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Schar School Biodefense Students Selected for Distinguished Fellowship

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:31:16 +0000

Schar School Biodefense Students Selected for Distinguished Fellowship Andrew J Schappert Thu, 01/23/2025 - 13:31

The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity (ELBI) Fellowship, offered by the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is one of the most distinguished and prestigious fellowship available to those in the biosecurity profession.

Two students in ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government’s highly ranked biodefense PhD program, Janet Marroquin and Katie Dammer, were chosen for this honor and will be joining 29 other young professionals in the fellowship’s 2025 cohort.

During their fellowship, participants will participate in biosecurity workshops, networking events, and research symposiums, in Washington, D.C., and abroad.

Gregory Koblentz, director of the biodefense graduate program, congratulated the students on their accomplishment.

“Janet and Katie are rising stars in biosecurity, so it’s very gratifying to see their potential recognized by the leading think tank in the field,” he said.

Janet Marroquin: ‘I’m most excited to engage with international perspectives on common problems …’ Photos provided.

Marroquin graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in biodefense. Her PhD dissertation examines Russia’s motivation and strategy for using vaccine-related narratives in its disinformation operations.

She currently works as a full-time research analyst for a federally funded research and development center. Her work focuses on analyzing national security challenges related to emerging biotechnologies and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) weapons.

“I’m most excited to engage with international perspectives on common problems, especially science communication and public trust in state institutions,” she said.

Her time at George Mason helped prepare her for both her career and the fellowship because of the nature of the program, the diverse student backgrounds, and its comprehensive approach to biosecurity, she said.

“The biodefense courses exposed me to the vulnerabilities that we as a global society have to the spread of disease due, in no small part, to inadequate preparedness,” she said, adding that her favorite classes were Koblentz’s course on biodefense strategy and computational physics and chemistry professor Estela Blaisten-Barojas’s challenging-but-rewarding course on numerical methods.

Dammer is a first-year student in the biodefense PhD program. The ELBI program and those who speak highly of it have surrounded her since her undergraduate studies, so she jumped at the chance to learn more about this ever-changing field.

Katie Dammer: ‘Every year brings changes, but it is exciting to know that this will be a key piece of my professional development …’

“I am so grateful to the Center for Health Security for the acceptance and to colleagues and ELBI alumni for all of the kind words I have received since this year’s cohort was announced,” she said. “Every year brings changes, but it is exciting to know that this will be a key piece of my professional development throughout 2025.”

Her focus is on the intersection of national security and science policy, and her current professional role covers a variety of natural, accidental, and deliberate threats.

She said she is most excited to build a biosecurity community and take time away from her career to “nerd out” over the many topics presented during the fellowship.

Dammer hopes her time as a ELBI fellow will both complement and enhance her research and discussion skills, and she looks forward to engaging with pioneers across the public health and policy fields.

She added that she owes a special thanks to her father who, as a career academic, has been an inspiration as she started her PhD journey and now the fellowship ahead of her.

Marroquin and Dammer join a number of other Schar School biodefense students and graduates who have served as ELBI fellows, including Siddha Hover, MS ’14 (ELBI Class of 2016); Francisco Cruz, MS ’15 (ELBI Class of 2016); Saskia Popescu, PhD ’19 (ELBI Class of 2017); Yong-Bee Lim, MS ’13, PhD ’21 (ELBI Class of 2018); Justin Hurt, PhD ’23 (ELBI Class of 2019); and Matthew Ferreira, MS ’22 (ELBI Class of 2023).

The author is a first-year student in the biodefense master’s program with a special interest in terrorism and the use of pathogens as weapons. This story first appeared in the biodefense program’s The Pandora Report.

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Counseling graduate student awarded fine arts fellowship

Colleen Rich — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:50:29 +0000

Counseling graduate student awarded fine arts fellowship Colleen Rich Tue, 06/11/2024 - 08:50

��AV graduate student Truman Deree is one of 20 students (one of five graduate fellows) awarded a 2024-25 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship. He received the award for his photography, which he also shares at TrumanDereePhotography on Instagram.

