Our Students and Alumni

9/28/09

Two PIA Students Receive Fulbright and Boren Awards

             

    Amy Teachout                       Ramon Pebenito

           MPA                                 MA Political Science

Read the full article about where and how they will be pursuing their research interests.

 

9/18/09

 

Members of the Graduate Political Science Society (GPSS) attended a fall 2009 reception at the Merten home.  Pictured (L to R) are Ger FitzGerald, Ed Gaier, President Alan Merten, and Tyler Culberson.

Many thanks to the GPSS for all of their hard work this fall for our new and returning political science students!!

9/2/09

Susan Turner is a master's student in political science at George Mason University with a concentration in comparative politics and an area focus on China--particularly Sino-Russian and Sino-African relations. Ms. Turner graduated summa cum laude in 2006 from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Pre-Law. She has studied abroad in both the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation and has been studying Mandarin Chinese for four years, including attending Johns Hopkins SAIS Summer Language Institute in 2008. Ms. Turner anticipates pursuing her doctorate after completing her master's and working as a Sinologist in the government or nonprofit sector thereafter.  Ms. Turner was recently published in the periodical Asian Perspectives. You can read her article at : http://www.asianperspective.org/past-issues.html  click on Volume 33.

Susan Turner

 

5/14/09

Congratulations to our 2009 Master’s International Graduates!!  Pictured left to right are Maggie Rose Boehly, Jeremiah Marquis, and Adrianne Brakefield.  The Masters’ International (MI) program is a cooperative effort between the Peace Corps and George Mason University.  Maggie Rose earned her MA in Political Science and performed her Peace Corps service in Namibia.  Jeremiah earned his MA in Political Science and performed his Peace Corps service in Paraguay.  Adrianne also earned her MA in Political Science and performed her Peace Corps service in Romania.  If you want to learn more about the Master’s International program, please go to http://pia.gmu.edu/grad/mpa/masters_international.php

 

4/24/09
Pi Alpha Alpha Inducts 2009 Members

Congratulations to our 2009 MPA Pi Alpha Alpha honor society inductees. The annual induction dinner was held on April 24, 2009 and featured Craig Gerhart, MPA alumnus and County Executive of Prince William, as our keynote speaker.


Students who attended the dinner are shown above.

Inductees:
Selena R. Babcock, Karla G. Bruce, Karen K. Brunn, Melissa R. Carl, James Chandler, Franklin Cui, Nicole H. Hankin, Caitlin K. Hutchison, Jeremy B. Koch, Andrew K. Kohlhepp, Beth Lovain, Christina Clare Manriquez, Meaghan A. McCamman, Anne McCauley, Raymond Morelli, Hendrik Opstelten, Alexandre Ostroff, Virginia E. Pera, Daniel R. Reardon, Muriel Richardson, Jan-Michael J. Sacharko, Elizabeth Schmitt, Walter F. Strobach, Jr., Robin D. Wrightson


(L to R) James Conant, Craig Gerhart, Paul Posner, James Burroughs

4/24/2009

Ramon Pebenito -  Fulbright Scholarship Receipient 

MA Political Science Graduate 2009

As a Fullbright Scholar, Mr. Pebenito will be evaluating Lithuania's mental health policy and suicide prevention efforts over the course of its post-communist transition and identifying factors for reform by consulting with leading scholars, government health officials, general practitioners, and public health NGOs.

The second part of the research involves identifying the political and social conditions most conducive to mental health policy reform.

A paper based on his finding will be prepared for publication. 

Mr. Pebenito's long term goal is to pursue his PhD.

4/20/09

2009-2010 PIA UG Honors Program

Dr. Char Miller, Director

Honors Students
Fatima Abushanab
Sandra Alfano
Angela Ancalle
Shannon Banks
Alissa Brower
Steven Dunn
Bailey Hall
S.J. Hightower

David Michael Mazzone
Cindy Monohan
Shamama Moosvi
Paula Salamoun
Purcella Smith
Faisal Sohail
Eric Vitoff
Teddy Wilkinson
Jessica Winderweedle
Rebecca Yancey
Jennifer Zakarian

PIA UG Honors Prog Student Bios

 

4/20/09

Danielle Olsen (MA Political Science) is Dean's Challenge Award Recipient

Danielle is a graduate research assistant in the department of public and international affairs, where she is working on materials for two forthcoming books on the local political history of Washington, D.C., and on the history of the impact of various minority groups in politics within the United States. Previously, she worked as a legal intern, working with attorneys in western Virginia to provide pro bono legal services for clients in need. Danielle is a member of the American Political Science Association, SPCA volunteer, member of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, and is working to found a campus organization for graduate students in political science.

