Workforce Development

Groundswell partners with Mason LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services

Colleen Rich — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 19:46:30 +0000

Groundswell partners with Mason LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services Colleen Rich Thu, 09/12/2024 - 15:46

As with most internships, information technology consultant Groundswell aims to provide an experience that gives ��AV students a chance to learn about the company, delve into new areas and discover more about the industry.

Photo provided

Over the 2023-24 school year, Mason LIFE student Mohammad Nadeem did just that through his internship with McLean-based Groundswell, learning about data analytics, software development, and physical hardware.

“We wanted to ensure that we maximized his opportunities to grow as an individual,” said Tim Kelly, vice president for operational excellence for the People Services team at Groundswell. “We wanted meaningful work for him. We wanted him to try different things.”

Like destroying a laptop.

Nadeem strapped on safety goggles, wielded a hammer, and broke open laptops. Kelly said Nadeem was educated on the intricacies of removing critical components for recycling and security purposes. Over time Nadeem discovered patterns, learned how to make repairs and extract components in different devices.

“He absolutely loved it,” Mason LIFE Employment and Adult Services Coordinator Chris Williams said. “He was exposed to different things, and it offered professional building. He really enjoyed the atmosphere. Just working with others and just being treated as part of the team was valuable for him.”

“I made some friends over there,” said Nadeem of his time at Groundswell. “I would like to go back and work there. The boss is very nice.”

Nadeem will graduate next spring from the College of Education and Human Development’s (CEHD) Mason LIFE program, a four-year post-secondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment. Mason LIFE students regularly complete internships, working in a wide range of settings, including at software companies, George Mason rec centers, Fairfax County Public Schools, and animal care facilities.

Williams said Nadeem’s experience with Groundswell boosted his confidence and independence. He drove independently from his parents’ home in Alexandria to McLean twice a week for the internship. Mason LIFE also provided support staff in to be on-site at Groundswell with Nadeem, but Kelly said as the internship progressed, “it became far less, less of them guiding him.”

“It has a huge impact. The internship experiences are critical,” Williams said. “The students are learning the importance of going to work on time. Knowing they have duties and responsibilities assigned to them that they have to complete. Working with others. Receiving feedback from their employers. Students are also learning what they like, what they don’t like.

“They were thrilled to have Mohammad. They enjoyed that they pushed him. They really appreciated that whatever they assigned Mohammad he gave 100% effort and he tried his best.”

One of those assignments, Kelly said, contributed to Groundswell winning a major environmental award. Nadeem performed analysis over several weeks to calculate the environmental impact Groundswell employees had made due to a company-wide emphasis on telecommuting.

Through the Groundswell TTRIP (Transit and Telework Resources, Impactful Practices) Program, Nadeem found that Groundswell employees in 2023 saved 49,918 gallons of gas and 24,312 trips to the office, among other notable data points.

“He became an integral part of our team,” Kelly said. “I was really proud of him. To see his confidence, see his joy, seeing him understanding the impact of the work for the company and really add value and do meaningful work.”

Kelly has been so impressed with the partnership with Mason LIFE that Groundswell recently announced the creation of scholarships for Mason LIFE students.

In addition, Groundswell wants to continue helping Mason LIFE students in their career development. This past April, Kelly and several Groundswell employees visited CEHD and facilitated an “Introduction to Work 101” workshop.

A photographer took headshots of each of the 16 Mason LIFE students who attended. Kelly and his team helped the students set up LinkedIn accounts, creating their bios and providing dos and don’ts for social media. Williams and Kelly both hope to make the workshop a semiannual career development event for Mason LIFE students.

Williams said it was truly a really great day. “To be able to hear from a professional workplace outside of the Mason community was really impactful and resonated with the students.”

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Just-in-Time Hiring Fair is one of many ways ��AV supports students and alumni

Shayla Brown — Thu, 23 May 2024 18:17:18 +0000

Just-in-Time Hiring Fair is one of many ways ��AV supports students and alumni Shayla Brown Thu, 05/23/2024 - 14:17

Nearly 11,000 degree and certificate earners, from 114 countries and 50 states graduated on May 9 from ��AV. Some of those graduates attended the university's “Just-in-Time Hiring Fair” on May 13 where employers seeking to fill immediate roles recruit current students and recent graduates.

This event is one of many career resources provided by the university that gives students an opportunity to make connections with various companies and experienced professionals, promoting employment and social mobility for students and alumni.

A graphic of ��AV alumni career statistics. Graphic by Career Services.

