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Archives of Student Achievements

HONORS STUDENT WINS FOREIGN AFFAIRS FELLOWSHIP

Congratulations go to BECKY STRUWE, who in Fall 2005, won a Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship. The Fellowship program seeks to recruit and mentor talented students in academic programs relevant to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management, and science policy to work in the U.S. State Department. The fellowship award includes tuition, room, board, and mandatory fees during the junior and senior years of college and during the first year of graduate study with reimbursement for books and one round-trip travel. The Fellow must commit to pursuing a graduate degree in international studies at one of the graduate schools identified by the program organizers. Participating graduate schools provide financial support in the second year of graduate study based on need. Fellows meet annually in Washington, DC for a program orientation. For information about the Pickering Fellowship, visit the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation at:
http://www.woodrow.org/public-policy/

HONORS STUDENTS STUDY AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY FALL 2005

Four students from the Honors Program in General Education are attending Oxford University for the Fall 2005 “Michaelmas Term” as part of GMU’s Oxford Honors program. The Oxford semester allows students with exceptional academic records to take tutorials with Oxford faculty, share in campus life, and enjoy special programming in London before the term begins. This fall’s attendees include Jeremy Beales (Government and International Politics), Elizabeth Marcey (Government and International Politics), Susanna Russ (Art History), and Ahmad Salehi (English). GMU History Professor Randy Lytton will accompany the group. See Center for Global Education site for more info.

<<HONORS GRADUATION BRUNCH SPRING 2005

 

>>HONORS STUDENTS STUDY IN PARIS (page 4 of Newsletter) Paris Pictures

 

HONORS STUDENT PUBLISHES BOOK

see Amazon.com Congratulations go to Freshman Elliott Kashner who has published a novel! Not every college freshman can count a published book as one of his life's accomplishments, but Elliott Kashner can. A double major in government and international politics and economics at Mason, Kashner and his classmate from middle school, Greg Wagman, collaborated for four years on The Eagle's Crest, a 300-page "Tom Clancyesque" novel of mystery and intrigue set 30 years into the future. As Kashner describes it, the story is one of conflict between the United States and China, military escalation, and possible world domination! Signed copies were sold at the GMU bookstore and the book is available through Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes and Noble and IndyBook.com.

 

HONORS STUDENTS ENGAGED

Congratulations go to Ashley Phillips and Joe Dwyer on their engagement! They met in the same HNRS 110 Introduction to Research class Fall 2001, graduated from GMU May 2005 and are engaged to be married in Pennsylvania in September 2006!

HONORS STUDENT WINS INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS SCHOLARSHIP

Congratulations go to BECKY STRUWE, who was awarded The DACOR Bacon Foundation (DACOR is Diplomatic and Consular Officers), scholarship for the 2005-2006 Academic Year. DACOR Bacon House Foundation scholarships and fellowships are awarded for the purpose of encouraging American students to study and pursue careers in international affairs. It is awarded on the basis of academic worthiness and demonstrated need up to a total of
$5,000.

 

HONORS STUDENTS AT 2005 VCHC RESEARCH
CONFERENCE

The Honors Program in General Education was represented by three freshmen who delivered presentations at the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference at Radford University April 8-10, 2005. The VCHC is a consortium of honors programs at colleges and universities in Virginia and West Virginia. Its yearly conference focuses attention on undergraduate research and gives attendees the opportunity to meet other honors students from across the region. The presentations by Mason students were based on the research projects they wrote for Professor Holt’s HNRS 110 class in Fall 2004: Brandon Ehrhardt, “Are Collegiate Athletes Really Students?”; Mary Hay, “Carbs and Cholesterol: The Battle over the Atkins Diet”; and Anna Maurer, “The North American Martyrs: Saintly or Self-Centered?”. Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2005, who in addition to completing the Honors Program in General Education also received awards in their major departments:

Economics:
Zach Gochenour, Outstanding Academic Achievement Award
Sean Sullivan, Wall Street Journal Award
English:
Megan Lulofs, Faculty Recognition Award
Philosophy and Religious Studies:
Jason Rogers, Outstanding Graduating Senior in Philosophy
Psychology:
Angelique Marriner, Outstanding Senior
Victoria Watson, Outstanding Senior and Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher
Public and International Affairs:
Rabia El-Hage, Departmental Honors
Carrie Heishman, Departmental Honors
Melanie Pittman, Departmental Honors
Jennifer Wilson, Departmental Honors

HONORS STUDENT WINS SHAKESPEARE PRIZE

Congratulations to English major Katie Hemphill, who was awarded the Jim Jackson Shakespeare Prize Spring 2005. Named in honor of a former department chair and Shakespeare scholar in the English Department, the prize is given for the best student paper written in a GMU Shakespeare course. Katie wrote her essay, “Looking Past Ornament: Does Merchant of Venice Really Favor Christians?” for Professor Matz in English 335: Shakespeare’s Histories and Comedies.

