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City of Fairfax Mayor, ’83 Alum Catherine S. Read to Deliver Degree Celebration Keynote

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:21:13 +0000

City of Fairfax Mayor, ’83 Alum Catherine S. Read to Deliver Degree Celebration Keynote Andrew J Schappert Thu, 04/03/2025 - 11:21

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In an ironic turn of events, the 2025 Schar School of Policy and Government Degree Celebration keynote speaker did not attend her own graduation from George Mason �鶹��.

Mayor Catherine S. Read: ‘The university mailed me my diploma which I didn’t have framed until I was elected mayor. It has a place of prominence in my office at City Hall now.’ Photo by Sarah Heaton (BA Film and Video Studies ’24)

“I finished in December 1983,” said City of Fairfax Mayor Catherine S. Read. “There were no December ceremonies back then. The university mailed me my diploma which I didn’t have framed until I was elected mayor. It has a place of prominence in my office at City Hall now.”

Read, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in government and politics (the degree was conferred with the Class of ’84), will address some 400 graduating Schar School students across all disciplines and degree programs on Wednesday, May 14, at 4:30 p.m. at EagleBank Arena on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

Read was elected as the first women and the first George Mason graduate to lead the university’s hometown of more than 24,000 residents in 2022. She won reelection last year.

Originally a theater major, she nurtured and expanded her interest in legislative advocacy work at George Mason, eventually finding leadership roles in nonprofit organizations at the local, state, and federal levels. She has worked for many years on public policies such as the Breastfeeding Bill (2015), the Virginia Values Act (2020), and the abolition of the death penalty in Virginia (2021). Her advocacy focuses on issues that impact the quality of life in Fairfax City and across the commonwealth.

Last year, Read was elected to serve on the Alumni Chapter Board of George Mason’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government for 2024-26.

She currently serves on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), and Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC). Additionally, she serves on the Virginia Poverty Law Center Advisory Board and the Equality Virginia PAC Board.

A city resident since 2000 in the Daniels Run Woods, Providence Square, and Fairchester Woods neighborhoods, Read has most recently worked with local nonprofits on legislative advocacy and messaging and continues to occasionally host shows for Fairfax Public Access.

She is the mother of three adult children and resides with her husband, Tom Greeson, and their dog, Reggie.

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A New Voice in Congress: Meet Schar School Grad U.S. Rep. Riley Moore

Andrew J Schappert — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 14:54:34 +0000

A New Voice in Congress: Meet Schar School Grad U.S. Rep. Riley Moore Andrew J Schappert Fri, 03/14/2025 - 10:54

The halls of Congress are filled with career politicians, lawyers, and policy experts, but U.S. Rep. Riley M. Moore (R), BA Government and International Politics ‘05, the newly elected congressman from West Virginia, brings something different to the table: experience with a welding torch and a deep-seated commitment to public service that he discovered as a student at George Mason �鶹��.

U.S. Rep. Riley Moore. Photo provided

Moore is the third George Mason alumnus to be elected to Congress. U.S. Rep. David Jolly (R-FL), JD ‘01, was the first, serving from 2014 to 2017. He has since retired. Following Jolly was U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) who graduated with a degree in government and international politics. He held office from 2019 to his death in February 2022.

Moore’s journey, from working in Herndon, Virginia, machine shops as a college student to walking the corridors of power on Capitol Hill as an elected official, is an inspiring one.

Fresh off his first few months in office, the congressman sat down for an interview in his Longworth House Office Building office, reflecting on his path from trade school to politics.

“I’ve worked here before,” he said, referencing his time as a congressional staffer. “But it’s a little different when you’re wearing this [Congressional lapel] pin and casting votes than recommending to somebody how they might want to think about voting.”

Moore’s story starts in Virginia, where he graduated from high school before heading to George Mason.

“I wanted to do something different,” he recalled, explaining his decision to forgo West Virginia �鶹��, where many of his family members had studied. “I wanted to be close to the Washington, D.C., metro area.”

