University Life

Author: Samantha Hill

Janae Haaland is August Employee of the Month

Janae Haaland is the Employee of the month for August 2022
August 2022 Employee of the Month Janae Haaland. Photo by: Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications/George Mason University

Janae Haaland, associate director of technology services in the division of University Life, has been a part of Mason Nation since 2015, starting out as the assistant director for technology with Mason Recreation.

Find out more about her.

Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communication

Meet Mason’s new student body president

Sophia Nguyen, Mason's new student body president

The daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Sophia Nguyen is a government major who is working at the White House as a summer intern.

Read more about her.

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services.

First-Gen+ Center helps students navigate the university experience

First gen plus center

To help first-generation college students find their way around Mason, University Life created the First-Gen+ Center in 2021 to provide resources, mentoring and programming.

Find out more about the center.

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Summer Day of Service Set for July 27

Summer day of service is on july 27

This year’s University Life Gives Back: Summer Day of Service is Wednesday, July 27. Mason faculty and staff have the opportunity to make a positive difference and give back to our communities through in-person and virtual service projects designed for family and friends to participate as well.

Learn more and RSVP.

University Life Gives Back – Summer Days of Service Set for July 27

Summer day of service is on july 27
We are pleased to share with you that this year’s University Life Gives Back – Summer Day of Service is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27. We are committed to providing faculty and staff with the opportunity to make a positive difference and give back to our communities. We are excited to share we will be able to provide a combination of both in-person and virtual service projects in which to participate. A variety of service projects will be available from which to choose and engage.
This year’s day of service is flexible and will allow participants to engage in both virtual and in-person service opportunities. We realize schedules are complicated, so we have several service projects to participate in as schedules allow. Also, this year’s service projects are designed for family and friends to participate in as well!
Faculty and staff must RSVP for a service project (feel free to RSVP for more than one project) so we can track where our service and outreach is occurring. Please help us capture our service efforts by participating in our UL Gives Back Social Media Campaign; use #ULgivesback when posting and sharing photos.
Questions? Email [email protected].

Career Services Staff Honored by Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers

The staff of career services were honored

Staff from Mason’s University Career Services were recently honored with the Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion Award by the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE) for the creation of and work in the program “Anti-Racism Learning Program for Career Services Staff.” This award honors EACE members who have made outstanding contributions and demonstrated innovation in work in the field of minority affairs and special populations. In addition, Philip Wilkerson III, Industry Advisor within University Career Services, was recognized with the Outstanding Member Award.

To learn more, visit the EACE website.

Mason’s Diversity Scholarship Golf Classic celebrates 26 years

photo of a black man in shorts and white cap playing golf
21st Anniversary Diversity Scholarship Golf Classic, June 13, 2016, Country Club of Fairfax

More than 120 golfers teed off on June 13 at University Life’s Diversity Scholarship Golf Classic. Held at the Westfields Golf Club, the annual event supports student scholarships in George Mason University’s Early Identification Program (EIP) and the Student Transition Empowerment Program (STEP).

Since the tournament debuted in 1995, it has raised more than $800,000 to support scholarships and aid for first-generation college students, and more than 250 scholarships have been awarded.

Read the full article.

Celebrating the new EIP grads headed to college

Early Identification program

Mason’s Early Identification Program helps guide and mentor a number of local high students, many of whom will be first-generation college students.

Meet these students and learn more about EIP.

Nora Kurtishi Donovan Cloud
Kalkidan Negussie Monica Amaya

(In order: Nora Kurtishi, Donovan Cloud, Kalkidan Negussie and Monica Amaya)

Photos by Sierra Guard/Creative Services

Lavender Graduation celebrates LGBTQ+ community

Holly Mason Badra (left in blue) receives the Rose Pascarell and Ric Chollar Professional Service Award for her work to advance LGBTQIA+ visibility

Mason’s 2022 Lavender and Women and Gender Studies Graduation celebrated LGBTQ+ students, allies, and people who identified with these programs during their time at Mason. Among them, Mason staffer Holly Mason Badra (left in blue) received the Rose Pascarell and Ric Chollar Professional Service Award for her work to advance LGBTQIA+ visibility and efforts on campus.

Find out more about her.

Learn about the event.

Photo by Sarah Holland

Summer COVID update

Dr. Gregory Washingon, president of George Mason University. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services.

Dear Patriots,

As we graduate our next class of Patriots into the world, I want to thank the entire Mason community for its contributions to the 2021-2022 academic year. Despite the persistence of COVID-19, we were able to successfully open our campuses and come together — in person — to learn, live, work, and thrive.

Now, the summer season is upon us, and as many of us look forward to time away with friends and family, we must remember that COVID isn’t taking a summer break. COVID case numbers continue to rise, and several local counties (Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William) are in the MEDIUM transmission zone. Health department and other agencies project that despite the warm weather and time of year, our region may reach HIGH transmission levels at some point this summer.

As prevalence and community spread continue to increase, there is an increased risk of becoming infected during your daily activities. And while vaccines are very effective to lessen the severity of illness, you can still have a new COVID infection even if you are vaccinated and boosted. You can also have a new COVID infection if you have had a prior infection as new variants circulate.

The good news is that Mason Patriots know how to fight COVID and lower our risk. You can protect yourself, your family and friends, and vulnerable community members by voluntarily taking these steps:

  • Get your vaccine series and any eligible boosters to lessen your risk of severe disease. You can schedule an appointment to be vaccinated at Mason: vaccine.gmu.edu
  • Avoid very crowded places and opt to wear a mask if you must be in a crowded place or indoor area with others.
  • If you are not having symptoms but wish to test after a possible exposure/event, prior to seeing someone who is especially at risk, for general reassurance, or to help contribute to mitigation of spread on campus, please utilize our surveillance testing program at Fenwick A, Colgan Hall (SciTech), or Van Metre Hall (Mason Square).
  • If you are having symptoms, seek out a diagnostic PCR test. These are free and available to you on campus for students at SHS, and for employees at SEERM’s drive up diagnostic site at the Peterson Clinic.  Summer residential students will be required to test three times this summer starting this week. (Detailed information is being sent directly to residential students.) These appointments can be scheduled in your Medicat patient portal.
  • Consider utilizing an at-home rapid test if you have any questionable symptoms. (Vaccinated, low-risk people often have mild symptoms that can be mistaken for allergies, yet they are actually infectious and at risk of spreading COVID to others).
  • Continue to report COVID illnesses through the Mason COVID Health Check tool at: healthcheck.gmu.edu. This is a required step when utilizing Mason’s testing facilities.

As always, we will continue to monitor and keep you informed of changes.

Thank you for your commitment and diligence to keeping yourself and our community healthy and safe this summer.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington
President