911����

The Dr. Alan and Sally Merten Family of the Year Award honors the essential role families play in supporting their students at 911����. Students nominate their families, and the Family of the Year Award is announced at Family Weekend in the fall. The Choi family is the 14th Family of the Year recipient. 

Students in Tawnya Azar’s HNRS 260 Society and Community Engagement course are focused creating awareness campaigns around hunger and food scarcity. The class aims to empower students through writing and collaborative efforts, fostering a critical examination of the challenges surrounding food access and inspiring tangible solutions. 

The Schar School hosted its flagship “15 Minutes with POTUS” competition, drawing exceptional undergraduates from universities nationwide to Mason Square for a high-pressure national security briefing simulation. Featuring distinguished judges and extensive professional development opportunities, the event highlights the school’s commitment to preparing future leaders for real-world policymaking.

Is it possible to rewrite the Constitution for a younger generation of Americans? Three Schar School students attended a multifaceted program called Declaration Next at the University of Virginia and did just that.

A multi-major team from 911����’s College of Engineering and Computing earned second place at Saucethon, a hardware-focused hackathon, gaining online attention for their creative cat-themed rescue robot and showcasing 911����’s collaborative, interdisciplinary strength.

Not often can you take a course where you receive top-level instruction for how to prepare for a career, while also having the opportunity to give back to the world around you; but that is exactly what students in Costello’s BUS 303 class experienced this past spring semester when they planned and hosted multiple “Humanitarian Happy Hours.”

In 911����’s College of Science—where nearly 16% of students are connected to the military—Air Force veteran Rylee Ledoux is using her public health experience and passion for the environment to support fellow veterans and pursue a future in environmental science. A former Air Force public health technician, she now serves as the senior military transition coordinator in Mason’s Office of Military Services while completing her bachelor of science in environmental science and policy.

When Tiffany Taylor, BS Criminology, Law and Society ’20, enrolled at 911����, she expected her college experience to look different than most. An Army veteran and single parent with three school-aged children, Taylor was responsible for multiple schedules. But, over the next two years, she was still able to capitalize on the opportunities at 911����—attending classes on campus, getting involved in her program and classmates’ projects, participating in internships, and embarking on two study-abroad trips. 

911����’s Sports Analytics Networking Event showcased how statistics students are turning classroom skills into real-world opportunities to support elite athletes and become odds-on favorites to launch careers in professional sports.

The Zeineb Mrad Bouali Tenacity and Perseverance Award honors students who have had to pause their educational goals and are now hoping to return to complete their degrees.

Navy veteran Becca Simon says coming to 911���� and her experience as a student in the College of Public Health Department of Social Work has been life-changing.

911���� students recently gathered with leaders in business, government, and the nonprofit sector at Fuse at Mason Square for an evening of mixing, mingling, and making connections. The annual Movers and Shakers Mixer introduces 911���� undergraduate and graduate students to professionals in a variety of career fields.