His academic journey wasn’t straightforward—he had already gone through trade school and spent time working as a welder, a job that helped shape his understanding of skilled labor and industry. His major at that time was a vague idea of “computer science or something like that,” he said. “I was a welder, so I’m looking for an applied skill and was thinking computers.”

Then came 9/11.

“I was at George Mason that day,” he said, recounting the moment that changed the trajectory of his career. “I didn’t think a lot of Americans really understood how this happened, why this happened, who these people were,” including himself.

Soon Moore found himself obsessed with all the details surrounding the tragic event and changed his major to government and international politics.

His passion for politics was deeply influenced by some of the finest educators in the Schar School of Policy and Government. Among them, one professor who left a lasting impression is Mark N. Katz, now a professor emeritus.

“I still have one of his books on my shelf,” Moore said.

U.S. Rep. Riley Moore

Katz recalls Moore “as an active and effective contributor to classroom discussion,” he said. “I am not surprised that he went on to a successful political career.”

Public service, it seems, runs in Moore’s blood. His grandfather was the governor of West Virginia, though he was too young to fully grasp the significance at the time. “He stopped being governor when I was eight years old,” he said. “To me, he was just my grandpa in a big house.” His aunt, Shelly Moore Capito (R), is the senior U.S. Senator from West Virginia.

But his family influence wasn’t solely political as his other relatives were union laborers, a connection that led him to welding, a trade he continued as a student at George Mason.

“We were building torpedo clamps and all kinds of different things,” he said, adding that the hands-on experience helped him bring a unique perspective to the legislative process.

After graduating from George Mason, he interned on Capitol Hill while bartending at night, eventually securing a job in public service. He worked on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spent time in the defense industry, and, despite never expecting to run for office, took the plunge.

“I ran for the [West Virginia] House of Delegates and won by a hundred votes,” he said. “Then I ran for state treasurer and won that. And now I’m here.”

As a newly minted congressman, he acknowledges there is hard work ahead, but he remains optimistic. “So far, so good. I’m loving it.”

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Mark N. Katz

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Leading With Purpose: Betsy Zorio’s Journey to Save the Children

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 17:37:14 +0000

Leading With Purpose: Betsy Zorio’s Journey to Save the Children Andrew J Schappert Wed, 01/08/2025 - 12:37

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Betsy Zorio plays with a child at one of Save the Children’s Head Start centers in North Carolina.

From her home in Park City, Utah, Betsy Zorio leads the global nonprofit Save the Children’s efforts in the United States, overseeing childhood education initiatives in more than 250 rural and high-poverty communities.

“I love the work that we do and that we are giving every child a chance to succeed,” she said with a smile. “Every child is born with their own unique gifts and talents and they should have a right to share them with others.”

Zorio, vice president of U.S. programs for Save the Children, is a 2000 graduate of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s bachelor of arts degree program, Government and International Politics.

“My time at George Mason was transformative,” she said. “I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted from life, which I suspect is the case for many college students.”

Betsy Zorio: ‘My time at George Mason was transformative.‘ Photos provided.

Also like many students, she was hesitant to commit to a major field of study.

“I started on a pre-med track, thinking I would be a pediatrician or obstetrician, then switched to government and politics with a pre-law minor, thinking I would be a lawyer and work on social justice issues,” she said. “While my career path has been in nonprofit management, the ability to explore different subjects helped crystalize my interests and strengths.”

Besides coursework in the Schar School’s Government and International Politics program, Zorio discovered important abilities outside of the classroom.

“I had the privilege of managing George Mason’s Best Buddies chapter for three years, which helped build my leadership skills,” she said. “Those experiences combined to give me a strong foundation upon which to build my career and life.”

Best Buddies International works to foster inclusion and social connections for people with developmental disabilities.

Since its launch in 1919, Save the Children has been dedicated to providing health, education, and protection to children living in poverty. The global charity is credited for cutting the mortality rate in half for children under the age of 5, reducing school absenteeism by a third, and decreasing child marriage by 33 percent.

