The Mason Spirit

Archie Kao

Perusing the World Wide Web in search of Mason-related people, places, and things to write about the other day, I threw caution into the wind and clicked on Mason’s Wikipedia listing. My initial reaction to what I stumbled across? “Well, what do you know? Look who graduated (or at least took a class or two) from Mason!”

While maybe not news to you astute alums, but Mason is well represented on two of the Nation’s most celebrated mounds of Earth: Capitol Hill and the Hollywood Hills. Here’s a snippet of some of the Mason folks representing both the East Side and West Side of the country.

East Side: Anna Escobedo Cabral, J.D. ’08, once kept tabs on the nation’s savings account as the former U.S. Treasurer under President George W. Bush. She is now the Unit Chief for Stakeholder Communications in the External Relations Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. According to Wiki, Cabral studied at Mason’s School of Law while in office. (I will never complain about being busy again!)

West Side: Though there is no record of our next alum graduating from Mason, the Wiki says actor John Driscoll did take some drama courses here and was a Kappa Sigma member. After starting out as a runway model for the likes of Armani, Driscoll has since appeared or starred in Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Guiding Light, and most recently, The Young and Restless as Chance Chancellor, until Chance was supposedly killed – or was he?

East Side: Since 2006, Kathleen Casey, J.D. ’93, has been one of five people to make up the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Appointed by Bush II, Casey, along with the other commission members, is tasked with overseeing financial markets and protecting the rights of investors. (Let’s just say she’s had a tough job the past few years and leave it at that.) Her term ends in 2011.

West Side: A former Mason student government president, Archie Kao, BA Speech Communications ’92, stars on some little old show that some 20 million people watch each week: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. For nearly a decade, Kao has played hip, stylish, and well-groomed audio/visual surveillance specialist Archie Johnson. And CSI is not Kao’s only claim to fame. He has also been a Power Ranger, appeared in Desperate Housewives, and was named by People Magazine as one of the “Hottest Bachelors” of 2006. (Taylor Hicks was number 1 that year? No comment)

Again, this is only a sampling of the long list of amazing people who once called Mason home. Check back often for more news on what your fellow alums are up to!