 

HONORS STUDENTS EARN CAA HONORS
Congratulations go to Patriot Freshmen Jessica Paris and Sarah Fack, who were both named to the inaugural CAA All-Rookie Team in Women's Soccer Fall 2004. A talented midfield defender, Paris, who is a civil engineering major, finished fourth on the team in points with 10 after scoring four goals and adding two assists. Rookie forward Fack, undeclared major, finished the year second on the team in points scored (12) with five goals and two assists.

HONORS SCULPTURE STUDENT HELPS RENNOVATE EARL HOUSE Ben Adlard, was one of several Art and Visual Technology students who converted the Earl House, owned by George Mason and located at 4306 Aspen Willow Drive, just off Roberts Road, into a work of art. Before the house was demolished in May 2004, it offered the perfect venue for the students to dig in and create. A jacket made of stuffed animal fur hung in the closet. Bricks wove their way in and out of windows on the first floor, and doors took the place of windows on the second floor. A front room was "carpeted" with earth and grass, and basketballs make up a coffee table. It wasn't a house from another planet, but rather an interesting and effective senior exhibit.

HONORS STUDENT IN TOP 10 ORATORS IN THE UNITED STATES Congratulations go to Erica Radcliffe, a Forensics team member, who represented George Mason and the Commonwealth of Virginia at the 133rd national competition of the Interstate Oratorical Association (IOA) April 2004 in Phoenix, Ariz., and placed in the top ten of collegiate orators in the United States. The IOA is the oldest continuous public speaking competition in the world, and only the top two collegiate orators from each state are invited to the annual competition. Radcliffe was recognized for her speech on "Light Pollution." Courtney Anderson, another Honors student, won third place in a dramatic duo interpretation with teammate Christyn Wallace.

HONORS STUDENTS CHOSEN FOR 2004 ORIENTATION LEADERS Congratulations go to Molly Bayliss and Jessa Farquhar for being chosen as part of the 2004 Orientation Leader Team. See the Orientation Office Web site for more.

HONORS STUDENTS INDUCTED TO PHI BETA DELTA

Congratulations go to Jeremy Beales, Jennette Bick, Urenna Onyewuchi, Jennifer Wilson and Andrea Zizack. They were inducted to the 2004 Phi Beta Delta, Epsilon Delta Chapter at GMU. Phi Beta Delta, established in 1986, is the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education. There are 120 chapters nationally and GMU's chapter was founded in 2001 with 83 members inducted. New members are nominated to the society on the basis of academic achievement and participation in international educational activities. See the chapter website for more information.

HONORS STUDENT WINS STUDENT LEADER AWARD
Congratulations go to Brandon Baumbach, as he was the Spring 2004 Peter C. Forame Student Leader Award winner. The award is given by the GMU Alumni Association every Spring. Brandon is a second-year government and international politics student with a 3.90 GPA, who uses his outstanding leadership skills to advance the Mason spirit in the student body and local community. As president of the Mason Ambassadors, he acts as a liaison to the dean of admissions and Mason faculty and staff and conducts monthly Mason Ambassador meetings. Baumbach has also served as an orientation leader. He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and a Habitat for Humanity volunteer, and participated in Alternative Spring Break, traveling to the Dominican Republic to help build a village chapel. On the Dean's List every semester, he also finds time to tutor his fellow students.

HONORS STUDENTS SHARE RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATIONS Thank you to the following Honors Program students who shared their research project presentations from their HNRS 353 classes at our Spring 2004 Research Luncheon. Toka Nusairat spoke about Suburbs and Urban Sprawl, Josh Bright and Alex Lewandowski spoke about the Production of Orange Juice and Justin Rahmani and Neha Shah spoke about the Production of Vanilla Ice Cream. All 3 presentations discussed the histroy of and the environmental consequences of the processes.

HONORS STUDENT NAMED TOP SPEAKER IN THE NATION
Congratulations go to Courtney Anderson as she was named the 2004 national champion of the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament in Long Beach, Calif. A communication and theater major, Anderson was the top individual speaker in the country out of more than 1,000 students from 117 schools, besting her second place finish in last year's competition. Anderson also garnered a third-place win in the prose interpretation category, third place in dramatic duo interpretation along with Mason senior Christyn Wallace, and fifth place in dramatic interpretation. She was a quarterfinalist in program oral interpretation.

"I've always enjoyed performing," says Anderson. "I heard about the 30-year legacy of excellence and the strength of tradition that this program had, and I couldn't wait to audition. Having been a member of this team for four years, I can honestly say that what this organization, and these coaches, can do with a little talent and a lot of hunger is nothing short of extraordinary. I've never been prouder to be a member of anything in my life." The George Mason team, directed by Peter Pober, finished 4th in the competition.