“We believe that every child deserves a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm,” she said.

“With in-school and after-school programs in more than 14 states, Save the Children focuses on kindergarten readiness and increased proficiency in third grade reading and fifth grade math. Reaching these thresholds is an enormous indicator if a child finishes school and is successful in their later years.”

The nonprofit is stationed in the most vulnerable parts of the world. In the United States, this is in places such as Native American reservations, the Appalachian and Ozark mountains, and throughout the Mississippi Delta.

Save the Children provides strategies to complement a community’s existing social programs, Zorio said. Oftentimes, the organization is the only child-focused nonprofit providing assistance to a vulnerable area.

She also works to spark change at the community level, and to support emergency response and recovery programs. However, she believes at-home visits cultivate the most dramatic results for young children.

“Parents are their child’s first and best teachers,” she said. “I remember when I made a home visit to a mother of two boys, 4 and 2 years of age. When the 4-year-old was a baby, the mother felt silly talking or reading to him, as she thought he was too young to understand. Incidentally, he was delayed with his speech, comprehension and vocabulary.

“I explained to the mother that it’s good to hold conversations and to read to babies. It’s all about the bonding and interaction. The mother followed my advice and was constantly engaging with her youngest. The toddler became very social and verbal. The mother said she wished she had known about the benefits of interacting, talking, and reading when her oldest was a baby.”

Even after joining Save the Children, Zorio continued to contribute her time to other humanitarian efforts. In 2022, she went on an excursion with Trekking for Kids—a nonprofit that offers hiking expeditions to iconic locations whereby the proceeds benefit orphaned children in the area.

The expedition also turned out to be where she met her future wife, Joyce.

With the Scottish Highlands as their backdrop, the two met and fell in love. Once back in the States, they continued dating despite being more than 2,000 miles apart. Soon, however, they decided to live together, and Zorio packed her bags and moved from Washington, D.C., to Joyce’s home in Park City.

Reprinted by permission from the Park Record, Utah. Additional reporting by Buzz McClain, Schar School of Policy and Government.

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Schar School BA in Government and International Politics

Transforming Access to Justice: Students Tackle Language Barriers at Fairfax Courthouse

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 15:17:21 +0000

Transforming Access to Justice: Students Tackle Language Barriers at Fairfax Courthouse Andrew J Schappert Tue, 10/22/2024 - 11:17

From left, Schar School Jurisprudence Learning Community students Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zubaidi and Sharanya Maddukuri, a government and international politics major and Honors College student, flank General District Court Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith in her courtroom. Photo provided

Going to a court of law as plaintiff, defendant, witness, juror, or a spectator in the gallery can be stressful and confusing if you don’t know where to go. What floor is the right office on? Which clerk at which window do you need to visit? Which courtroom do you need to be in and when do you need to be there? And which way to the bathroom?

Mohammed Al Zubaidi presents the Court Signage Survey Project to an attorney who advocates at the Fairfax General District Court. Photo provided

The Fairfax General District Court conducts its business at the Fairfax County Courthouse, not far from George Mason �鶹��’s Fairfax Campus near the City of Fairfax. It shares the facility with the Fairfax Circuit Court, the largest trial court in Virginia. Understandably, the hallways of the campus can be confounding even to those who frequent the complex, much less those who have business there only occasionally.

Now imagine you need to visit the General District Court but do not speak English as your native language. All the signage is in English. You can see there might be a problem.

Members of a team of 15 volunteer students from the Jurisprudence Learning Community (JPLC), one of five learning communities in the Schar School of Policy and Government, are spending time in the hallways and offices of the busy court complex conducting a survey project aimed at helping the court understand the accessibility needs of court users.

The students visit the courthouse in shifts each weekday for a month to administer surveys to those who use the court, including judges, attorneys, deputies, bailiffs, and visitors. When the survey period is over, the students will compile the results to gain an understanding of the steps the court should take to increase accessibility for individuals, particularly language and translation accessibility.