Truman Deree. Photo provided

The fellowship comes with a $6,000 scholarship paid throughout the 2024-25 academic year and the opportunity to have his art placed throughout Richmond in locations such as VMFA’s Amuse Restaurant and Claiborne Robertson Room, VMFA’s Pauley Center Galleries, and Richmond International Airport. I caught up with Deree to learn more about his work and his experience at Mason.

What inspires you?

I always, even as a kid, liked doing photography for fun. I really got into it in high school. I took photography classes all four years. I had a really great teacher, Ms. Davidson, and I won my first awards at that point. That inspired me to be more proactive in taking photos and submitting them and sharing them. It’s continued to be something that I like to do as a hobby throughout my education.

Could you tell me more about what you do at Mason?

I am a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I am two years into my program with one year left, attending full-time. I decided I wanted to be a counselor in undergrad (psychology at James Madison University) because I had had positive experiences with counselors and wanted to do that for other people.

I have two student jobs, one as a graduate researcher for the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and one as a clerk for the Faculty Senate. My photography is more of a hobby, although I do also use the editing and planning skills I use with it in my work and academic career.

What led you to ��AV?

I had a friend who was attending undergraduate here and heard that Mason offered a good community. I went to high school in Arlington, so I liked the Northern Virginia region, and I knew that I wanted to become licensed in Virginia. There are good options for my line of work in the Northern Virginia/D.C. region.

As Above, So Below, a photo by Truman Deree

What do you do at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media?

I am part of a team researching the U.S. census on religious bodies from 1926. We look at photos of the actual census forms and are digitizing information from those forms so that we can gain a better understanding of America’s religious institutions at the time and map it out. I have been working on that project for about 2.5 semesters now. It’s a large ongoing project, called American Religious Ecologies.

What are your future plans, and how will the VMFA scholarship impact those?

I’m hoping to graduate next May. Right now, I’m doing my practicum, and I have two semesters of internship left. After that, my plan is to become a licensed counselor. The fellowship will be helpful to me by giving me some added stability to pay for all of my needs through graduate school. I’m very thankful in that regard.

Did you have any advice to share with other students?

First, I would say that for any creative project, practice and submit. There are so many places to share your art if you look. I think Mason is really great in this regard because there are so many student publications for most types of writing or art you can think of. I personally have been published in the Hispanic Culture Review, and that was super cool, so I encourage Mason students to explore the list of student publications and see if any of them correspond with what you’re into.

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Mason public health student’s research will improve the postnatal outcomes of mothers of color

Shayla Brown — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 18:52:42 +0000

Mason public health student’s research will improve the postnatal outcomes of mothers of color Shayla Brown Mon, 12/04/2023 - 13:52

��AV graduate student Archana Vardhan was one of 20 students nationwide selected for a summer fellowship through the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) called the Graduate Student Epidemiology Program. Her area of expertise is the mental and physical health of postnatal mothers of color.

“There have been research studies on prenatal mothers, but not much data is available for postnatal mothers,” said Vardhan, who is working on a master of public health degree in the College of Public Health. “I look at the challenges [Black and African mothers] face—discrimination and other barriers—and what education models can be provided to them for their optimum health and mental peace.”

Vardhan, who is also a mother to two small children, said the education models created for the postnatal mothers will include how they can take care of themselves after delivery, what herbal remedies can be used in addition to the treatment if they have any medical problems, and how they can advocate for themselves.

In addition to her graduate studies, Vardhan, who is originally from India and came to Virginia in 2013, works full-time as a clinical research specialist at Inova Health System.

Archana Vardhan. Photo provided.

For her fellowship, she was assigned to work with a health department in Portland, Oregon, where her role included developing a survey about maternal well-being and designing an education program.

“We built a questionnaire, which had a very good response from [around] 110 mothers. Then we did a qualitative analysis. My role was to design the survey and do the qualitative analysis and build an education model on whatever results I get from the survey,” she explained.

Vardhan also enrolled in the summer Global and Community Health (GCH) course GCH 609: Community Assessment and Partnership with assistant professor Marybeth Mitcham, where the coursework perfectly aligned with the responsibilities of her fellowship, she said.

