By Tiffany Boggs, Student Media
As the class of 2025 enters graduation, University Life is acknowledging the students who’ve worked for their spotlight.
Graduating seniors, who’ve worked for one or more University Life offices, reflect on their experience and the diverse opportunities they pursued during their time on campus. UL is home to 34 offices at George Mason University. Their goal is to foster vibrant communities, encourage engagement, provide holistic support, and achieve organizational excellence for students and staff—and they’ve successfully done just that.
Ruthu Josyula, a government and international politics major, played an active role in Student Government and Student Involvement. In July 2023, Josyula was a member of the Registered Student Organization (RSO) team at Student Involvement. She was appointed to the Student Government Elections and Disputes Commission in November 2023 and later elected as chair in May 2024. Prior to joining the disputes commission and elections, Josyula worked as a field organizer.
Since she was 14, she’s had a great amount of experience in elections. She was an elections page and officer, which inspired a friend of hers from student government to suggest she join the election and disputes commission. Josyula’s time in the RSO team “have given me all the people skills and customer service skills I would ever need,” she said. She went on to say that being a part of RSO gave her a lot of confidence in her problem-solving skills, and how incredible it was to have Ayleen Leonhardt as a supervisor.
Alexander Williams, a criminology major, was also part of Student Involvement. He joined the Patriot Activities Council (PAC) at the end of his freshman year in 2022. Just like Josyula, he was encouraged to join by a fraternity brother who thought he’d be a great fit. Williams stated he’s someone who loves being social and outgoing with students. “Being able to work events and being a face to help the university hold these social events was something I was really interested in doing when I came to Mason in the first place,” he said.
He served as Senior campus events lead upgrading, managing, and running large-scale events like Once upon a scream, Homecoming, Gold Rush, and Mason Day. PAC gave Williams great opportunities to partner with other departments on campus, working with administrators and faculty, and offers came his way from University Life and the Office of University Branding. He described working at this year’s Mason Day as the best moment of his experience because “I was able to see the joy we were able to bring these students,” said Williams.
For some students, their roles helped them discover new skills and other career avenues beyond their major.
Criminology major, Lydia Agyare, who worked as a leadership consultant for the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Studies Engagement, discovered her passion for creativity through digital arts. During her role, she collaborated with a social media team, editing videos and engaging with audiences on social platforms, which she stated inspired her to invest time in photography and marketing.
Jason Mabry, a film and video studies major, was invited to serve as a guest judge for Student Media’s Storyline magazine. Following this experience, he secured an internship as a technical director with Sports Broadcasting, working behind the camera. Though he initially found mastering camera angles and shots challenging, he adapted after gaining hands-on experience over several games. Throughout his internship, Mabry admitted he’s not a big sports fan but came to appreciate the behind-the-scenes aspects of the industry. “It was an interesting opportunity, more complicated to manage given what it entailed,” he said. He stated he wants to work with the sports broadcasting team at Student Media after graduation.
Paolo Lopez joined Student Involvement’s Esports this school year, running the Call of Duty team. He not only broadened his skill set in teamwork, leadership, and strategic planning, but he also had personal growth through the experience. Lopez shared that he went through a difficult period, struggling with personal challenges, a lack of motivation in school, and uncertainty about his own aspirations.
He stated that through the esports community, he created his own little family and enjoyed his life again. “I really was able to grow myself as a character, as a person, and my career, and my aspirations genuinely changed with being here for just a year,” said Lopez.
The George Mason alumnus shared why students should be involved with organizations under UL, which they replied taking advantage of every opportunity.
Agyare shared encouraging words on why students should be part of the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Studies Engagement. “We lead impactful initiatives that bring the community together. If you’re looking to find your place at Mason, build confidence, and make a real difference, your journey starts here,” she said.
We at UL would like to share our appreciation and congratulations with the graduating students who have been a part of our many teams. Their work will continue to shape the efforts of all George Mason students after their graduation, and we wish them the best in their careers!