George Mason University Career Services hosts many fairs during the academic year, connecting students with internships, part-time, and full-time roles. Saskia Campbell, executive director of University Career Services, said Mason career fairs consistently fill to capacity. “The comments that we get back [from employers] say they are very impressed by how much effort students put in and how serious they are,” she said.

Other career resources include more than 140 career programs and hiring events, more than 480 members of the Career Influencers Network faculty and staff, more than 650 employees at Recruit at Mason, as well as a lifetime of career support.

Based on the Career Plans Survey, which gathered data from graduates from the class of 2023, 87% of George Mason students have a positive career outcome at or within six months of graduation and 69% of are employed full-time. Graduates are employed across 10 countries and 37 states, while 83% are employed in the Washington metropolitan area.

According to the survey, 88% of George Mason alumni are employed in positions related to their career goals. Top industries for George Mason alumni include education, technology, government/military, and health care, and graduates start with an average salary of $74,000.

George Mason’s many programs helped to shape our “future leaders who these past few years have lived, learned, and engaged in one of the most diverse environments you will find,” President Gregory Washington said at this year’s Spring Commencement.

The top five majors among the 6,138 undergraduates in the Class of 2024 are business; information technology; psychology; computer science; and criminology, law and society.

Learn more about how George Mason prepares students for the workforce in the following Campus Quick Takes video, where Shayla Brown, communications officer, speaks with students at the fair about their goals and experiences.

Explore University Career Services

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Art history students learn how to mount an exhibition

Shayla Brown — Wed, 01 May 2024 17:07:44 +0000

Art history students learn how to mount an exhibition Shayla Brown Wed, 05/01/2024 - 13:07

��AV students taking Art History 495/595 Curating an Exhibition worked together to take an exhibit of South African art from conception to completion this spring.

Students putting the exhibition up at the Gillespie Gallery in the Art and Design Building. Photo provided.

The class of undergraduate, graduate students, and professional artists were split into four groups: research, installation, design, and marketing/outreach, and worked with a faculty member from Mason Exhibitions to co-curate Faces and Figures: Identity through Printmaking in South Africa, which ran from March 24 to April 19 in Gillespie Gallery of the Art and Design Building on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

The artwork in the exhibit was from student and professional artists associated with Artist Proof Studio in South Africa. The course was taught by LaNitra Berger, an associate professor of history and art history and director of African and African American Studies Program.

“It's such an honor that we get to work with real artists from South Africa,” said art history graduate student and chief curator of the exhibition Irena Jansen, who is from Croatia. “I was really struck by the connection that it makes across countries. It spoke of my time growing up in the communist country, but here it speaks in their context.”

Chief curator, Irena Jansen. Photo provided.

Senior art history major Esther Perez-Rosales was in charge of the installation group.

“I printed small versions of the artwork and made an initial draft of what the curatorial flow would be like, which was really fun to do,” said Perez-Rosales. “It was really good to kickstart the process because it taught me a lot about curatorial work and how different aspects of it can make or break the vision.”

The themes of migration, family and community, and gender roles were emphasized using theme texts mounted alongside the artwork.

“We felt that identity was the overarching theme as the artists try to figure out who they are personally,” said Jansen.

George Mason graduate student Nicola Macdonald, who is from Durban, South Africa, was part of the research team.

“Being a part of the culture and from contemporary South Africa, I knew I could bring that to the table, so when we divided into groups, I [wanted] to be in the research group to bring this historical background to aid in putting the exhibition together,” said Macdonald, who worked with family members throughout the creative process to ensure authenticity to the South African culture.

“We got to choose most of the works that were shipped to us,” said Jansen. “Some of the works that arrived were a little bit of a surprise, but that was a great challenge for us because that's what happens in real world sometimes.”

The students hope to do more work with Artist Proof Studio in the future and potentially reinstall the exhibition at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, said Jansen.

“Our goal was to highlight South African art as elevated and sophisticated, and I hope we’ve done that,” Jansen said.

Students from the course, Mason Exhibition faculty members, and Professor Berger (far right). Photo provided.

In This Story

LaNitra M. Berger, PhD

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Opportunity Starts Here, Partnerships Grow Here

Colleen Rich — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 14:54:09 +0000

Opportunity Starts Here, Partnerships Grow Here Colleen Rich Fri, 04/12/2024 - 10:54

When Shrishti Singh, PhD Bioengineering ’22, came to ��AV for her doctoral studies, she had a goal in mind: developing a new technology that would allow the visualization of cancer in deep tissue and perhaps enable earlier diagnoses.

Entrepreneur Shristi Singh in her lab on Mason's Science and Technology Campus.
Read more about Singh's research. >>
Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Using a combination of FDA-approved dyes and photoacoustic imaging, Singh created an injectable dye that attaches to tumor cells and increases the contrast of those cells against the background tissue.