“The results of the Court Signage Survey Project will be sent to the District Court for review and ultimately compiled into a larger report that will go to the Virginia Supreme Court,” said Assistant Professor Shea Holman, director of the JPLC.

From left, Sathvika Kolluru, Sharanya Maddukuri, and Abigail Harmon wield survey clipboards in the courthouse hallway. Photo provided

General District Court Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reached out to Holman for the project.

“She specifically wanted to connect with George Mason students,” Holman said. “We are such a diverse campus and the JPLC is a place where students from many different backgrounds have the opportunity to experience the legal field firsthand. This is an amazing experience for students to interact directly with individuals attempting to navigate our legal system and to spend time in a courthouse setting.”

For Schar School junior Mohammad Ibrahim Al Zubaidi, that’s exactly what has happened.

“The most memorable experience has been engaging with court users directly,” the government and international politics major said. “Listening to their stories about the communication barriers they face in such a crucial setting has been eye-opening. It reinforced the importance of the work we’re doing and the impact this project can have on improving access to justice for everyone.”

Al Zubaidi’s degree program includes a concentration in American Institutions and Processes and a minor in criminology, law, and society. His visits to the courthouse, he said, will help him gain hands-on experience in legal processes, particularly in improving access to justice for underrepresented communities.

“This project allows me to connect my academic knowledge of government and law with real-world applications," Al Zubaidi said. "Balancing classwork and off-campus duties has been a challenge, but it's also helped me develop strong time management and organizational skills. By staying organized and setting clear priorities, I’ve been able to manage both effectively."

Walking the hallways of the bustling courthouse is a new experience for some of the students.

“I haven't spent much time in [a courthouse] up until this point, so it has been interesting to see the innerworkings,” said Abigail Harmon, an integrative studies major with a legal concentration. “I also feel that making the courtroom more accessible to all kinds of people is a really important cause, and I am proud to be helping out with that. I hope that the information collected in the surveys can help with this.”

Among all the court users she’s met, it’s the interpreters who work there that have made a significant impression.

“They are passionate about helping people who don't speak English navigate and understand our legal system,” the Twin Falls, Idaho, native said. “One of the interpreters stressed how important it is to have interpreters, because if you don't speak English and don't utilize one, you might be unable to get the justice you deserve.

“I feel that this was relevant in our survey, because non-English speaking individuals might find it difficult to get around the courtroom, and the courthouse should find ways to fix that. I've had the opportunity to see a couple of the interpreters in action, and without them their clients may have had a different outcome and experience in their case.”

“This project allows me to submerse myself in the exact environment I am striving to be in postgraduation,” said government and international politics senior April Cornelius from Aliso Viejo, California. “The best experience I have had thus far has been surveying people on the third floor, which is the domestic cases. I had a mom with her two daughters fill out a survey, and was nice to connect with her older teenage daughter.

“Nobody likes to be bothered with a survey,” she added, “but it is nice to take someone’s brain off the reason why they are there—most times not for a good reason.”

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Shea M. Holman Kilian

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ODKM Looks Toward 30th Anniversary, Adds New Faculty Member

Andrew J Schappert — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 14:47:15 +0000

ODKM Looks Toward 30th Anniversary, Adds New Faculty Member Andrew J Schappert Fri, 09/27/2024 - 10:47

The Schar School of Policy and Government’s Organization Development and Knowledge Management (ODKM) master’s program is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, when it welcomes its 30th cohort to the program. To mark the milestone, the program is launching an ambitious #30in30 campaign, aiming to recruit 30 students for Cohort 30. (The average cohort is 20.)

Program Director Tojo Thatchenkery: The goal was to ‘create a truly interdisciplinary department which would be one of the first of its kind anywhere.’

