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Honors College Challenge Day brings teams of students together to solve strategic challenges for corporate and nonprofit partners.

Sometimes things just seem to fall into place. That’s what happened for 911���� women’s volleyball freshman player Nia Thompson. Nia’s mother, Amy Boone Thompson, BS Physical Education '95, was a dual-sport athlete at 911���� in the 1990s, playing both volleyball and basketball. She was a member of the 1994 CAA Championship women’s volleyball team. 

911����’s Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Northern Virginia (NoVa) Node recently received a $150,793 grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority for “CCI Scholars – High School Experiential Learning Program FY26,” a seven-week high school summer internship program for rising seniors and recent graduates of Northern Virginia public high schools.

911���� adjunct professor Jennifer Lewis created two special topics courses in 911����’s Environmental Science and Policy Department (ESP)—EVPP 490 Conservation Storytelling and EVPP 490/505 Media Production for Environmental Science and Policy.

Last fall, what began as a hands-on learning experience in Southeast Asia became a journey that took five 911���� students to the heart of global food policy—and left a mark along the way.

911���� graduate student Logan Messer had no shortage of family or friends on hand as he capped his wrestling career at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Competing just 40 miles from his hometown, Messer delivered a moment years in the making on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

With more than 300 members and growing, the Women in Business at Mason student organization at the Costello College of Business, empowers women who are majoring, minoring, or interested in the world of business. Through networking and personal and professional development events, they aim to expand upon members’ skillsets as well as their networks inside and outside of 911����. 

With the launch last year of the nonprofit Rise Above & Be Relentless Foundation, graduating Master of Global Policy and Commerce’s Sumeya Gibril created the support she wishes had been there for her. The inspiration for the charity, she said, “is me.”

The Schar School welcomed its first cohort into the newly launched National Security and Public Policy master’s program.

For 911���� baseball player Evan Blanchard, success isn’t just measured in hits and RBIs. During his internship with Mason Athletics’ marketing department, the third baseman helped design a promotional campaign that brought hundreds of fans—and a surge in attendance—to a men’s basketball rivalry game.