During her time at Mason, Singh used all the tools the university provided to bring her discovery to the marketplace. In April 2023, Singh was on one of the 15 teams that competed for $40,000 in prizes at the Costello College of Business Patriot Pitch Competition. She took home first place and the Mason’s Choice Award in the competition’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) track.

In November 2023, Singh was at Mason Square pitching her technology at Mason’s annual Accelerate Investor Conference, which attracts more than 400 entrepreneurs, investors, students, and members of the Washington, D.C., entrepreneurial ecosystem. She was also awarded $75,000 by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund.

Singh, now a postdoctoral fellow at Mason, co-founded her company NIRView Biosciences with her bioengineering faculty mentors Remi Veneziano and Parag Chitnis. Singh and NIRView Biosciences have been designated a 2023 Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Success Story.

Growing Small Businesses

The Virginia SBDC, a part of Mason Enterprise, is an organization of 25 offices across Virginia providing professional advising and resources to help businesses grow. Singh participated in its Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), a no-cost incubator that helps technology start-ups from ideation to initial funding and beyond.

NIRView Biosciences worked with ICAP’s life science business mentors over the course of a year to position their technology for successful commercialization, and in 2023 they were accepted into the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, which provides financial support and experiential education to help university researchers commercialize scientific discoveries.

Singh was one of 30,000 entrepreneurs who participated in a Virginia SBDC workshop, seminar, or training in 2023. Through its 16 programs, the Virginia SBDC helped 10,000 businesses, provided 40,000 hours of one-on-one counseling, offered 1,600 training programs, and incubated more than 550 companies with an impact of $3.36 billion. Of the businesses they served, 61 percent were woman- owned, 46 percent were minority-owned, and 15 percent were veteran-owned.

Paula Sorrell, associate vice president of innovation and economic development, leads Mason Enterprise. This university-based economic development organization focuses the energy, skills, and intellectual capital of Virginians on lab-to-market expansion of university research, new company creation, and small business expansion. Virginia Business magazine recently named Sorrell to its list of 100 Virginians to Meet in 2024: Innovators.

“Mason has used its university position to develop a powerhouse of interwoven federal, state, and local programs,” says Sorrell. “But even more critical are the partnerships among the private and public organizations that help support and codevelop the programs and mentor innovators.”

Through a broad array of activities that include business counseling, workshops, training, and connections to Mason assets—faculty research, classes, and potential interns—Mason Enterprise strengthens the strategy development and operations of businesses, governments, and other institutions throughout Virginia and the region. The Virginia APEX Accelerator (DoD) helps small businesses compete for government contracts, which total more than $1.5 billion annually.

The Virginia SBDC is also part of the larger Mason Virginia Promise, which offers a pathway to a bachelor’s degree or help starting a small business to any Virginian who wants one.

In 2023, Mason also expanded its small business incubator programs to the Town of Herndon, with the aim of empowering more Northern Virginia businesses with high growth potential. Herndon becomes the fifth Northern Virginia locale to partner with Mason Enterprise, joining Fairfax, Arlington, Fauquier County, and Springfield.

And the Virginia SBDC is also going global. Its International Business Development Program was a stage one and a stage two winner in the 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition from the U.S. Small Business Administration. It received $50,000 and then $150,000 to build strategic partnerships that will support the launch, growth, and scale of STEM and research and development-focused small businesses that target international markets.

Research Impacting Society

Mason Enterprise operates two federal programs in support of all Virginia universities: the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, designed to guide researchers and students on the first steps toward commercializing a technical discovery, and the National Institutes of Health’s REACH program, which funds proof-of-concept research for promising biohealth technologies.

Sorrell and her team are also mentoring entrepreneurs through the annual Accelerate Investor Conference, which is an investor event and start-up business competition held at Mason Square that showcases the mid-Atlantic region as a powerhouse for innovation and business opportunity.

The competition fuels innovation-based business growth by showcasing the best and brightest new tech start-ups to potential investors to foster their development within the region.

Among those angel investors and companies supplying prize money to Accelerate entrepreneurs was Mason alum Sumeet Shrivastava, MBA ’94. A leader in the government IT industry, Shrivastava recently launched the Shrivastava Family Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship (RISE) Program, which focuses on mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs from refugee and immigrant back-grounds. Nanomaterial research and development company NanoBioFAB received the Shrivastava Family RISE Program prize at last fall’s conference.