HONORS STUDENTS AT 2004 VCHC/NCHC CONFERENCES
Congratulations go to Armando Herradura and Rebecca Struwe who represented the GMU Honors Program at the Virginia Collegiate Honors Council conference at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA March, 2004. Both students presented the results of an original research project to an audience of fellow honors students and faculty from schools across Virginia and West Virginia. All presenters at VCHC were eligible to submit a short paper (based on their VCHC presentation topic) for consideration for a $500 Howard Davis Scholarship to support attendance at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in New Orleans (Nov. 10-14, 2004). Rebecca submitted a proposal based on her presentation "Saving International Student Exchange" and it was selected to receive the award. She attended and presented the paper at the NCHC 2004 Conference where the theme was "Bridging Currents and Cultures."

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS
Congratulations go to Omarana Ejaz, Carol Gusdowski, Megan Junghanns, Khulood Kandil and Jeanine Talley, who are George Mason chapter leaders. NCSC is a national honors organization which recognizes outstanding academic achievement among first and second year students and encourages a life long commitment to scholarship, leadership and service. In order to be invited to join, among other criteria, the student must have a minimum GAP of 3.4. Visit the NCSC web site for more info.

AWARD-WINNING FORENSICS TEAM
Congratulations go to Courtney Anderson, Cindy Carlson and Erica Radcliffe, who are part of George Mason's Forensics Team. Garnering numerous awards and wins in smaller tournaments throughout this year, the team is gearing up for the National Forensics Tournament at the end of the month. The George Mason forensics team has been a leader in national competitions for more than 25 years. The team, directed by communication professor Peter Pober, finished 12th in the national competition last year and was the highest-ranking nonscholarship team at the tournament. "What this organization and these coaches can do with a little talent and a lot of hunger is nothing short of extraordinary," says Anderson. "I've never been prouder to be a member of anything in my life."

HONORS STUDENT EARNS CAA HONORS
Congratulations go to Adrian Austin, who has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week. Austin won all five of his bouts at the CAA Duals, including four wins against wrestlers who are ranked in the CAA. Currently, Austin is ranked 18th in the nation at 149 pounds and first in the CAA. Austin defeated Rider's Labe Black (3-1), who is ranked second in the conference and 17th in the nation, according to Amateur Wrestling News. Austin has improved to 25-6 overall and 5-0 in the CAA. He is a senior with a double major in Marketing and Management.

HONORS STUDENT NAMED AS RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Congratulations go to Courtney Chiaparas,she has been named as a research assistant to a Brookings Institution Visiting Fellow, Johannes Linn, in his research on the post-socialist economic transition in Eastern Europe. She will be responsible for scanning and reviewing literature for information relevant to Dr. Linn's research, assembling and tabulating available data, and assisting him in preparations for presentations and conferences. Courtney reports that in addition to the knowledge she will gain about East-European topics and the opportunity to develop her research skills, she will have access to all of the conferences and events that Brookings hosts throughout the year. The Brookings Institution is one of Washington's most respected and influential research organizations. Their Visiting Fellows Program attracts scholars from around the world.

HONORS STUDENT EARNS CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Congratulations go to Janelle Wilson, Mason Honors freshman middle blocker as she posted career numbers over the weekend to receive the Colonial Athletic Association's (CAA) Rookie of the Week honors for women's volleyball. The Patriots defeated the College of William and Mary, 3-1, on Oct. 10, and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 3-0, the following day to improve Mason's record to 7-9 overall, 3-2 in the CAA. Wilson tallied seven kills and had a career-high .417 hitting percentage in the Patriots' four-game win over William and Mary. The Kansas native registered seven total blocks in the wins, including a career-high three block solos against the Seahawks. Wilson also matched a career-high with three service aces in each contest.

HONORS STUDENTS STUDY AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY FALL 2003 - SPRING 2004

Honors Program students Jennifer Wilson and Sheila Haines attended George Mason University's "Oxford Honors Program" Fall 2003-Spring 2004. It is an invitation only program where a student must have a 3.5 or higher GPA, attend an information session, submit an application, and attend an interview with the director of the program at George Mason and the faculty chaperon. From there they choose students they are confident will do well. There are not a select number of spots as the program is less of a competition against other students as it is more of a guage of how well a student will do in the Oxford setting. Approximately only 19 GMU students went this year.

Students are able to study a broad range of topics. In Jennifer's group, they had psychology, government, literature, history, economics, and art majors. Jen studied "International Relations during WWII" and "Contemporary Political Thought." Students pick two tutorials and they work with a tutor once a week regarding that topic. It is one-on-one, writing intensive and research intensive. It is very self-driven.

