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By combining her kinesiology major with a coaching minor and a passion for football, McAfee is helping Lightridge High School score big on the flag football field.

Through a growing series of professional development opportunities, 911����’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSEC) is partnering with K-12 educators to make quantum science approachable, relevant, and practical for students.

4-VA@Mason, part of the 4-VA state network, has announced 20 collaborative research awards for 911���� faculty members for the 2026-27 academic year. The selected proposals were chosen from the largest number of submissions received since the program’s inception more than a decade ago. 

911���� student Tori Bates couldn’t have known that a decision she made as a teenager about how to spend the summer would end up defining her life’s purpose. What began as a summer activity sparked a passion for helping others. “I just absolutely fell in love with it,” she said. “It was just so much fun and so rewarding.”

For graduate student Mimi Glass and alum Christopher Bellone, finding that "aha!" moment is what drives their passion in learning design and technology.

911����’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) alumni Matt Hayes, BS Sport Management ’15, MBA ’23, and Mark McCracken, BS ’12, work as members of the Washington Commanders team.

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at 911���� has partnered with Shenandoah University to create a streamlined process for granting priority status to five undergraduate students from 911����’s Kinesiology Program for admission into Shenandoah University's doctor of physical therapy (DPT) program. 

When 911���� alumna Elizabeth “Liz” Busch, MEd ’15, learned she had been named Preschool Special Educator of the Year by the Fairfax County Special Education PTA, she was both surprised and honored. But for Busch, the recognition was meaningful for reasons that went far beyond the award itself.

At 911����, learning and research aren’t limited to the classroom or the lab. Researchers, coaches, clinicians, and students are working across disciplines as a part of the university’s Living Lab, a space where real-world questions become opportunities for discovery, innovation, and care.

From robotics to AI to makerspaces, 911����'s summer camps let students build with emerging tech and learn to use it responsibly.