Mason’s Costello College of Business Patriot Pitch Competition offers support and resources to student-led start-ups. Now in its 23rd year, the competition is open to all Mason students and recent alumni and attracted 50 teams from across the university last year. Powering the success of the student and alumni pitch teams were more than a dozen mentors who are CEOs, consultants, entrepreneurs, start-up coaches, Mason faculty, and alumni. By sharing their real-world experience in launching and managing start-ups, mentors were incredibly valuable to the teams.

The finalists, including Singh, pitched to judging panels of local business leaders whose professional experience included consulting, derivatives exchange, energy consulting, food technology, nonprofits, and venture capital.

The Mason Innovation Exchange, also known as the MIX, is also part of Mason Enterprise and helps student entrepreneurs. With its makerspace and fabrication lab, a digital media lab, and a start-up incubator, the MIX offers creative thinkers everything from metal fabrication to business mentoring. It is open to all members of the Mason community regardless of their major or affiliation. Currently, there are six student start-ups in the MIX’s incubator. Mentors meet individually with student entrepreneurs and provide a range of business advice.

In 2023, the Virginia Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) recognized Gisele Stolz, senior director of entrepreneurship and innovation programs at Mason, with an Impact Award for her work with its cyber-security start-up internship program.

“From envisioning the internship program to building out the structure of the Commonwealth Cyber Incubator and Accelerator Program cohort programming, few people within the CCI network have had such a widespread impact as Gisele,” says Liza Wilson Durant, associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement at Mason and director of the CCI Northern Virginia Node.

Under Stolz’s stewardship, the internship program attracted more than 700 applicants, placing 83 Mason undergraduates with more than 50 companies. Of the students placed, 73 percent received offers for follow-up positions with their host company, including full-time employment.

Beyond this internship program, the CCI Northern Virginia Node, led by Mason and headquartered at Mason Square in Arlington, supported experiential learning opportunities for more than 3,000 students, including more than 100 internships and apprenticeships in cybersecurity.

The MIX's makerspace enables Mason students to create prototypes of their inventions. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Talent Development = Workforce Development

All these Mason opportunities align with the university’s vision of graduating students who can power Northern Virginia’s economic engine and serve in areas of critical need, while also providing a pathway of opportunity to all Virginians.

“Mason is committed to providing novel and varied experiential learning opportunities for our students, preparing our workforce for the future and readying them to compete on a global scale,” says Andre Marshall, vice president of research, innovation, and economic impact at Mason.

The need for well-trained health professionals, across disciplines and among fields, is one of the most critical issues facing communities in Virginia and throughout the nation. The Mason Center for the Health Workforce was established in 2022 to help address the shortage in Virginia. The center supports the development and delivery of public-private strategies to optimize physical and behavioral health career education and postgraduate skill training. It also serves as a technical assistance center for health workforce research, program evaluation, and planning and analysis for government agencies, academic entities, and professional organizations.

Mason’s Center for Community Mental Health in Fairfax is unique in its dual function as both a working clinic and a training facility. Last year, the center helped train 77 undergraduates and 57 graduate students while providing more than 2,100 therapy sessions to the community.

In 2019, Mason joined the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP). The top TTIP goal is to build and sustain a diverse tech talent pathway, and Mason, as the largest and most diverse public university in Virginia, and the largest producer of technology talent among four-year institutions in the state, is poised to lead.

At that time, Mason agreed to educate about 30 percent of the 25,000 additional graduates in tech fields over the next two decades to serve regional and state employers, including Amazon and its HQ2. Mason continues to exceed its goals. In 2023, Mason was 281 percent over its bachelor of science target and 192 percent over its master of science target in terms of graduating students in computing and computing-related majors.

Mason is also working to add faculty members in computer science and related fields to teach and mentor these students. The College of Engineering and Computing will soon expand into Fuse at Mason Square. The college is already working to build robust curricula for students in Arlington and provides ample opportunities to explore skills through research opportunities, state-of-the-art labs, hackathons and competitions, and student organizations.

Computer science student Quang Vo demonstrated virtual reality applications that will be part of the visualization labs at Fuse at Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

If You Build It…

From Mason Square in Arlington to the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Mason is building a new economic corridor along Route 66 in Northern Virginia.

Fuse at Mason Square, the university’s LEED Platinum building opening this summer, is a digital innovation center that will house research and development labs, corporate centers, incubators, accelerators, and convening spaces, alongside classrooms and retail spaces.

The SciTech Campus is home to the new outdoor Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory—or “body farm,” one of only eight in the country—and the Biomedical Research Lab, one of 12 biosafety level-3 labs in the nation.

New to this campus is the Nanofabrication Facility, which is the only cleanroom facility and resource of its kind for partners in Northern Virginia and offers hands-on nanofabrication workforce training in research applications that will accelerate the growth of high-tech companies.

