The Mason Spirit

George Mason ADVANCE student Diego Ortega. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing

Diego Ortega
Business Management Pathway

After spending four years in the U.S. Marines, Diego Ortega took an aptitude test as part of his transition out of the military. To his surprise, one of the possible career fields he matched for was human resources. With that knowledge in hand, he enrolled at NOVA, where he found himself thinking, “If you know exactly what you want to do, there should be something that helps guide you down that path.”

Then one day at NOVA, a poster that caught his eye. It was for ADVANCE. “I was trying to set myself apart and trying to be one step ahead of my peers, and it seemed like something I could really take advantage of.”

After joining the program’s inaugural class in fall 2018, he began using all the opportunities he now had at his fingertips. Through Mason’s University Career Services, he procured an internship with the Patriot Pollinator Coalition. He’s also attended several campus events.

But the best part, Ortega says, is the way the ADVANCE pathway has created a map to lead him exactly where he wants to be. “It’s taken a lot of stress out of the equation.”