“ODKM is the best kept secret at George Mason �鶹��, and we don’t want to be a secret any longer,” said program director Tojo Thatchenkery. “It’s a unique program that is preparing working adults for the complex business environment so many are experiencing in this postpandemic reality.”

After three decades of developing leaders in a variety of for-profit and nonprofit industries, “we are focusing a lot of energy on recruitment while celebrating 30 years of this program that has turned out so many influential changemakers over the years,” he said.

New core faculty member Stacey Guenther is up for the challenge. She joins after serving as an adjunct faculty member of the program and is herself a 2004 alumna of ODKM, cohort number seven.

“ODKM is near and dear to my heart. It was deeply transformative for me, and my life changed radically after I entered the program,” Guenther said.

Stacey Guenther: ‘It was deeply transformative for me, and my life changed radically after I entered the program.’

Guenther has been closely connected to George Mason since graduating 20 years ago. She was one of the founding staff members of the university’s Center for Consciousness and Transformation (now known as the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being), worked as a corporate facilitator at George Mason’s team development and experiential learning facility the EDGE, and for five years served as adjunct faculty for the School of Integrative Studies.

In addition to teaching in the program, Guenther will spearhead ODKM’s #30in30 campaign, which will involve a social media push, the development of an advisory board, alumni relations efforts, and relationship-building with local and regional organizations.

“I’m looking forward to telling the ODKM story,” she said. “It is the only program of its kind in the immediate region, and there is no better academic program for leaders and helping professionals in the area.”

In mid-September, the current cohort of ODKM students hosted a daylong learning community in which they became instructors to those from many walks of life and at varying stages of their own careers. The capstone event is traditional in the program as the Schar School students practice what they have learned in the course. This learning community’s theme was styles of conflict and titled “The Art of the Ordeal: Conflict Tools and Techniques.”

ODKM was founded by Thatchenkery as he was completing his PhD dissertation at Case Western �鶹�� in April 1993.

“I was looking for a job in a business school, but what I was working on—postmodernism and hermeneutics—wasn’t particularly attractive to them,” he said with a laugh.

As it happened, George Mason was beginning a new academic department called Program on Social Organizational Learning (PSOL), with a tenure-track position for researching and teaching hermeneutics. “Within an hour I had sent my application,” he said.

The cohort-based ODKM program features a “learning community” capstone, where students take over as teachers. Photo by Bryan Regalado.

The founders of the program, economics professors Don Lavoie and Jack High, “wanted to create a truly interdisciplinary department which would be one of the first of its kind anywhere,” Thatchenkery said. “As we all know, academic departments have disciplinary boundaries. Economics departments have economists and psychology departments have psychologists. But how about a department with faculty from different disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, computer sciences, literature, management, and economics?”

That was, he said, “a revolutionary idea at that time and I was sold on it. A few weeks later I would get a job offer from Don Lavoie and my first day on the job was mid-August 1993.”

It wasn’t long after that Thatchenkery was pitching a master’s program in organization learning (OL), which would be the first such program anywhere, he said. After much internal maneuvering around various disciplines and hard-earned approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the PSOL degree program launched in fall 1996 with its first 23 students, cohort number one.

The program was rebranded ODKM in fall 2009 and continues to teach mid-career students leadership, creative problem-solving, and analytical skills invaluable to their organization, work, and lives.

For more information about George Mason’s Organization Development and Knowledge Management program, see the program’s website.

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Tojo Thatchenkery

Stacey K. Guenther

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Ian Candy’s First Year: Combining Politics, Neuroscience, and Forensics—to Help Others

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 14:00:36 +0000

Ian Candy’s First Year: Combining Politics, Neuroscience, and Forensics—to Help Others Andrew J Schappert Wed, 08/14/2024 - 10:00

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Ian Candy’s interest in politics developed early, at age 10, when he found he enjoyed watching political news shows with his parents instead of cartoons.

“My parents love watching the news,” he said. “And oddly enough, I enjoyed it. I ended up becoming very invested with the political side of the news…. This love for democracy that was planted in me as a child has only grown. The roots of this seed have cemented, making the study of government and international politics dear to my heart.”

