The Mason Spirit

It appears that Mason’s green and gold run in the family. This year, the Child Development Center is celebrating 27 years in the Mason community and, in this case, almost 20 years with the same family.

Patrice Y. Levinson, MSN ’97, and her daughter Meghan Levinson, who is now an Honors College student at Mason. Provided

Mason English major Meghan Levinson “graduated” from preschool at Mason when she was five. She is now part of Mason’s Honors College and fondly remembers her days at the center. “I really loved all of the friends I had at the center, as well as the amazing teachers. My favorite memories include birthday parties, dance classes, and our graduation.”

Honors College student Meghan Levinson and her mother, Patrice Levinson, MSN ’97, nurse practitioner at Student Health Services. Photo by Evan Cantwell

Her mother, Patrice Levinson, MSN ’97, is a nurse practitioner at Student Health Services and worked at Mason while Meghan attended the center. “It was reassuring to know that if she needed me, I was nearby.” She says she has wonderful memories of the center, including Halloween when the children visited SUB I, Robinson Hall, and Mason Hall in their costumes.

For both mother and daughter, one of their best memories was the graduation ceremony. “They marched across a stage in the Johnson Center Bistro in paper graduation caps and were given paper diplomas.” Patrice Levinson says. “The teacher gave a speech about why each individual student was a special person, and then we all ate graduation cake.”

Both also agree that Mason is their “hometown school”—especially for Meghan Levinson, who says the Child Development Center made Mason feel like home. “It feels like I’ve come full circle and wound up exactly where I was supposed to be.”