Jennifer comments, "I consider my time at Oxford the best time of my life. I loved the culture, the people, the education system, my tutors, the friends I made, and the traveling. I would recommend this program to anyone who is academically driven and excited to branch out. If you do this program, go for the whole year!"

HONORS STUDENTS REPRESENT GMU AT VCHC CONFERENCE
Congratulations go to Brandon Baumbach, Ben Fink, Sara Dajani, Toka Nusairat, Laura Strick and Dan Waldschmidt, who represented the GMU Honors Program at the Virginia Collegiate Honors Council conference at James Madison University March, 2003. Each student presented the results of an original research project to an audience of fellow honors students and faculty from schools across Virginia and West Virginia.

HONORS STUDENT IN INAUGURAL BUILD AMERICA TREK
Summer 2003, MICHAEL UTELL, a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at George Mason University, hammered his way across the United States with one goal in mind: to help provide the best summer camp experience for people with disabilities. Michael joined 25-30 members of Pi Kappa Phi and together they built a variety of accessible amenities such as playgrounds, climbing towers and wheelchair ramps at camps in Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina. The highlight of each visit was the time the men spent with the campers, whether during a friendship visit dinner/dance or a trip to a local water park. At the conclusion of each week, the host camp was presented with a $5,000 grant from Push America, the sponsor of Build America. For more information, visit the Push America website. Congratulations Michael!

HONORS STUDENT WINS AT NATIONAL SPEAKING COMPETITION Congratulations go to COURTNEY ANDERSON, who took home 2 second place wins at the National Collegiate Public Speaking Competition held at the University of Mississippi April, 2003. A double major in communication and theatre, Anderson earned second-in-the-nation distinction for her informative speech, "Liquid Magnets," and for her humorous after-dinner speech, "Racial Commodification."

HONORS STUDENT RECEIVES TECHNOLOGY SCHOLARSHIP
Congratulations go to SHANNON WAGNER, who is one of the four NVTC 2002 Scholarship winners! Shannon is a senior majoring in Computer Science. The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Foundation has awarded the largest number of scholarships in one year to four School of Information Technology and Engineering (IT&E) students. The scholarships, covering tuition in full, went to two seniors and two juniors, three of them women. The NVTC-Daniel R. Bannister Scholarship Endowment was established in 1997 for juniors and seniors majoring in studies offered by IT&E who have a GPA of 3.000 or above and strong community involvement. The scholarships honor Bannister, former chairman of NVTC and currently chairman of DynCorp, based in Reston, Va. He is also chair of the NVTC Foundation and a former George Mason University Foundation trustee.

HONORS MUSIC STUDENT WINS COMPETITION AND SCHOLARSHIP
Congratulations go to INA RADEVA MIRTCHEVA, who is one of the four 2004 GMU Concerto Competition winners. She performed on the piano with the GMU Symphony Orchestra in May. She also was one of four 2004 recipients of the Jean Carrington Cook Piano Scholarship! This is Ina's fourth year in a row to be one of the four students to win this! She started playing the piano when she was 5 years old in Sofia, Bulgaria and in 1998, she moved to the United States. Ina has performed numerous recitals as a soloist and with chamber music groups at venues including the Kennedy Center, the Polish Embassy, the Boston Conservatory and the Smithsonian Institute. She is a recipient of a Strathmore Hall Award and has won first prize in the Marlin-Engel Solo Competition and Chamber Music Festival. Ina was a Maryland Distinguished Scholar Finalist in Music (2000) and also has a Merit Award by ARTS.

HONORS STUDENT ACCEPTED INTO BIOMED PROGRAM
Congratulations go to BAISAKHI ROY, an Honors Program and GMU Alumni who has been accepted into the Biomedical Program at University of Pennsylvania!

HONORS STUDENT RECEIVES GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP Congratulations go to MAYA JOHNSON, an Honors Alumni who was one of the first 50 recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation 2002 graduate scholarships! As announced in The Washington Post May 2002, these scholarships, worth up to $50,000, are given to "dazzingly accomplished young people." Maya is interested in pursuing Middle Eastern studies.

HONORS STUDENT WAS STUDENT BODY VICE PRESIDENT! Congratulations go to RADHIKA VORA, who was the 2002-2003 Student Body Government Vice President! She and Shirene Rasheed, the President, captured 58.6 percent of the votes. Both were juniors and Radhika is a Government & International Politics major and Rasheed a Psychology major.

HONORS STUDENT CREATES MURAL
ERIN CHRISINGER, a Graphic Design major, has completed a mural for the Geography and Earth Science offices. It's in David King Hall outside of the Geography office room 2070, so go check out the new dinosaur fossils wall!