The Mason Spirit

When the United States began falling behind other countries in math and science, there was a big push for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Soon liberal arts were getting a bad rap.

Continue Reading 5 Myths about the Liberal Arts

Different Takes on Summer Breaks

Continue Reading How I Spent My Summer Vacation

When George Mason University anthropology major Bryan Dalton stepped off the plane in Nicaragua last summer, he was quickly whisked away to help save an archaeological site on the brink of destruction. It was June in the Central American country, and heavy tropical rains had flooded the Huellas de Acahualinca Museum, endangering the 2,100-year-old footprints encased in volcanic ash that the museum is built around.

Continue Reading Saving a Historic Site in Nicaragua

Can you earn credit while swimming with sharks? Yes, you can. For the past 13 years, School of Integrative Studies professors Greg Justice and Tom Wood have been traveling to the Bahamas each summer with students for their Coral Reef Ecology class. In the 3-credit course, students learn about reef ecosystems while living on board…

Continue Reading Studying Coral Reef Ecology in the Bahamas

Led by civil engineering major Rony Avalos, the Mason Engineers for International Development spent part of spring semester designing a new water distribution system for an orphanage in Nicaragua that supports 300 children, and planning for their May trip to install it. This was the group’s sixth trip to Nicaragua, although the projects have been in different locations throughout the country.

Continue Reading Building a Water Distribution System in Nicaragua

This summer, global affairs major Beverly Harp is traveling to India for the fifth time. Two of her trips were partially funded by Critical Language Scholarships from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Continue Reading Learning Hindi in India

Community and global health major Erica Street, MPH ’16, admits she couldn’t have pointed out Swaziland on a map before traveling there last summer. But after hearing classmate Shannon Turner, MPH ’15, talk about her work in the south African country during the summer of 2014, Street knew she had to go there for her practicum.

Continue Reading Working in Public Health in Swaziland

Artist and writer David Michael Conner, BA English ’01, MFA Creative Writing ’09, knew something was wrong with him in early 2010. He was suffering from cluster headaches, temporary leg paralysis, double vision, panic attacks, hearing fluctuations, and bouts of fatigue so extreme he couldn’t drag himself out of bed. After years of enduring a battery of tests and struggling to get a concrete diagnosis—all while trying to work a full-time job in spite of his many symptoms—Conner discovered that all of his health issues traced back to an inadequate course of antibiotics he took for Lyme disease at the age of 18. Now Conner is speaking out internationally about Lyme disease and advocating for those who are chronically ill with it.

Continue Reading In the Lyme Light

Alumnus Juan Rodriguez is one of three primary keepers for the adorable giant Pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Continue Reading A Serious Job with a Side of Cute

Anthropology master’s student Lisa Struckmeyer is “addicted to research” and this semester examined the often tight connection between bee keepers and their bees.

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Lisa Struckmeyer