“This course covers what I consider to be some of the most important factors in conducting any community work,” said Mitcham, “[including] the value of involving community members in every step of community work and using an interdisciplinary strategy to address problems.”

The course explores needs assessments, crafting effective surveys, focus group questions, and more, using examples of actual community work, said Mitcham, who is also director of the online MPH program.

Mitcham aims to incorporate students' interests in the classroom so that they can explore topics that are relevant to them. For GCH 609, Vardhan used her research from her summer fellowship and her work at Inova as the basis for her assignments.

“One of my favorite things about [the college] is that students are supported not just in their education and research, but in exploring potential solutions to problems about which they care,” said Mitcham. “Archana is fabulous, and I can't wait to see the amazing positive changes that will occur to the holistic health of postnatal mothers of color as a result of Archana's drive, passion, and excellence.”

Although her fellowship has ended, Vardhan still does volunteer work with AMCHP and is in constant contact with her site supervisor. AMCHP also has a program called Healthy Birth Initiatives that will benefit from Vardhan’s work.

“In the end, it is the mother who is taking care of the baby, so now after giving birth they can be taken care of too. The biggest takeaway is that postnatal care for Black mothers should be culturally sensitive, inclusive, and tailored to address the unique challenges they face,” said Vardhan.

“By focusing on these key areas, health care providers and policymakers can work toward improving the health and well-being of Black mothers and their babies. Mothers are dealing with a huge crisis in terms of emotional [health], especially mothers of color,” she said.

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Office of Fellowships announces 2022-23 award winners

Colleen Rich — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:21:32 +0000

Office of Fellowships announces 2022-23 award winners Colleen Rich Thu, 05/11/2023 - 09:21

��AV’s Office of Fellowships works with students and alumni to help them find and apply to nationally competitive awards that support their academic, professional, and personal goals. Director Megan Bruening calls the office a “one-stop shop” for students seeking fellowships.

“We are here to guide them through the entire process and meet students wherever they are at in their academic journeys,” she said.

That includes 1:1 advising, feedback on students’ application essays, interview coaching, and coordinating faculty and administrative committees to review and endorse student applications. The team also works with recommenders on reference letters and helps currently enrolled students with their post-award paperwork.

The number of fellowship applicants and recipients at Mason has increased by 15% each year since summer 2021, Bruening said.

The office is pleased to announce the following student fellowships awarded for the 2022-23 academic year.

American Association of University Women Grant
With a mission of gender equity and economic security, the aim of the American Association of University Women Grant is to support female researchers at all stages of their careers. The grant is designed to enable female researchers to gain more visibility, expand a network, or build more expertise.

Ingrid Guillen Marquina (College of Science [COS], Chemistry MS)

Boren Awards
Boren Scholarships (for undergraduate students) and Fellowships (for graduate students) provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Scholars: Sannai James (College of Humanities and Social Sciences [CHSS], Global Affairs BA), Connor Brunson (CHSS, Global Affairs BA)
Fellows: Danyale Kellogg (Schar School of Policy and Government, Biodefense PhD), Jacob Davis (School of Business, Management BS)

Center for Disease Control Undergraduate Public Health Scholar
The CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (Lewis Scholars; formerly CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars [CUPS]) Program provides students, particularly those from populations that are underrepresented in public health professions, with career-building public health experiences.

Kristen Alleyne (College of Public Health [CPH], Community Health BS, Honors College)

Cosmos Scholars Grant
Awarded by the Cosmos Club Foundation, Cosmos Scholar grants cover the costs of travel, special supplies, and other expenses that would enhance the scholarship for recipients in various academic fields, including literature, biomedical sciences, regional studies, and engineering.

Melissa DeLury (College of Education and Human Development [CEHD], Education PhD)
Anne Dobberteen (also received the Neilom Foundation Meritorious Award in Technology and Society from Cosmos; CHSS, Art History PhD)
Laura Fretwell (CHSS, History PhD)
Alena James (COS, Biosciences PhD)
Dylan Scarton (COS, Neuroscience PhD)

Critical Language Scholarship
The Critical Language Scholarship Program is an immersive summer opportunity for American college and university students to learn languages in regions that are critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.