“The most powerful asset we offer is opportunity,” says Marshall. “Only through providing opportunity can we educate, inspire, and equip the next generation of leaders to solve the grand challenges of our day.”

Jennifer Anzaldi, Sarah Holland, John Hollis, Katie Maney, and Ryley McGinnis contributed to this feature.

As Virginia's largest public research university, Mason is an economic driver in the region and the state.

Learn more about Tech Talent at Mason

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New graduate certificate focuses on microfabrication

Colleen Rich — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 18:51:33 +0000

New graduate certificate focuses on microfabrication Colleen Rich Tue, 03/12/2024 - 14:51

In response to the evolving demands of the engineering industry, ��AV's College of Engineering and Computing is launching four new graduate certificate programs, offering specialized training in burgeoning areas in engineering and computer science.

Mason researcher Pei Dong in the lab. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

One of the new programs is the Microfabrication Graduate Certificate program, designed to address the growing demand for multidisciplinary training in the manufacturing sector.

Led by Mason mechanical engineering professor Pei Dong, this program will focus on practical training opportunities and is facilitated by Mason's new cleanroom facility, the Nanofabrication Facility on Mason’s Science and Technology Campus.

“Mason has demonstrated extensive expertise in this field for an extended period,” said Dong, whose research interests include the design and synthesis of advanced materials, as well as their applications in energy, water, and biomedical areas. “The new research facility now offers hands-on training opportunities for students, marking an exciting development. We believe the timing is perfect to launch the program.”

The space is the only cleanroom facility and resource for partners in Northern Virginia and offers interactive nanofabrication workforce training in groundbreaking research and emerging research applications that will accelerate growth of high-tech companies.

While the certificate program is designed to benefit Mason graduate students in engineering and science, Dong noted, those with a bachelor’s in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field from outside of the university can also enroll.

The program began in spring 2023, and it comprises four courses: Introduction to Nano-Materials, Nano Bio Sensors, Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, and Solid State Physics and Applications.

“I am thrilled about the four courses currently available to students,” said Dong. “The tremendous support from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, the Physics and Astronomy Department, and the cleanroom team, ensures that these courses offer comprehensive training from both engineering and science perspectives.”

In This Story

Pei Dong

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Mason, AWS partner on renewable energy lab and Sustainable Data Center Engineering concentration

Martha Bushong — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:00:41 +0000

Mason, AWS partner on renewable energy lab and Sustainable Data Center Engineering concentration Martha Bushong Fri, 03/01/2024 - 14:00

The significant demand for data centers and their impact on global energy requires new models for renewable and sustainable energy systems. Working with Amazon Web Services (AWS), ��AV will unveil a renewable energy lab within Fuse at Mason Square and launch a companion curriculum concentration in sustainable data center engineering this fall 2024.

“We are very appreciative of our continuing partnership with AWS,” Mason President Gregory Washington said. “Because of their support, we are providing our students and faculty with cutting-edge technology and tools that unite our researchers across many disciplines to further their knowledge about data centers. With this level of education and experience, our students are well-prepared to enter the tech workforce.”

“Investing in expanded laboratory experiences for students is critical,” Nicholas Lee-Romagnolo, program lead of workforce and economic development at AWS, said. “George Mason students from all disciplines will have access to real-world technologies and hands-on simulations. This type of immersive learning complements the breadth of new programs offered to students and helps ensure they have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to fill high-demand jobs across the region.”

The new concentration in sustainable data center engineering will focus on renewable energy generation, storage, and distribution training and hands-on experience. The course builds upon the Data Center Engineering course launched last year that develops student expertise in data center infrastructure design, operations, efficiency, cooling, and decarbonization.

President Gregory Washington (right) visits student demonstrations at Fuse Topping Out event. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

With advanced equipment and software tools funded by AWS, Mason’s new Renewable Energy Lab will allow students to explore, analyze, and simulate data related to renewable energy sources as well as the complex design and operation of microgrids. The lab will replicate real-world equipment such as power grids, wind power plants, and other renewable energy sources.

“AWS’s investment in the renewable energy lab provides another critical piece to Mason’s experiential ecosystem designed to prepare the next generation of engineers for roles that did not exist 10 years ago. Mason will now expand the number of students in our power engineering and data center engineering programs with hands-on skills development, which is essential to bridge between the classroom and industry practice,” said Liza Wilson Durant, associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement.

The new lab will be based at Fuse at Mason Square and is part of a broad partnership with Amazon. This project also strengthens Mason’s participation in the Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP), a statewide program that aims to increase the number of undergraduate and graduate students completing degrees in the fields of computer science, applied computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering.

