer ‘inside baseball’ for this statistics student

Colleen Rich — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:44:01 +0000

The world of MLB is no longer ‘inside baseball’ for this statistics student Colleen Rich Mon, 12/09/2024 - 12:44

For Abby Finch, baseball is more than just a game. Growing up, she spent hours watching baseball with her dad. While her early years were spent playing soccer, a hip injury in high school redirected her passion for sports into career aspirations in baseball scouting.

George Mason statistics major Abby Finch took her ambitions to the next level by participating in Major League Baseball's Diversity Pipeline Scout Development Program in Glendale, Arizona. Photo provided

"I needed something team-related but couldn't be athletic anymore," Finch said. "That's when I began working as a student manager with my high school's baseball team."

This early experience provided a pathway for a career combining her love for sports and her analytical skills.

Out of high school, Finch chose to go to the University of Charleston in West Virginia, where she worked as the baseball team's director of analytics. However, when the head coach left, she decided to transfer to ��AV, a move the statistics major describes as one of her best decisions.

"I'm happy that I made the move to George Mason," said Finch. "I really wanted more, and [Patriots’ Head Baseball] Coach [Shawn] Camp has all this knowledge from playing at a high level that has helped me."

Finch's future in baseball analytics is bright as she approaches her graduation in May with a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from George Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing.

This October, Finch took her ambitions to the next level by participating in Major League Baseball's Diversity Pipeline Scout Development Program in Glendale, Arizona. Hearing about the MLB program just as the deadline was passing, Finch quickly jumped on the opportunity and applied to the program the same day. Soon after, Finch was accepted into the program, and less than a month later, she was in the air, flying to Glendale.

"I was nervous," Finch admitted, reflecting on hearing about the program's late application submission. "I didn't think I had a shot, but I guess they liked my resume." When she got the acceptance email, she immediately called her parents, Coach Camp, and her professors to coordinate missing classes for the program. Everyone supported her without hesitation, understanding the incredible opportunity the program represented.

The MLB Diversity Pipeline Scout Development Program was designed to provide women and people of color with the tools and knowledge to thrive in the male-dominated world of baseball scouting. For Finch, the experience was transformative. "It taught me that I'm not the only one trying to do this. It's not crazy or a pipe dream—it's achievable."

During the week-long program, Fitch participated in classroom sessions that covered the intricacies of scouting and writing professional scouting reports. She also put what she learned in the classroom into action, analyzing players at the Arizona Fall League games.

"We would scout two pitchers and a position player during the game and write scouting reports that included pitch velocity, swing path, and overall performance," she explained.

These scouting exercises culminated in a mock draft on the final day of the program, where participants selected players based on the quality of their scouting reports. This gave participants an opportunity to get a feel for a draft night situation and a real-life example of how impactful a scout's work is in a player's overall career success.

Finch came away from the program with a deeper understanding of the game and said that her view of the game has completely shifted. "Before, I could see things happening on the field but didn't always know what they meant. Now I can watch a swing or a pitch and understand its significance, good or bad, and how it impacts a player's development."

Entering her second season as director of analytics for the George Mason baseball program, Finch is already making a difference. Coach Camp credits her insights with giving the team a competitive edge, both offensively and defensively. "Abby's commitment to our program and her ability to provide analytics-based insights have been pivotal to the development of our players," Camp said. "Mason has provided her with a front-row seat to the game. She travels with us, and she's made the most of that opportunity by playing a critical role in helping our team grow and compete at a higher level."

Looking ahead, Finch has her sights set on working in a MLB player development department. Through the MLB scout development program, she built connections with women who hold roles she aspires to and even submitted her resume to all 30 MLB teams. "The program gave me invaluable experience," she said. "I'd encourage anyone with the opportunity to participate to go for it."

For Finch, the journey from high school student manager to MLB diversity program alumna proves that passion, persistence, and a willingness to learn can open doors in even the most competitive fields. Finch is ready to take a big swing with her eyes set on a career in professional baseball.