 

04/17/09

MPA student Erinda Birko and Mikhail Gorbachev at a dinner held in his honor. Photo courtesy of Erinda Birko

MPA student shares insights about Gorbachev visit to campus – read full Gazette article: http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/13504/

02/24/09

 

February 24, 2009 - National Public Radio (NPR) hosted a group of students from the political science program at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. They watched President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress. Linda Wertheimer conducted live interviews with students after the speech. Listen to the audio here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101133202

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101123519


02/04/09

  • Congratulations to Cohort 5, Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows!



    The graduating class was recognized at a dinner on January 23, 2009. 22 cohort members graduated on January 10, 2009.



    Allison Mulligan, Fairfax County, is recognized for achieving a 4.0 GPA during her MPA studies.



    Scot Ferris, Loudoun County and Allison Mulligan, Fairfax County, made a class presentation during the dinner.



10/27/08

  • From the Mason Gazette:

 "Some people dream of being president while growing up," says Adrianne Brakefield, a Mason graduate student in political science.  "I dreamt of being a Peace Corps volunteer."

Thanks to an innovative program at Mason, Brakefield was not only able to achieve her lifelong goal when she returned from 27 months in Romania, but she was able to earn her master's degree in political science at the same time.

See full article

 

9/10/08

  • From the Mason Gazette:

    A GVIP student has been selected for the Fall 2008 Undergraduate Apprentice Program. Shamama Moosvi, government and international politics, “Valuing Written Accents: The Perspective of the United States Academy on International Voices”; Anna S. Habib and Terry Zawacki, mentors. Twenty undergraduate students were selected for the competitive Undergraduate Apprenticeship Program for the fall semester, announced Deirdre Moloney, director of the Fellowships and Undergraduate Apprenticeship Program.  The program funds students from any discipline working with faculty mentors at Mason on original research or a creative project.

    See full article

 

8/27/08

  • Record Number of Mason Students, Alumni Win 2008 Fulbrights -- Two From PIA! *Rosella Glenn (BA Global Affairs 2006, MA Political Science 2008)* will travel to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to work with USAID and other
    nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). She will also visit the provinces of Leninobod, Mukhtori and Khatlon. *Lena Mualla (BA GVIP 2008)* recently left for Surabaya, the second-largest city in Indonesia, to teach English as a second language (ESL).  View the full article at: 
    http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/12397/

    6/12/09
  • From the Humanities and Social Sciences' May 15th convocation ceremony at the Center for the Arts, Fairfax campus: PIA congratulates Biodefense MS graduates Adam Elliott, Franklin Cui, Megan Durham-Colleran, Matthew Boley, Kelly Pugh, and Carmen Muniz.


 

5/20/08

  • Congratulations PIA graduates! Below are images from our 2008 Honors Presentation and Convocation.



  • Honors Presentation:


  • Convocation:

2/18/08

  • Congratulations to the graduates of the 4th Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows Cohort! Each year, up to twenty-five midcareer government employees from 10 Northern Virginia cities, towns and counties are selected each year to apply and participate as a cohort in the Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows Program. The two-and-a-half-year MPA program focuses on politics, public policy and management, integrated with analytic thinking, problem solving and communication skills. Congratulations, Fellows Class of 2008! We wish them all much success.

           



    Jim Burroughs, fellows program advisor and instructor and Megan Kelly. Megan receives special recognition for completing the program with a perfect 4.0 GPA.



    Chris Zimmerman, Chairman of the Board, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the keynote speaker at the 4th Cohort Graduation Dinner held on January 25th, 2008.


8/15/07

4/20/07

         

3/27/07

  • Maggie Boehly, our MA student serving with the Peace Corps in Namibia, has updated her blog! Access it here.

 

Check out archives of past news and events in PIA and MPA.

    Last update: 2/04/09

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