Kamaljeet Sanghera, executive director for the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) adds, “Mason consistently delivers on its promise to foster collaboration across disciplines and industries not only to deliver the best student experience but also to advance critical solutions to the nation’s grandest challenges.”

In This Story

Liza Wilson Durant

Gregory Washington

Kamaljeet Sanghera

Learn About Electrical and Computer Engineering

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Mason students connect with alumni, employers at Spring 2024 Career Fair

Colleen Rich — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:04:24 +0000

Mason students connect with alumni, employers at Spring 2024 Career Fair Colleen Rich Fri, 03/01/2024 - 13:04

On Feb. 21-22, more than 4,000 students made their way through the Johnson Center’s Dewberry Hall, speaking to 240 potential employers. Over the two days, ��AV’s Spring Career Fair 2024 gave students and alumni opportunities to further their career aspirations. The first day focused on science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields, and the second focused on business, government, and nonprofit organizations.

More than 4,000 students met with 240 potential employers at the Spring Career Fair. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

According to Bernadette Davey, career fairs manager in University Career Services since 2005, Mason is known for its strong brand and great career fairs. “We are known for the diversity and quality of our students,” Davey said.

Saskia Campbell, executive director of University Career Services, said a lot of colleges struggle to keep their career fairs going, but Mason career fairs consistently fill to capacity. “The comments that we get back [from employers] say they are very impressed by how much effort students put in and how serious they are,” she said.

More than 100 alumni employer representatives, identified with green “alumnus” ribbons, attended, eager to connect with Mason students.

“We have been able to see how [Mason alumni] are able to come in and do well,” said Kate Desai, MBA '12, representing career fair sponsor FORVIS. “Mason students are really amazing cultural fits for our teams, and we have yet to have a bad experience.”

Mark, Marketing '01, representing the Central Intelligence Agency, said he is “happy to be back [as an alumnus] and feel a connection.” The CIA has a strong relationship with Mason and often looks to recruit students from the career fairs.

Altaf Patel, a 2021 MBA graduate representing the U.S. Postal Service, said, “It’s great to come back and help other future alumni. I like to be a part of the alumni team that helps students further their career goals.”

Students and alumni alike credited the career fair for helping them find their current positions.

Art history major Emma Paskey said a career fair helped her get an internship as an explainer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She wants to continue working for Smithsonian after graduation and said her internship has set her up for success. “My main impression of the career fair is how helpful everyone was. Everyone I interacted with wanted to help me find what was best for me, and the employers I talked to were more than happy to answer any questions I had.”

“It’s nice to be back and help students enter the field,” said Vanessa Adu, BA Psychology ’20. She found her current position at Birch, Stewart, Kolasch, & Birch, an internationally recognized intellectual property law firm, from attending the career fair as a student.

Fairfax County Therapeutic Recreation Services representative Melanie Zissios, a 2004 Mason graduate, got her first job with school-age child care from the career fair. She wants to give Mason psychology students similar opportunities.

Many students attended the career fair to find full- or part-time positions, but many came just to learn more about the job market.

“I wanted to see what companies are hiring,” said senior Elizabeth Boakye, who is graduating in May with a degree in Business. She was also hoping to find a full-time position.

Honors College student Juliet Reyes, who is majoring in government and conflict resolution, plans to graduate in May and attend law school. She went to the career fair to look for internships with federal government or private security companies. She also wants to learn more about the types of backgrounds these companies are looking for in candidates.

Senior Ethan Thomas, a government and international politics major, attended the career fair to practice talking to employers and get “practical job search experience.”

Many students were taking notes for the future. Computer science major Madison Sellers is a sophomore and attended the career fair to get an idea of what the job market looks like. “I want to see what the career fair looks like for when I want to come back later,” she said.

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Associate Professor Erin D. Maughan receives VDOE Grant to invigorate the future of school nursing

Taylor Thomas — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:53:38 +0000

Associate Professor Erin D. Maughan receives VDOE Grant to invigorate the future of school nursing Taylor Thomas Fri, 02/09/2024 - 12:53

Both regionally and across the country, there is a severe lack of programs dedicated to school nursing administrators (i.e. nurses who lead school nursing and school health programs at the district level). Erin Maughan, an associate professor in College of Public Health’s School of Nursing at ��AV, intends to remedy this with a $364,503 grant from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). With the funding, Maughan will establish the School Nursing Leadership Academy.