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George Mason Athletics marks 50 years of women’s volleyball

Colleen Rich — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 18:46:18 +0000

George Mason Athletics marks 50 years of women’s volleyball Colleen Rich Wed, 09/25/2024 - 14:46

��AV Athletics is recognizing and celebrating 50 years of women’s volleyball during the 2024-25 season. Over the course of the next few weeks, leading up to the 50th-anniversary celebration on Oct. 19, a series of Q&As, stories, and social media posts will reflect and celebrate the players and coaches who have built the Patriots women's volleyball program into what it is today.

Alumni who are interested in attending the 50th-anniversary event should RSVP in advance.

Photos and graphic provided

Holly (Weber) Neimark was a member of the inaugural women's volleyball team in 1974, and though she was only a part of the Patriots volleyball program for a year, it has left her with memories that will last a lifetime.

How did you get involved with volleyball at Mason?

Well, I just loved volleyball. I always did. I was involved in all the sports. I was a physical education major at the time, so I went out for everything. But I always loved volleyball. I played it in high school. And I did all the intermural stuff when I was a freshman at Mason.

What do you remember about your coaching staff?

I felt like [Kevin Colgate and Mark Osmun] taught us to be fearless. They would set up these mats and they would hit us really difficult balls, and they taught us to dive for those balls. We were diving across the floor to reach out and get these balls that were really hard to get. And I was really impressed with that. I felt like they really trained us to be fearless and to just go for it.

And one thing I always remember about Kevin was his enthusiasm and he's got the greatest smile. And he was just such a good coach. He was very supportive and enthusiastic. He just made it really fun.

What was a memorable game for you?

One match that stood out was when we played Gallaudet University. What I remember is how they moved around the court together as a team with such grace and awareness. I don't know if we won that game or not, but I was just in awe of how they played as a team.

What do you remember about your travel accommodations?

I do remember being in vans. I don't think we went anywhere far. There were no overnighters.

Can you catch us up on what you're doing now?

I transferred to San Diego State University after that first season. I ended up not playing [volleyball] and got involved in other things. I became involved in theater. So, I took a whole other path, and I've been involved in theater most of my life. I was an actor for many years and ended up at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Then I went into stage management, and then into education. And now I'm retired. It has been a fun, interesting life!

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First-year setter Tuana Ozarpaci is learning fast about the U.S. and Division I volleyball

Sarah Holland — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:52:52 +0000

First-year setter Tuana Ozarpaci is learning fast about the U.S. and Division I volleyball Sarah Holland Thu, 08/29/2024 - 15:52

The heavier volleyball used in NCAA Division-I play and the different feel from its international counterpart isn’t the only change to which ��AV’s Tuana Ozarpaci is quickly acclimating herself.

Photo by Rafael Suanes/Mason Athletics

Living in a foreign land, far away from home for the first time, the 18-year-old first-year setter from Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, is taking a crash course, learning volumes both on the court and off as she settles in at her new home-away-from-home.

“It’s a whole new change, but it’s a good change,” said Ozarpaci, an economics and sports management major. “I just want to focus on my studies, volleyball, and my personal growth.”

Attending a university far from friends and family can have its challenges, but Ozarpaci is adapting well to her new environment and her new volleyball family.

In early spring 2023, Ozarpaci announced her intention to play for George Mason, becoming coach Megan Shifflett Bachman’s first commit for the incoming class of 2024. Ozarpaci chose George Mason over University of Texas, DePaul, and Loyola Marymount, citing the close relationship she had quickly developed with Shifflett Backman and current Patriots players via Zoom and her desire to find a new home preferably on the East Coast.

Ozarpaci had initially drawn the university’s attention with her impressive performance on the Turkish club team Galatasaray Sports Club, where she played in 414 sets across 133 matches and led her team with 1,000+ assists each season as the starting setter for the past three consecutive seasons.

