The Mason Spirit

• Student
• Alumni

Student

Alex Plank

Year: Senior
Major: Film and Video Studies
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia

Webmaster Extraordinaire: Plank started WrongPlanet.net, an online community for individuals and the parents of those with autism, Asperger's syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other neurological differences, with a friend he met online while he was still in high school. WrongPlanet.net currently has almost 27,000 members.

Choosing a Major: When Plank first came to Mason, he planned to major in computer science but soon discovered the new degree program in Film and Video Studies. “I had done some acting in high school and had always been interested in television,” he says. It was a perfect match.

In Production: Plank is working on two documentaries about autism. One focuses on some of the misconceptions about autism; the other, Red Peg Square Hole, features vignettes about people with autism. He has completed a third documentary, First Precinct, about the 2008 presidential election and voters in Virginia’s first precinct.

In the News: Plank has spoken about autism on many of the major news outlets such as Good Morning America and Dateline NBC. Even Dr. Phil has talked about him on an episode. He also has been a guest speaker at a number of venues including public schools. “I like talking to parents the most,” he says.

Inside Track: Many more people have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as it is now becoming known, than you would expect. “A lot of people don’t want to say [they have it],” says Plank, who was diagnosed with ASD when he was 9. “So they don’t tell anyone.”

Off the Beaten Path: When not in his dorm room editing film, Plank likes to be outside on his mountain bike at Wakefield Park or off-roading in his Land Rover in Leesburg.

Favorite Films: The Matrix trilogy. “The third film is awesome. The way philosophy is mixed with computer science is amazing.”

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Alumni

As Alma Mater's Reputation Grows, So Does Firm's

When Alan Plevy , JD ’77, and Jason Smolen, JD ’77, decided to go into business together after graduating from Mason's School of Law, the two young, single classmates had nothing to lose—except a brand-new iBM selectric ii typewriter.

"We paid $100 a month on it," says Plevy. "we still use it 32 years later."

Along with the typewriter, the Smolen–Plevy partnership has endured, growing from just the two colleagues pursuing court-appointed work in the Fairfax County courthouse to a successful, established firm. Both are well recognized in the legal community for their work. Most recently, Plevy was named one of the area's top divorce attorneys by Washingtonian magazine.

While Plevy focuses on family law, Smolen specializes in business and trust matters. Neither planned to take up their established specialty, but rather fell into them as they developed their practice.

Once they opened their firm in downtown Fairfax in a small rented suite in a recently converted apartment building, the partners started frequenting the halls of the county courthouse, meeting the clerks, and picking up court-appointed cases. their reputation, which Smolen describes as “youthful enthusiasm,” spread, and their client base grew. Within a few years, they moved to their current location in Tysons Corner.

Both describe their practice as a “people law firm,” focused on doing the best for their clients.

“Do the best job possible for the client,” Plevy notes, “and the client will take care of you.”

Their work continues to speak for itself. Spring and summer 2009 brought attention to the firm, with Plevy’s Washingtonian designation and through a series of media appearances for Smolen. as a trust and estate attorney, he appeared on a number of local news broadcasts as an expert to comment on Michael Jackson’s will after the entertainer’s death.

The duo credits their experiences at the School of Law as influencing their early stab at entrepreneurship. they were among the school’s first classes once the International School of Law merged with George Mason University and moved to the former Kann’s department store in Arlington. The interior still resembled its former tenant, complete with an escalator.

“There was this brothers-in-arms approach,” says Smolen. “Everyone felt that not only did they have to get through law school, they also had to get the school through.”

Plevy adds, “There was an entrepreneurial spirit, a great sense of adventure. These were people who were willing to take a risk.” Both note how rewarding it has been to see the school expand and grow in prominence over the years.

Giving back to the School of Law remains a priority for them, and the pair contributes in a number of ways. Many of the firm’s employees are Mason graduates, and most of the firm’s interns have come from Mason. Most of the firm participates regularly in activities through the School of Law Alumni Association, with one of the firm’s principals serving as a board member.

When the firm’s 25th anniversary came around a few years ago, Plevy and Smolen created a more lasting legacy to their alma mater by establishing a scholarship endowment to benefit a law student. Smolen explained that he and Plevy believed the right thing to do was to give back to an institution that had given them so much.

“People say that opportunities knock on your door,” Smolen says. “At best, they lay at your feet, and you have to pick them up. the law school gave us the opportunity to be here and open up a practice.”

—Corey Jenkins Schaut, MPA ’07

Beyond their law careers, both men are world travelers. Plevy recently climbed Kilimanjaro, and Smolen toured the Mediterranean. Read more at spirit.gmu.edu.

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In the Danger Zone

When Robert Knight, BA History ’85, graduated from Mason, Top Gun was a hit movie, so it wasn’t surprising that Knight joined the Navy and set out to “get jets.” What is surprising is that 24 years later he would find himself stationed in Iraq with the Army’s 305th Psychological Operations Company as a noncommissioned officer.

“Top Gun pushed me over the edge,” says Knight. “It took my mind out of the video game aspect and made the challenges real. It showed me that flying was a very human business.”

After joining the Navy in 1986, Knight enrolled in Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1987 and underwent flight training. “As it turns out, landing a high-performance tactical aircraft on the deck of an aircraft carrier was a bit much for me, but I was a pretty good A-6E bombardier/navigator,” he says. “Life often turns out for the best.”

Knight logged more than 1,300 hours as a bombardier/navigator of an A-6E Intruder, a carrier-based attack aircraft. When the Navy retired the Intruder in 1997, Knight left active duty because of a drawdown in forces—the talents of A-6E pilots and personnel were not interchangeable with other aircraft.

His next destination? Law school, but he realized that the preparation for this profession was vastly different from a career in aviation. So he returned to Mason and took several classes including some political science courses as a nondegree student.

“I felt like I let myself down educationally back in the day,” Knight says of his first experience at Mason as an undergraduate. This return provided him the opportunity to apply himself academically in new ways.

“My professors were intelligent, well read, and engaging. The education I received was first rate,” says Knight. “It more than adequately prepared me to go to law school.”

Coming from a family of attorneys, Knight followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and enrolled in law school at American University. He graduated in 2002 and landed a job at a Washington, D.C., law firm.

After his years of military service, Knight found life at the law firm lacking. He needed something more fulfilling. He looked to public service, first as an Arlington County firefighter, then as a public defender in Norfolk, Virginia. Over time, he realized he needed to return to where the action was.

In 2007, he resigned his commission in the Naval Reserve and joined the ranks of the Army enlisted as a sergeant. Although Knight could have come back as a major, he believes he would have ended up serving as a staff officer, which is essentially the same as his role in the reserves. He chose to be more directly involved with military efforts.

“[Being in] the military is not the easiest job,” Knight says. “It is often difficult and dangerous, and it’s a long time away from home.”

And Knight is a long way from home. Since March,he has been in Iraq working as a contracting officer’s representative with the 305th, where he facilitates contracts between the U.S. government and Iraqi-owned companies.

“It may not sound glamorous, but ultimately the sense of purpose and service I get from wearing a uniform is something I haven’t found in any other professional pursuit,” he says.

Knight would like to complete 20 years of military service. After this deployment, he’ll have 16 years. As for his long-term goals, Knight plans to go back to practicing law and would like to become a civil and criminal appellate attorney.

“[Mason] has been a constant in my adult life,” says Knight, who still stays in touch with friends he made here more than 25 years ago. “Even now, for all I know, I may go back and get another degree.”

—Rashad Mulla