Ian Candy: ‘It is no secret that our democracy can light up a room in a second, but just as quickly cover it in shadows.’

As a first-year student at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason �鶹��, Candy will major in government and international politics at a Carnegie Research 1 institution that happens to be located just a few miles from Washington, D.C. Both of those were “huge check marks on my list” of potential schools, he said.

“It is no secret that our democracy can light up a room in a second, but just as quickly cover it in shadows,” he said. “No stranger to governmental legislation targeting my communities, I have and will continue to advocate for anyone facing those shadows.”

The South Dakota native will double major in neuroscience at George Mason’s College of Science, a program that prepares students for medical and health-related fields.

“I truly believe that the breadth of both fields lends themselves to a great deal of intersectionality not seen in many other double majors,” he said. “Neuroscience captivates me, but imperatively, I feel a duty to study this field.”

Candy said that “the people in my life that are closest to me have and continue to struggle with mental illness and brain function disorders. Researching the causes and solutions to ‘give back’ [to those in need] would be incredibly fulfilling.”

Candy is convinced that he can overcome what he calls “the ambiguous intersectionality between neuroscience and government” with a third interest of his: storytelling. In fact, the �鶹�� Scholar and Honors College student will hone his storytelling skills as a member of George Mason’s forensics team, which placed second in the nation in 2024.

“What I found most remarkable about him was that he is very engaging and likeable,” said forensics director Dawn Lowry, who recruited Candy at the National Speech and Debate Association’s high school expo in Des Moines, Iowa. “He has a great energy and when he is into something, he wants to know everything about that subject.”

Meeting Lowry and other members of the team made Candy feel “welcomed and at home, just from the few conversations I had,” he said.

While a career path is still uncertain for the new college student, “I hope to achieve what 10-year-old me envisioned: to help other people.

“Whether that looks like a career defending others in the courtroom, providing psychiatric assistance to patients, drafting science and technology-based policy, or working on something that doesn’t even exist yet, helping others—while hearing and advocating for their stories—is my main goal.”

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George Mason Students Secure Second in the Country in Collegiate Speech

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 01 May 2024 15:37:22 +0000

George Mason Students Secure Second in the Country in Collegiate Speech Andrew J Schappert Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:37

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The George Mason �鶹�� Forensics Team poses with its 2nd place trophy at the National Forensic Association Tournament.

On any given Saturday, you might find the members of the George Mason �鶹�� Forensics Team, or intercollegiate speech team, huddled together in an empty classroom.

After a rousing round of vocal warmups, the students—nearly half of them students in the Schar School of Policy and Government—join hands and recite “The Covenant,” a poem passed down since the team’s founding more than 50 years ago. At the completion of the poem and a after a round of pep talks from coaches and captains, the team disperses to compete against teams from across the country for the title of most persuasive, informative, or poetic speaker (among other titles).

With a glance at the “wall of champions,” students can trace their competitive lineage decades back—with Schar School students scattered throughout the wall. One alumnus, former captain Jacob Thompson and two-time national champion, credits the Schar School for its seamless integration with the team.

“Being a Schar School student and competing on the Mason speech team is really the best of both worlds,” he said. “You get a chance to travel the country and practice your advocacy with the team then directly apply those skills to help change the country through the connections and opportunities the Schar School provides.”

The Forensics Team has existed longer than Mason itself. With a focus on both competitive success and education, the team has attracted Schar School students since its founding. Its current cohort of 10 Schar School students compete in a wide range of events, from poetry interpretation to extemporaneous speaking—an event in which the speaker is given a political question and 30 minutes to prep a seven-minute memorized answer with sources and argumentation. Students hail from across the country with varying prior speech experience, but one thing binds them together: a passion for advocacy.

Evanna Koury, a first-year Schar School government and international politics major, sought the speech team as an avenue for both personal and academic passions.