Shifflett Bachman was on maternity leave when she heard of Ozarpaci’s decision to come to George Mason. “She was just one of those athletes who really stood out,” Shifflett Bachman said. “What she could do with the ball was impressive and immediately caught our attention.”

The number of international student-athletes playing Division I women’s volleyball has slowly risen in recent years, but they still comprise just under 6% of all Division I players, according to the latest NCAA statistics.

But Ozarpaci could play a key role for a George Mason team that looks to improve last year’s 9-21 record. Setters are the team’s quarterbacks, meaning they usually touch the ball on every play to set up teammates. Having a keen on-court awareness, knowing her teammates and accurately placing the ball are skills that are imperative for that position.

Ozarpaci will get her opportunity this fall, with the Patriots returning just one setter from last year’s team.

“Being a freshman—especially as an international student—is always going to be hard, no matter what,” Ozarpaci said. “But the coaches are making me feel safe and welcome while pushing me to improve and learn how to do things better.”

She had visited the United States with her parents and older sister before enrolling at George Mason, but the family had never been to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area before arriving in Fairfax on Aug. 1. Now, she is ready to brave this chapter on her own.

A huge basketball fan, Ozarpaci already plans on being a regular at EagleBank Arena this winter, at least when she’s not too busy with classes or sampling American culinary delights, such as Chick-fil-A and Dunkin, both on the Fairfax Campus. Ozarpaci has become a big fan of both.

“I’m loving it here, it’s beautiful, and I feel like I’m going to grow a lot,” Ozarpaci said.

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Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

Colleen Rich — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:32:21 +0000

Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992 Colleen Rich Mon, 08/05/2024 - 13:32

Muzzio Places Fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

��AV alumnus and former track star Rob Muzzio, BS ’87, finished fifth in the decathlon competition during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Although he didn’t bring home a medal, Muzzio told the Washington Post that he performed a “personal best” in the second day of the 10-event decathlon, moving from 20th place the first day to fifth place finish overall. Muzzio won the pole vault portion of the competition.

In addition to Muzzio, who was representing the United States, nine George Mason athletes qualified to represent their native countries in 1992: heptathlete and long jumper Diane Guntrie and sprinters Anthony Wallace and Patrick O’Connor of Jamaica; pole-vaulter Istvan Bagyula of Hungary; middle-distance runner Abdi Bile of Somalia; sprinters John Myles-Mills, Eric Akogyiram, and Tim Hesse of Ghana; and long-distance runner Stephan Franke of Germany.

Barcelona was the second time Bile, who was the 1987 world champion in 1,500 meters, carried Somalia’s flag in the opening ceremonies. His first time was when he competed in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Information provided by Fall 1992 Inside Patriot Circles alumni newsletter.

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George Mason athletes post successful NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:21:22 +0000

George Mason athletes post successful NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores Colleen Rich Wed, 06/12/2024 - 15:21

��AV student-athletes continued to post impressive scores in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) release by the NCAA. Four programs produced perfect multi-year NCAA APR scores of 1,000 while a total of 11 teams had a perfect APR for the 2022-23 academic year.

Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics

The APR score is a rolling four-year average of each team and its athletes' progress toward graduation. Teams that score below 930 are subject to penalties, which can include ineligibility for postseason competition.

The highlights of results for George Mason student-athletes include:

The Division I single-year APR score for the George Mason Athletics Department was 989, which scored above the 985 needed to meet the NCAA academic unit benchmark.

Men's and women's cross country programs and the men's and women's tennis all scored a perfect multi-year score of 1,000.

Twelve teams (men's cross country, men's golf, men's soccer, men's tennis, men's track and field, women's cross country, women's rowing, women's lacrosse, softball, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, and women's volleyball) scored at or above the NCAA Division I average multi-year APR score of 984.

"We are very proud of the impressive scores George Mason Athletics boasted in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR) released by the NCAA," said Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis.