Carma Elharazi (CHSS, Foreign Languages BA)
Aleah Johnson (CHSS, Foreign Languages BA, Honors College)
Ninamarie Avedissian (CEHD, Curriculum and Instruction MEd)
Gisselle Contreras (COS, Neuroscience)
- Alternates: Dulguun Gantumur (CHSS, Global Affairs BA, Honors College), Kanwal Ahmad (College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), Electrical Engineering BS), Sara Michels (Schar, International Security MA)

Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship
The two-year Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship from the U.S. Department of State aims to attract top technology talent that represents the ethnic, racial, gender, social, and geographic diversity of the United States. The two-year fellowship is a path to a career in the Foreign Service and provides academic funding for an IT-related degree, internships, professional development and mentorship—culminating in an appointment in the Foreign Service as an Information Management Specialist.

Iyouel Endashaw (CEC Cybersecurity, BS)

Fulbright U.S. Student Program
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program aims to promote mutual understanding and peace between the United States and other nations through educational and cultural exchange. Students and college graduates apply for grants to study, conduct research, or teach English conversation and U.S. culture abroad while serving as citizen diplomats in the host country.

Morgan Swindall (ETA, Taiwan) (CHSS, Global Affairs MA)
- Semifinalists: Ashagrie Abdi (Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Conflict Analysis and Resolution PhD), Medhini Sosale (CEC, Bioengineering BA, Honors College), Logan Lehman (Schar, Government and Politics BA, Honors College)

Gates-Cambridge Scholarship
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is a fully funded international postgraduate award for students to study any subject at the University of Cambridge with the aim of building a global network of future leaders who are committed to improving the lives of others.

- Semifinalist (first since 2015): Jasmine Okidi (CHSS, English BA, Honors College)

GEM Fellowship
The GEM Fellowship provides MS- and PhD-level students both financial support and internship opportunities to highly qualified, underrepresented students who wish to pursue graduate study in engineering or science.

Brenda Henriquez (CEC, Computer Science MS)

Goldwater Scholarship
Named after the former senator and presidential candidate, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship is a highly competitive national award for American undergraduate students in science, math and engineering who are committed to pursuing advanced degrees and research-oriented careers in STEM fields.

Lina Alkarmi (CEC, Electrical Engineering BS, Honors College)

Insight Collaborative Fellowship
The Insight Collaborative Fellowship Program helps individuals develop their own conflict management skills by working within local or international nonprofits of their choice. Each year-long Fellowship begins with a period of training and development before the fellow begins three global placements through which they share the best in conflict management theory and skills.

- Semifinalist: Naomi Davis (awaiting final results, Carter, Conflict Analysis and Resolution MA)

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM, STEM education, and social science fields at accredited U.S. institutions.

Samuel Schmidgall (CEC, Comp Sci BS)

Pickering Fellowship
The Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship is a U.S. Department of State program that seeks to attract and prepare outstanding young people, who represent ethnic, gender, social, and geographic diversity and have an interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career in the U.S. Department of State.

Quan Crawford (CHSS, Global Affairs BA)

Point Foundation Flagship Scholarship
The Point Flagship Scholarship empowers LGBTQ students who are earning their undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the Unites States. Flagship scholarship recipients receive financial support, access to multiple leadership development programs, mentorship or coaching, and the support of a community of scholars and alumni.

- Semifinalist: CJ Mandell (awaiting final results, CPH, Public Health MA)

Presidential Management Fellowship
The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is a two-year training and leadership development program at a United States government agency, administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, for advanced degree holders. After completing the program, agencies may convert PMFs to permanent federal civilian employees.