“Being a queer, disabled woman interested in government and political advocacy is challenging because I can't often get my foot in the door,” she said. “The Forensic Team changed that. I get seven to 10 minutes of uninterrupted talking time to amplify my voice with an amazing community.”

Mason’s speech team has been among its most successful competitive teams of all time. The team has been a Top 5 national program consistently since its founding, taking second in the country at the national championships for the past three years.

With advocacy as a focus, it is unsurprising the teams student population is so dominated by Schar School students, including seniors Molly Izer and Eleni Mercer, who share the team’s captainship and are both students in the Honors College. In fact, Schar School students earned an impressive array of awards at this year’s 2024 American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament, held in April, as well as taking second place in Division I at the National Forensic Association Tournament, its sister tournament held just a week later.

Eleni Mercer, senior government and international politics major
- Semifinalist, Informative Speaking (AFA)
- 2nd place, Program Oral Interpretation (AFA)
- National Champion, Program Oral Interpretation (NFA)
- Semifinalist, Poetry Interpretation (AFA)
- 9th place Individual Sweepstakes (AFA)
- 2nd place, Duo Interpretation (AFA)
- Octofinalist, After Dinner Speaking (NFA)
- Octofinalist, Informative Speaking (NFA)
- 3rd place, Duo Interpretation (NFA)
Molly Izer, senior government and international politics major
- Semifinalist, Impromptu Speaking (AFA)
- 4th place, Impromptu Speaking (NFA)
- National Champion, Informative Speaking (AFA)
- National Champion, Informative Speaking (NFA)
- National Champion, Poetry Interpretation (AFA)
- Quarterfinalist, Persuasive Speaking (NFA)
Grace Martinez-Cora, freshman government and international politics major
- Octofinalist, Poetry Interpretation (NFA)
Lexi Martinez, sophomore government and international politics major
- Quarterfinalist, Prose Interpretation (AFA)
- Octofinalist, Prose Interpretation (NFA)
- Semifinalist, Informative Speaking (AFA)
- Octofinalist, Dramatic Interpretation (NFA)
- Quarterfinalist, Informative Speaking (NFA)

“It is always exciting to have Schar School majors on the team,” said Dawn Lowry, director of the Forensics Team and lifetime forensicator. “They possess the unique combination of idealism and practicality. They can see a better world, but they also understand the institutional and societal structures that shape our lives.”

While the team continues to attract many Schar School students, each Forensics Team alum leaves the experience a passionate advocate, citizen, and human being.

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Schar School News for May 2024

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Schar School Alumna Shares Unique Insights on Her Journey to Immigration Policy Work

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:38:34 +0000

Schar School Alumna Shares Unique Insights on Her Journey to Immigration Policy Work Andrew J Schappert Mon, 04/29/2024 - 09:38

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George Mason �鶹�� alumna Sophia Wozniak, who double majored in history and government and international politics, served as a guest speaker for the Schar School of Policy and Government’s International Relations Policy Task Force students during their spring break trip to the United States-Mexico border.

‘The Schar School was such a huge catalyst in the dominos of me ending up where I am now.’

Wozniak, who graduated in 2019, shared with students her journey from a graduate to a project and data evaluator at the Emergence Health Network, a local mental health authority for the El Paso, Texas, community.

She emphasized how influential the Schar School has been on her career. While at George Mason, she served as a research assistant, participated in the Oxford study-abroad program, and completed the Arlington Fellows Program.

“My trajectory changed with the study-abroad program I did with the Schar School, a winter one-week immersion trip in Mexico City on U.S.-Mexico relations,” Wozniak said. “It was really informative, and it got me really interested in North American relations.”

Wozniak was so deeply influenced by her various Schar School experiences that she moved to El Paso after graduation to make greater change. There, she completed her master’s degree in political science at the �鶹�� of Texas in El Paso.

Before transitioning into immigration policy work, Wozniak was a program coordinator contributing to community development at El Paso.