"This is a testament the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of our student-athletes, coaches, and the academic services team led by Deputy Athletics Director Nena Rogers. The collective commitment to academic success can be celebrated by all of the ��AV community."

Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the APR holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.

The scores provide a real-time look at a program's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention, and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. This year, the APR score was a multi-year average of the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 academic years.

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Distad embodies excellence on and off the field

Colleen Rich — Mon, 06 May 2024 14:46:15 +0000

Distad embodies excellence on and off the field Colleen Rich Mon, 05/06/2024 - 10:46

��AV lacrosse midfielder and biology major Lauren Distad is the 2024 Aimee Willard Commemorative Award recipient. This award is given annually to a student-athlete who embodies Willard's legacy and who mirrors the standards of quality set by Willard in her two-sport career: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement, and teamwork.

Lacrosse player Lauren Distad with Athletic Director Marvin Lewis. Photo by Athletics

Distad's path to winning the Aimee Willard Award started 1,100 miles away from George Mason in Roseville, Minnesota, where she grew up. "I come from a very diverse area in Minnesota," said Distad. "I saw a lot of people that weren't given equitable care and opportunities that I was given. So, in high school, I started volunteering and doing stuff because I wanted to close that gap. I started a food drive during COVID, and that kind of kick-started me with community service stuff.”

A student-athlete’s coach must nominate them for the award. "Lauren has been a consistent contributor to our program, her school, and her community,” said George Mason women’s lacrosse head coach Kara Mupo. “She continuously upholds the highest standards through everything she does and leaves a positive and lasting impact on people in all facets of her life."

When she chose to come to George Mason, Distad says lacrosse was the leading factor, but it's not the reason she's stayed. "Lacrosse brought me here […] but I stay because of the people that I've met here and the consistency within academics and athletics. It's a great environment, great community."

Distad plays an active role in making George Mason and the surrounding Fairfax community a great place to be. In her limited free time over the past three years, Distad has served as a member of the Student Athletics Advisory Committee, as a George Mason Ambassador, a Mason Chooses Kindness Ambassador, and she is heavily involved in Morgan's Message, a nonprofit that “strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.”

Distad is also the founder of the One Love club on campus, a group that raises awareness about relationship violence by hosting events, workshops, and fundraisers. She also has excelled in the classroom; she was twice named a Athletics Provost Scholar and has been on the Dean's List for every semester she's attended George Mason. Distad also works two on-campus jobs in Athletics.

In March 2024, she received an OrthoVirginia Student Achiever Award, which recognizes George Mason student-athletes that excel in all areas—academics, athletics, and service to the community.

Off campus, Distad has volunteered at the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic as a medical scribe and has worked with FACETS at the Wedgewood Community Center, helping with afterschool enrichment. She also spent summer 2023 as a volunteer in the birth center and breast health care center at Regions Hospital in Minnesota. She is on a pre-med track and is set to take the MCAT this fall with the hopes to specialize in pediatrics or as a fertility specialist, but that's not the only reason she picked her volunteer work.

"I just like to see people happy,” Distad said. “I know it sounds super simple, but everyone deserves equitable care and to be happy and to be cared for and seen."

On the field, Distad has played all over, but has become the team's draw specialist this year, tallying 87 draw controls, good for third most in the Atlantic 10. And while she's led the draw team to be top-25 in the country in draw control percentage, she humbly credits her teammates and coaches as the reason for their success: “I couldn't do it without my draw circle. We work really well as a team. There's a lot that goes into it and it's very skilled and people don't really notice that. […] And our circle game was really good last year, but [assistant coach Riley Ewing] enhanced our on-draw calls. I'm very fortunate to have a good team that supports me and who has my back.”

