The Mason Spirit

Erica Gallis Year: Junior Major: Anthropology A Really Big Show: Since spring semester 2012, anthropology major Erica Gallis has been working with Mason professor Alexander V. Benitez on his Central American ceramics research project. Their work and the work of others are culminating in an exhibit this spring, Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past…

Continue Reading Patriot Profile: Erica Gallis

Two major occurrences prompted Mason alumna Lani Leary to make death her life’s calling. The first was when her mother died. The second was when Leary herself died.

Continue Reading Lani Leary: Life Lessons from the Dying

The commonly accepted stereotype of a private investigator is one of intrigue and danger, of native cunning, and a willingness to shed shoe leather in all-out efforts to crack a case. PIs have been romanticized in popular culture since the Victorian era, with the film nor likes of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe paving the way for Veronica Mars and Mike Hammer in movies and television.

Continue Reading Phil Becnel: G Is for Gumshoe

One class can change your life in ways you would never imagine. Just ask Mason law alumna Katie Monroe. As a student at Mason’s School of Law, Monroe was searching for her legal niche—until she took Professor Robert Davidow’s criminal procedures class.

Continue Reading Katie Monroe: Seeking Justice for All

A new National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) semi-professional soccer team is expected to draw not only players affiliated with Major League Soccer’s D.C. United but also George Mason University players and top amateurs from around the United States. And a George Mason alum is the owner.

Continue Reading From College Player to Team Owner: Mason’s Wagoner Starts Semi-Pro Soccer Club

The image scrolls by in an instant, and unless you are looking for it, you might not see the name “Vincent Oppido” rushing over Kristin Chenoweth’s glittery gown at the end of February’s broadcast of the 85th Academy Awards. But there it was, and now it’s on Oppido’s resume, along with a host of other accomplishments achieved during and after his studies at George Mason University.

Continue Reading Vincent Oppido: Composing a Career from Mason to Hollywood

In 1996, Elyse Leeds Acanda, BA English ’94, continued a life of fitness–which included cheerleading throughout high school and college–by immersing herself in the practice of yoga. She took classes with a variety of qualified yoga teachers, practiced multiple styles of yoga, and even trained in locations from Arlington, Virginia, to Miami.

Continue Reading Mason Alumna’s Impact Stretches Throughout World

A career in animal research has kept Jolanda Luksenburg, PhD Environmental Science and Policy ’12, hard at work all over the globe, but it was a trip she made while vacationing that led to one of her most fascinating discoveries, and to having her name bestowed on a whole new species.

Continue Reading Newly Discovered Owl Species Named for Mason Alumna

Everyone likes getting more bang for their buck and credit cards with reward programs have become increasingly popular because they offer perks and bonuses on purchases. Figuring out how rewards programs work, however, can be a bit of a hassle. Some offer a percentage of cash back or number of reward points for a specific…

Continue Reading School of Management Alumnus Develops Credit Card Rewards App

Mason benefactor Don de Laski deeply believed in the importance of connections in changing lives. The impetus for one of Mason’s largest and most important gifts didn’t start here; it started in a classroom at Duke University. That’s where the young Don de Laski, an accounting major, encountered a comparative religion class that expanded his perspective and changed his life.

Continue Reading Don de Laski: Cultivating a Dream