Adil Sailau (Scalia Law School, JD)
Nathan Danielson (Carter, Conflict Analysis and Resolution MS)
Nicholas Sherwood (Carter, Conflict Analysis and Resolution PhD)
Trinidee Baker (CEHD, Education Leaders MEd)
Isaac Gibbons (CEC, Cybersecurity MS)
Patrick Mason (CPH, Nutrition MS)
Joseph Pencak (CHSS, Economics MA)
Lindsey Schmidt (CHSS, Global Affairs MA)
Rose Kemmel (CHSS, IO Psychology MPS)
William Snyder (Schar, Transportation MA)
Sara Leming (Schar, Public Management CERG)
Michael Lodico (Schar, MPA)
Bianca Nelson (Schar, MPA)
Sylkin Barksdale (Schar, MPA)
Brandon Bryan (Schar, MPA)
Zachary Huebschman (Schar, MPA)
Whitney Guilford (Schar, MPA)
Tianwei Na (Business, MBA)

Rangel Fellowship
The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program is a State Department fellowship program that supports outstanding American students from diverse backgrounds in pursuing master’s degrees to prepare for diplomatic careers in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Natasha Taliferro (CHSS, Global Affairs BA)

Smithsonian Institute Guggenheim Grant
Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.

Anne Dobberteen (CHSS, Art History PhD)

Schwarzman Scholarship
Schwarzman Scholarship is a one-year, fully funded master's degree in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The program selects 100 to 200 Scholars per year based on their leadership ability, academic achievement, and commitment to advancing mutual cultural understanding and global progress.

Seminfinalist: Neuteyshe Felizor (CHSS, Government and Politics BA)

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Statistics student wins COVES Fellowship

Rena Malai — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:29:52 +0000

Statistics student wins COVES Fellowship Rena Malai Mon, 04/17/2023 - 12:29

It will be an exciting summer for ��AV PhD student Zhenyi Huang.

As a Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Fellowship winner, he’ll begin to embark on his career path in May as he helps to foster relationships between the engineering and science community, and the Virginia state government.

“I think this will be a very valuable experience for me, and a great opportunity,” said Huang, who is studying statistics.

The 12-week program offers Huang a stipend of around $14,000 and aims to strengthen ties between the scientific community and state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, while encouraging and equipping more scientists and engineers to be effective advisors for public policy in the state of Virginia.

Huang was inspired by last year’s COVES winner who he shared some things in common with – basketball and being of Chinese descent. As he developed the connection, Huang asked his new friend questions about the fellowship process, which he said helped him with the application.

“I asked him a lot of questions about requirements, what kind of material I should prepare, what the application process is like. I learned a lot from him about all the points I needed to take care of,” said Huang.

With encouragement from his academic advisors, Huang decided to apply.

“I never thought to make the connection between science and engineering and politics. It’s a unique opportunity and will be a strong point on my resume,” he said.

Huang said he was drawn to studying statistics at George Mason because of the strong faculty and programs offered. His advice to future COVES Fellowship potential applicants is to collect any information online and ask as many questions as possible. It’s a method that helped him tremendously.

“Never be afraid to ask questions!” he said.

To return the favor, Huang is happy to answer questions for anyone interested in the fellowship. He can be reached at zhuang6@gmu.edu

The COVES Fellowship is offered through the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to graduate students and postdoctorals. Selected participants are placed in legislative, executive agency, or policy offices within a Virginia company or nonprofit.

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2022 Biodefense Grad Matthew Ferreira Wins Hopkins’ Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 20:06:43 +0000

2022 Biodefense Grad Matthew Ferreira Wins Hopkins’ Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship Andrew J Schappert Wed, 02/15/2023 - 15:06

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Matthew Ferreira: ‘[T]he opportunity to meet and learn from classmates in the various biodefense, policy and government, and public administration programs was incredibly enriching and invaluable.’

Matthew Ferreira, a 2022 graduate of the Schar School’s Master’s in Biodefense program, has been selected as a 2023 Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security. The 31 fellows in the 2023 class, the program’s 10th, were chosen from some 227 applicants from around the world after a rigorous selection process.

“I am so excited to be accepted into the ELBI Fellowship program,” Ferreira said. “I am looking forward to meeting and connecting with the others in the Fellowship class as well as alumni of the program. Many of the professionals and scholars that I have had the pleasure to work with have participated in ELBI, so I’m honored to have the chance to meet and learn from this cohort of diverse and talented people in the coming year.”

His experience in the biodefense program contributed greatly to his professional growth, he said.

“The coursework has allowed me to better implement my current knowledge in the environment of government service and national security work. Additionally, the opportunity to meet and learn from classmates in the various biodefense, policy and government, and public administration programs was incredibly enriching and invaluable.”