“I worked as a program coordinator for after-school programs for high school students for three years where I provided job training, college preparation, general mentorship and family coordination,” she said.

While she enjoyed her work in social services, she felt compelled to transition into policy work, leading her to the Emergence Health Network. In her current role, Wozniak focuses on government contracting for mental health services for people who are uninsured or underinsured, as well as working on internal policy in El Paso.

“The Schar School was such a huge catalyst in the dominos of me ending up where I am now,” she said. “If it were not for the spring break trip to Mexico, I would have never discovered my deep interest in immigration issues and policy work.”

For now, Wozniak enjoys the internal policy work in which she engages and the significant positive impact it has on immigrant and minority families. She hopes one day to return to the Washington, D.C., to further focus on policy, where she believes her personal experiences in El Paso will provide a unique perspective required for legislation impacting migrants’ lives, a view she feels policy makers often lack.

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Schar School News for April 2024

Democracy Lab Learning Community

Democracy Lab Members Get an Inside Look at the President’s Residence—the White House

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 17:25:28 +0000

Democracy Lab Members Get an Inside Look at the President’s Residence—the White House Andrew J Schappert Thu, 04/18/2024 - 13:25

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Jennifer N. Victor

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Schar School Democracy Lab students and Associate Professor Jennifer Victor, far left, pose for a photo at the White House. Photos by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government

Jesse David Duvall, center, takes in the sights of the Green Room. The room is usually used for receptions and small formal dinners.

Joe Biden wasn’t home—he was campaigning in Pennsylvania—when 27 members of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s undergraduate learning community, Democracy Lab, paid a visit on Wednesday to the president’s home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in northwest Washington, D.C.

The field trip to the White House, led by associate professor Jennifer N. Victor and Master of Public Policy student and learning communities assistant Mariem K. El Gazzah, was the first visit for most of the students, who are first-year government and international politics students at George Mason �鶹��.

“I think it was magical,” said Sierra Hill, originally from Gypsum, Colorado, after the self-guided tour. “Looking at the state dinner room, it made me think about the global power of the United States and how diplomacy happens right there.”

Lacey Eckert, a freshman from New Jersey, was happy to finally see the president’s house from the inside after looking at it from the other side of the wrought iron security fence several times. “But it’s a little over-hyped,” she said. “I wish we could see a little bit more, like the Oval Office, but it’s still a privilege to see inside.”

Students began the day by joining a line at the East Gate with other visitors for the multipoint security check-in before following winding corridors and eventually finding themselves inside. Surprisingly, the White House gift shop is the first room encountered. (“Isn’t the gift shop usually at the end of the ride?” one tourist commented.)

The tour continued down an East Wing corridor boasting a gallery of photos of past presidents, their families, and their pets. The Library, China Room, Green Room, Red Room, Blue Room, red velvet movie theater, and other rooms were open to look into but not enter.

Although the 45-minute tour was self-guided, Secret Service officers stationed in each room doubled as helpful docents.

“The guards were very knowledgeable about the historic paintings,” said Anastasia Rea, a native of Toledo, Ohio. “They were able to give us a lot of interesting information about where the portraits fit into American history and why they belonged in the White House.”

Like many, Jesse David Duvall was taken aback at the size of the interior of the world’s most famous private residence.

“I thought it would be a lot bigger on the inside, but it’s actually kind of small,” he said.

His key observation? The house “is actually for the president,” he said. “It’s not really meant for tourists. The main purpose of the White House is for the president and his staff. And you can see that in the operation of the house.”

Indeed, off limits to the public are the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, the Navy Mess, the Treaty Room, and most of the other 132 rooms (and 35 bathrooms) in the six-level residence.

The tour was followed by a Domino’s-catered debriefing in nearby Franklin Park.

For Hill and Rea, it was their second Schar School-sponsored visit to the White House in six months. During their first visit, Joe Biden actually was there.

Jennifer Victor snaps a group selfie following the White House tour.

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Schar School News for April 2024