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��AV completes long-term rebrand with new logo

Colleen Rich — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 18:03:05 +0000

��AV completes long-term rebrand with new logo Colleen Rich Wed, 04/24/2024 - 14:03

��AV unveiled a completely redesigned logo as the capstone of its three-year-long comprehensive rebrand. The new look, which will include a single logo for the university and its athletics program, asserts George Mason’s emerging identity as a national top 50 public university and Virginia’s top-ranked university for innovation and upward mobility, as well as the commonwealth’s largest, most innovative, and most diverse university.

The ongoing rebrand signals George Mason’s convention-defying rise to become a leading national public research university by expanding access to excellence through an unwavering commitment to inclusive innovation. The rebrand rollout began in 2021, with preparations to mark 50 years of George Mason as a university in 2022 with updated brand narrative that proclaims the university’s distinct approach to education as All Together Different. The logo system now matches this brand language.

“Higher education in America is at an inflection point, with families having a harder time finding a top-quality, affordable college education at a university that will actually admit them,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “George Mason has always offered these things, but few families know of this value because our brand and message have not been adequately heard. This new look is our reintroduction to the community, and a symbol of our commitment to the fundamentals: outstanding and rigorous academics, pragmatic career preparation and internships, flexibility and value, and an atmosphere of belonging for everyone.”

George Mason has grown from a small regional college in the 1970s into the youngest institution ever to earn Carnegie Tier 1 research university status, as well as Virginia’s top-ranked university for such high-demand and varied disciplines as cybersecurity, business entrepreneurship, homeland security, criminology, and forensic sciences. It also established Virginia’s first School of Computing in 2021 and its first College of Public Health in 2023.

“Our new brand crystallizes our identity as a great equalizer—a university committed to inclusive acceptance over exclusive status, and the promise of broad access to a top 50 university experience,” Washington said. “We take great pride in opening our doors wider the higher we climb in prestige. That’s what we mean by All Together Different.”

“George Mason has always boxed above its weight in Northern Virginia and D.C., and it needs an identity system to compete in the most competitive higher education market in the nation,” said Horace Blackman, rector of George Mason’s Board of Visitors. “This identity system brings George Mason shoulder-to-shoulder with leading brands in higher education.”

The new look also fixes several operational challenges with the existing logo system, and visuals that were difficult to maintain consistently across the university’s complex academic environment. All university units will now use a single, streamlined logo system.

“I am thrilled that George Mason Athletics will lead the charge to a unified look that reflects the modern character of this great university,” said Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “George Mason Athletics develops true scholar-athletes and serves as the front porch of the university, so it’s important to promote one consistent identity to unify our community.”

George Mason student-athletes Lauren Splett, women’s tennis, and Dean Johnson, track and field, modeled the new logo. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Input gathered from faculty and staff, students, parents, alumni, donors, and community leaders confirmed that George Mason is “All Together Different,” and in need of a new logo system to unify the community. The new look features clean lines and open ends, symbolizing multiple entry points and pathways to success. An interior gold shape hugged by green on both sides depicts the university's signature diversity and inclusivity. The clean lines represent the university’s efficiency and pragmatism.

The familiar green and gold color palette remains, paying homage to the university’s origins, as those school colors were voted on by students in the late 1960s. However, bolder shades will be adopted to signify its confidence as a rising national leader.

The “GM” monogram distinguishes the university as the world's only university to use those initials in its logo and recognizes that the broader community commonly refers to the university as “George Mason,” not just “Mason” and no longer “GMU.”

“This is a new look for a new era with new expectations of American higher education,” said Paul Allvin, vice president and chief brand officer at George Mason. “The rebrand reintroduces Mason as elite yet never elitist, prestigious yet eminently accessible, confident in blazing a fundamentally new path for public higher education in the 21st century and beyond.”

The change to the new look is planned to happen over time and is being accomplished without additional university spending. Over the next two years, assets that can be converted at no cost, like digital displays, will be converted first, followed by branded materials that naturally run out periodically and are already budgeted for replacement. Durable assets including external signage will be paid for by reallocation of existing budgets within the Office of University Branding.

Below is an example of how the individual units will look in a new two-tiered logo strategy.