Ferreira is the director of operations for Soteria Solutions, an Arlington, Virginia-based firm that provides innovative solutions to complex logistics problems, with a specific focus on crisis-affected areas. He previously served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the State Department where he worked directly on international COVID-19 response operations, global health, and biodefense.

The ELBI program is an opportunity for talented career professionals to deepen their expertise, expand their network, and build their leadership skills through a series of sponsored events coordinated by the Hopkins center. The fellowship boasts more than 250 alumni who come from government, defense, private industry, science, law, public health, medicine, global health, journalism, the social sciences, and academia.

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Megan Bruening named Director of Fellowships

Colleen Rich — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 15:48:24 +0000

Megan Bruening named Director of Fellowships Colleen Rich Fri, 12/09/2022 - 10:48

Megan Bruening was recently named ��AV’s Director of Fellowships, supporting both undergraduate and graduate programs. Bruening joined the Mason community as the assistant director of graduate fellowships in 2021 and had been serving as interim director for the past several months.

Megan Bruening

In her new position, Bruening is responsible for overseeing the recruitment and advising of Mason undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni, who are applying for nationally competitive awards. She also works with academic and administrative units, faculty, and student organizations to promote fellowship opportunities and encourage students to apply. Bruening further manages Mason’s institutional endorsement process for specific awards and the Mason chapters of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.

“We have already seen an increase in the number of fellowship applicants and recipients since I began working at Mason, and one of my goals is to keep this momentum going,” Bruening said. “It is important that we increase the number of applicants, not just awardees, because the process of applying is beneficial to student development. I also plan to work with university partners to provide programming that supports undergraduates in their search for graduate education.”

Bethany Usher, associate provost of Undergraduate Education, expressed excitement for Bruening’s promotion.

“As interim director, she has continued the excellent work by former director LaNitra Berger in identifying potential applicants, helping them choose appropriate opportunities, and supporting them through the application process,” Usher said, noting that Bruening has also increased the range of awards supported by Mason.

“She brings a dedication to Mason’s mission of inclusive excellence, and works to make sure that our applicant pools reflect the diversity of our student population,” Usher added.

Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education, also praised Bruening’s work in increasing awareness of fellowships. “She has been a wonderful addition to both the undergraduate and graduate education teams and has made a tremendous difference in promoting and increasing external fellowship awards for graduate students,” Bray said. “Dr. Bruening has built strong relationships with the academic programs and a solid reputation at Mason, which has shown in the increased number of students interested in and successful in external fellowships.”

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PhD student wins Fellowship for her work in cloud storage

Tama Moni — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:24:43 +0000

PhD student wins Fellowship for her work in cloud storage Tama Moni Thu, 09/15/2022 - 12:24

Ioanna Karantaidou

Ioanna Karantaidou, a PhD student in ��AV’s College of Engineering and Computing’s Computer Science Department, has won a one-year fellowship from Protocol Labs, where she will work on their Fielcoin project, investigating innovations in cloud storage. Her fellowship is for $60k, which will cover tuition, travel, healthcare costs, and salary.

Cloud storage is dominated by a few large organizations and Filecoin seeks to decentralize this important service by allowing numerous small entities to provide storage –– even someone with a hard drive could sign up as a provider. But while users may be comfortable saving files in an established company such as Google Drive, they may not have the same trust in a decentralized service with which they are unfamiliar. Karantaidou’s work centers on establishing protocols that will test to ensure service providers are behaving honestly and incentivize them to do so. The goal is for these measures to ultimately lead to greater client trust and more widespread use of decentralized cloud storage services.

Karantaidou says her journey into the field “makes sense.” Growing up in Greece she enjoyed math and wanted to study computers, so got involved in informatics. She says, “In Greece, you don’t have a double major, so I have two bachelor’s degrees - in math and computer science - and cryptography is at the intersection of those two. It was my favorite class in both programs.”

Karantaidou’s advisor at Mason is Foteini Baldimtsi, an assistant professor in the computer science department.