Erin D. Maughan

"There are over 130,000 school nurses across the nation, who are central to the foundation of the health and well-being of children,” Maughan said. "The goal of the academy is to develop leaders in school nursing who have the knowledge and skills needed to successfully oversee school health programs at the district level, as well as state and regional school nursing associations."

The academy, which is expected to be fully developed by June 2024, will be designed to train future leaders in school nursing using TeamSTEPPS, an evidence-based curriculum that prioritizes incorporating effective communication and teamwork into the health care system. The program will take place over one-and-a-half years and will incorporate experiential learning, equestrian activity, and expert-led discussions.

In addition, Mason's Center for Health Workforce is guiding the development of sustainable asynchronous modules for the professional development program, which along with virtual webinars, will provide additional information and mentoring opportunities.

The program kicks off with three days of in–person instruction, during which participants will use virtual reality (VR) modules to practice interprofessional skills and conflict management. Mason's College of Public Health is a leader in integrating VR into the curriculum and training of future health care leaders.

“Participating in the VR will allow gaining experience in a safe, nonthreatening environment where we can talk about how they reacted so they will have confidence and experience when they encounter situations in the real world,” said Maughan.

Maughan was originally approached by the VDOE’s state school nurse consultant Tracy White, who wanted to foster more leadership training and was aware of Maughan’s passion to do so as well. Together, they set into motion plans to create the academy.

Maughan is a leading expert on school nursing and the health of school-age children. Her research expertise is in looking at the role of infrastructure and policy on school nurse staffing and services. In addition, she has expertise in leadership, strategic planning, innovation, and mentoring. Her career is dedicated to children’s health, especially vulnerable populations. She is excited to contribute her skills and knowledge for the success of the academy.

“Having been a school nurse leader and researcher for many years, it has been a dream of mine to create such a program,” said Maughan. "I hope this program will build excitement and create a network of confident school nurse leaders who can transform school nursing in their districts, so that frontline school nurses have the guidance and support they need to work to their full scope of practice.

Maughan emphasizes how this program is not only for school nurses but also for the students they will be serving.

At its core, the School Nursing Leadership Academy is about building capacity to help school nurse leaders build their confidence and skills needed to do well in the position,” said Maughan. “We are confident this initiative will position school nurses and their program leaders to work effectively with school administrators, local health departments, health care providers and families to positively impact student health, and thus improve child health in the commonwealth and the rest of the nation.”

In This Story

Erin D. Maughan, PhD

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Promoting small business development in Southwest Virginia

Colleen Rich — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 18:33:22 +0000

Promoting small business development in Southwest Virginia Colleen Rich Mon, 09/25/2023 - 14:33

Elected officials, economic developers and small business owners operating in Scott, Lee and Wise Counties, known as the LENOWISCO Planning District, gathered Sept. 20 in Scott County to highlight the importance of ��AV’s support of small businesses innovators through its Small Business Development Centers.

Mason President Gregory Washington highlighted state and federal investments in Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) managed by ��AV.

Local business owners Renee Huffman Morris of Henry’s Produce, Jan Meade of Ivils Tutors, and sisters Melissa Hubbard and Jan Brown, owners of the Whistle Pig Country Store in Lee County, spoke about their experiences working with the Mason-operated SBDC in Duffield, Virginia, and the critical support they received to develop business plans, locate accounting and business services, and find mentorship on their journey to start a business.

Keith Harless, town manager of Pennington Gap in Lee County; Jeannie Stidham, Town of Pennington; and Jean Jordan, representing Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA); detailed ongoing efforts to incentivize small business development in the region by leveraging SBDC funds and other grant opportunities to provide workforce development and employment opportunities.

Kris Westover, Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) president; William Brownsberger, MECC’s vice president for academic affairs; and Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-1) also attended.

The Virginia SBDC network is a partnership among the U.S. Small Business Administration, ��AV, and premier local host organizations throughout Virginia, with continued investment from the Virginia General Assembly.

From left, Melissa Hubbard, Mark Smith, Jeannie Stidham, Keith Harless, Jean Jordan, Tracy Nayar, MECC President Kris Westover, Mason President Gregory Washington, Del. Terry Kilgore, Lauren Posey, William Brownsberger, Jan Brown, Renee Huffman Morris, Becki O’Quinn-Purdie and Jan Meade. Photo by Justin Barker/MECC

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Mason students land jobs, and Career Services plays a big role in that success

Colleen Rich — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:21:47 +0000

Mason students land jobs, and Career Services plays a big role in that success Colleen Rich Wed, 07/05/2023 - 13:21

There were many outstanding performers at ��AV this past academic year, from musicians to actors to athletes. Less celebrated but no less impressive was the virtuoso performance of a determined IT major at a job fair, a star turn that commanded the attention of University Career Services representatives.