Go behind the scenes to learn about our growth and journey to modernize George Mason's brand identity

Check out the new Brand Guide

The toolkit, editorial guide, and other tips for sharing Mason's new look and feel are available here. Take a look.

You have questions? We have answers

Want to know how to use the new logo in materials? Find out what's changing and how you can boost the new brand in the FAQ.

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impact fall 2024

Her time at Mason is going swimmingly

Colleen Rich — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:34:58 +0000

Her time at Mason is going swimmingly Colleen Rich Thu, 03/21/2024 - 13:34

Ali Tyler is all about television crime shows. They are, she said, her go-to form of entertainment.

Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

At the same time, she is well aware they aren’t to be taken seriously.

Tyler is a junior forensic science major at ��AV, and, as she said of Hollywood’s fast-track crime solving, “It’s not at all how it happens in real life. It’s a three-month process versus a two-second process.”

Tyler, from Cheshire, Connecticut, picked Mason because of its well-regarded Forensic Science Program and proximity to Washington, D.C., a choice that put her on her preferred career path and also allowed her to flourish as one of the Atlantic 10’s best all-around swimmers.

Tyler is a three-time conference champion in the 100-yard backstroke, a three-time champion in the 50 freestyle, and a two-time champion in the 200 backstroke. At this year’s conference championship meet, Tyler set a conference meet record of 48.84 seconds in the 100 freestyle to go along with her overall conference record of 22.29 seconds in the 50 freestyle, set in the 2021-22 season. That’s nine individual events entered, nine gold medals.

She also has been part of four relay teams that won gold, three of which set conference records, and is a member of Mason's Honors College.

“It’s been awesome to watch,” said Jamie Greenwood, interim coach of Mason’s swimming and diving team. “She’s elite in our conference, not to mention leading while staying humble. She is the athlete that every coach wants to work with.”

“I’m very glad I made the decision I did,” Tyler said of attending Mason. “I’m very satisfied with how I performed athletically. And I’m so glad I chose the forensics [program] here. The professors and everyone are fantastic.”

Still, it’s not the easiest road.

It means 5:30 a.m. wake-ups during the competitive season to get to the first of two-a-day workouts. It means working around class schedules, which Tyler said caused her on several occasions to miss practices and swim on her own to make up the time.

It means working with faculty who Tyler said have been understanding of the demands on her time and flexible when it comes to assignment deadlines.

The payoff has been both athletic and academic, as Tyler in her first two years at Mason made the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, which acknowledges student-athletes with at least a 3.0 grade-point average.

“What is amazing about her is her ability to maintain such high grades along with a rigorous aquatic training schedule,” said Steven Burmeister, an associate professor in the Forensic Science Program. “This balance demonstrates great discipline and maturity.”

Burmeister should know. He worked with Tyler last summer on a project that revealed LiDAR sensors that can be used to acquire digital crime scene data were most effective at a height of 60 feet.

“Without question, Ali has a bright future ahead of her,” Burmeister said, “and I am sure many accomplishments yet to come.”

Tyler said she is on track to graduate in Spring 2025. And because she has only five classes left for her undergraduate degree, she likely will begin an accelerated masters, also in forensic science.

From there, she said, she could pursue a career in toxicology or with a law enforcement agency.

It also makes sense that a field of study based on investigation would appeal to someone who likes puzzles.

Tyler said she loves brain teasers, disentanglement puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles. In fact, she said she just started a jigsaw puzzle with cherry blossoms.

She also appreciates the way Mason has made her feel at home, in and out of the pool.

“I like how the school is so connected, very community-based,” Tyler said. “But so many people come here from other places. I got a mix of small school and big school all in one.”

Explore Mason's Forensic Science Program

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����AV completes long-term rebrand with new logo

Go behind the scenes to learn about our growth and journey to modernize George Mason's brand identity

Check out the new Brand Guide

You have questions? We have answers

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Explore Mason's Forensic Science Program

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