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Alumna Gains Global Perspective to Improve Opportunities for Students with Disabilities

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 18:42:31 +0000

Alumna Gains Global Perspective to Improve Opportunities for Students with Disabilities Wasiq Muhammad… Mon, 07/25/2022 - 14:42

Each year, hundreds of American students, aged eighteen to twenty-four, vie for the opportunity to work and study in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. The reciprocal program, which has run for thirty-nine years, selects seventy-five Americans and seventy-five German professionals to spend a year experiencing life in their respective cultural-exchange nations.

This year, Mason is celebrating the selection of Honors College alumni, Abigail Hawkins, to the prestigious CBYX program. Hawkins, who graduated from Mason in May 2022, majored in global affairs with concentrations in human security and Middle East and North Africa Studies, and a minor in Arabic.

Throughout her undergraduate study, Hawkins worked with Mason’s College Diabetes Network and gained experience in the nonprofit sector to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility.

Alongside her studies at Mason, Hawkins is a two-time alumna of the US Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), a program designed by the U.S. government to expand the number of American students, who represent a range of majors and disciplines, studying and mastering critical foreign languages. In addition to her participation in the CLS program, Hawkins has studied abroad in Jordan, Spain, and Japan.

With her newest opportunity in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program, Hawkins continues to forge a path for herself in international education with the goal of improving access to study abroad opportunities for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

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Mason grad students Kiernan Hogan and Ashley Robertson receive prestigious Boren Fellowships

John Hollis — Thu, 26 May 2022 20:12:01 +0000

Mason grad students Kiernan Hogan and Ashley Robertson receive prestigious Boren Fellowships John Hollis Thu, 05/26/2022 - 16:12

Two ��AV graduate students have been awarded prestigious Boren Fellowships and will travel overseas this fall to immerse themselves in languages as they continue work toward their master’s degrees.

Kiernan Hogan, an interdisciplinary studies (MAIS) graduate student with a specialization in energy and sustainability, and Ashley Robertson, who is in the master of science program within Mason’s Environmental Science and Policy Department with a concentration in energy and sustainability policy and science, were among the 121 recipients of Boren Fellowships from around the nation who will study different languages throughout Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Kiernan Hogan. Photo provided

“It's a huge honor. It feels partly like recognition of all the hard work I've put in, the quality of the support I received from Mason staff and my advisors, and at the same time an investment in my future after Mason,” Hogan said. “Being awarded the fellowship means I presented a compelling argument as to why adding a linguistic specialization to my master's program is worthwhile, and that I hope much of my future work will have a strong international component to it.”

Hogan will travel to Brazil and engage in an intense Portuguese course in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, partly through the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Upon his return to the United States, his long-term goal is to work the Bureau of Energy Resources in the Department of State, focusing on energy policy in Brazil and South America.

Robertson will attend Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, South Korea, to conduct research on the country’s energy policy as part of her master’s thesis and will engage in intensive Korean language study. Upon returning to the United States, she plans to seek a position as a researcher in the Department Energy.

Ashley Robertson. Photo provided

“It’s an incredible honor,” Robertson said of her Boren Fellowship. “I still can’t believe it, but I’m excited. To have it happen is one of the biggest achievements I’ve had in my academic career. To be able to do research while I’m there is also really exciting.”

Megan Bruening, who is Mason’s assistant director of graduate fellowships within the Office of Fellowships, said she came away very impressed with both of these amazing students.

“It was a great pleasure to work with both on this process,” Bruening said.

Both students worked under the auspices of Jennifer Sklarew, an assistant professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Department.

Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 for U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study or increased language proficiency. In exchange for funding, Boren Awards recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

The awards are named for former U.S. Senator David L. Boren, who was the principal author of the legislation that created the National Security Education Program in 1991 and the scholarships and fellowships that bear his name. The fellowship is an initiative of the NSEP, which provides funding for U.S. students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests.

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Request Schar School program information

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Counseling graduate student awarded fine arts fellowship

What inspires you?

Could you tell me more about what you do at Mason?

What led you to ����AV?

What do you do at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media?

What are your future plans, and how will the VMFA scholarship impact those?

Did you have any advice to share with other students?

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Join the Mason Nation

Learn more about the College of Public Health

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