Christina Tran arrived two hours early to the Spring Career Fair on February 22 in Dewberry Hall on the Fairfax Campus to study the list of employers who would be sending recruiters. She Googled companies to find ones that best matched her career goals, then circled the locations of the booths on an event map to prioritize those encounters.

Information technology major Christina Tran had a strategy for the Spring Career Fair. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Over the course of five hours, she visited 65 of the 120 booths. And then, after the last hand was shaken and the last business card tucked away, she attended a three-hour reception that extended the fair at the Center for the Arts and visited 20 more employers there. Then she returned the second day and visited at least 30 more.

“First in line both days,” Tran said.

Her strategy paid off. Tran, who plans to graduate in May 2024, landed a position as a Microsoft Solutions consultant with FSi Strategies, one of six offers she said she received from employers she met that day.

“The career fair got me this job,” said Tran, 27, who wrote personalized follow-up emails to each employer she spoke with, drawing from notes she took during each conversation.

“You need to come ready—[business] clothes on, resume printed, know your elevator pitch,” added Tran, who previously worked at Deloitte and had several years of management experience at spas. “I’m career-ready. I wanted to prove that. I wanted a job, and I was focused and had a plan and did it.”

Tran indeed is a model student when it comes to attacking the job market—University Career Services was so impressed with her preparation and performance that they asked to take her picture at the event. Tran’s image now graces the cover of the university’s annual Career Readiness Guide.

Mason graduates land jobs. Based on the annual career outcomes survey and supplemental data collected from sources like LinkedIn and the National Student Clearinghouse for the Class of 2022, 87% of grads had a positive career outcome within six months of graduation and 89% said they are in positions related to career goals. Most settle locally—86% are employed in the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia. The respondents’ median salary is $72,000.

More than 120 employers took part in the Spring Career Fair. Photo by Evan Cantwell/OUB

The outcomes are similar to prior years. But even more Mason students need to increase their engagement in the job-seeking process, University Career Services Executive Director Saskia Campbell said.

Throughout the year, Mason offers 11 career fair days to provide facetime for employers and students and graduates. One is the Just-In-Time Hiring Fair the week after graduation, which drew nearly 100 employers and 700 job seekers.

“Most colleges and universities aren’t able to sustain an event that late in the year,” Campbell said. “It means that our job market is really, really strong and that there are opportunities year-round. There is always hiring happening here.

“It helps when graduates put in some effort and are flexible about where they’re willing to work and look at medium-sized organizations.”

Tran upped her career fair game after attending one that resulted in no offers. So for the next one, instead of showing up an hour after it started, she showed up two hours early. She spent more time on a professional appearance. She honed an informative yet tight elevator pitch.

“I really wanted to be recognized,” Tran said. “You have to be able to take what you failed from and jump back from it.”

The daughter of immigrants and the middle of five children, Tran was the first of the five to complete high school. At 19, while attending Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), she gave birth to a daughter, Collette. She graduated from NOVA with an associate of science degree, and examined her options.

“I knew that Mason and going to college was the only way to get to the future that I wanted,” she said. That includes her concentration in cyber security, with a minor in criminology, law and society.

Tran works with Mason tutors, mentors, teaching assistants to make sure she understands the course material. She color-codes priorities. She budgets her social time frugally, often focusing on events hosted by campus organizations she supports, such as the Vietnamese Student Association, the Filipino Cultural Association and the Society of Women Engineers.

Her best friend? LinkedIn.

Drawing from her own experiences and other resources, Tran has compiled a detailed checklist for job seekers, a list of tips that includes choosing attire, identifying prospective employers, and showing up with the proper materials. She does not judge the approach of other students but can see where a few simple but key adjustments—starting with utilizing University Career Services—could enhance their prospects.

“I could have chosen not to go to school and to work full-time, but I know I’m capable of finishing the program and a degree,” Tran said. “I feel like I’m meant for more. I love the stability knowing for certain that I’ll graduate and people will hire me.

“Mason has opened many doors for me. I’m motivated to get to a leadership position one day. I know I can make a difference.”

Drawing from her own experiences and other resources, Tran has compiled a detailed checklist for job seekers, including tips on choosing attire, identifying prospective employers, and showing up with the proper materials.

Class of 2022 Survey Respondents Report

University Career Services annually polls the previous year's graduating class to see how their career is progressing. Graduates from the Class of 2022 reported:

a median salary of $72K
89% in positions related to their career goals
87% reported career advancement within six months of graduating
86% work in the Washington, D.C., region

For more information on this survey, please check out Career Services' Data and Outcomes information.

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