Dept. of Communication, Mason

Happy Commencement Day to the George Mason University Class of 2026! We’re so proud of you all!!! 💚💛

📸: Professor Susie Tomasovic & featuring Dr. Star Muir and some awesome students!

classof2026

This afternoon, three students in Dr. Kevin Wright’s COMM 491: Honors in Communication presented their research at the annual Research Symposium!

Lamia Alashrouby looked at “AI vs Traditional Therapy in Anxiety”, Cadie Junker researched “How the White House Instagram Account Affects Voter Opinions” and Alex Shuman studied “How Roblox Encourages Manipulative Microtransactions to Develop Player Addictions”.

This opportunity allows students to engage in research that helps them to understand how communication works in real-life situations and to grow as scholars in the field.

Congratulations to these three students on their success as they graduate with a BA in Communication with Honors! 🎉⭐️

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Media production students Zoë Oliver and Adam Roth recently attended the 2026 Planet Forward Summit in Washington, D.C., gaining firsthand experience in climate communication and environmental storytelling. Oliver and Roth learned about the summit through Daniel Reed, Associate Director for Climate Change Communication at Mason, and their production professor. Reed is scheduled to teach COMM 397: Environmental Storytelling in Fall 2026; a course offered as part of the media production curriculum and encouraged students to attend the summit to connect coursework with real‑world practice. 🌎🎥

Read more about Zoë and Adam’s experience on our website! (🔗 in bio).

📸: Professor David Miller

Tired of rage-bait driving you crazy every time you scroll? Feel stuck in an echo chamber and wondering what the other side is actually saying? Why not try Mason’s Tangle Club? This group meets to discuss current events, media literacy, and dive deep into the question, “Why do I believe what I believe?” Actively recruiting for new members and officers! 📣

For more information contact Sam Fournier, GMU Tangle Ambassador, at [email protected]

📸:
Tangle Club at Yardfest! Shown from left to right:
Front row: Sam Fournier (President), Prof. Maloney (Academic Advisor), Matt Forker (Social Media Strategist)
Back row: Noah Demo (Treasurer), Ellie Wileman (Vice President)

Calling all COMM majors and minors!

We are hosting workshops for students to plan your Fall 2026 schedules by picking your classes, learning more about class planning tools and degree audit, and confirm your graduation plan with our amazing Mason COMM Advisor, Amy Vaillancourt Mandt!

⭐️Workshop 1: will be on Tuesday, April 14 @ 1:00pm-2:00pm in JC Meeting Room C
⭐️Workshop 2: will be on Wednesday, April 15 @ 9:30am-10:30am in JC Meeting Room D

We had a blast at the Spring Preview event yesterday and met the most amazing prospective students! Shout out to our faculty and staff who helped table at the event! Also special shout out to our student orgs who attended and helped promote “COMM-unity” at Yardfest!



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✨ Meet the intern of the week: Faith Gee! ✨

Faith (pictured right), is a senior Communication major with a concentration in public relations. Her Spring 2026 internship is with Mocha Lee Fitness LLC.  Mocha Lee Fitness provides individuals and companies with guidance on how to incorporate fitness into their lifestyles by providing motivational speeches, 1 on 1 coaching, as well as virtual and in-person fitness and wellness classes. Faith is working directly with the founder and CEO of the organization, Mocha Lee. Faith is responsible for an array of tasks in which she will be using her acquired knowledge and skills within public relations. Some of these tasks include:

•       develop and publish social media content to support awareness and engagement,

•       assist in planning and executing public relations campaigns and brand initiatives,

•       monitor, analyze and report on social media and brand performance, and

•       Support influencer partnerships and community engagement initiatives.

Within the role, Faith combines her personal passion for health and wellness with her academic and professional passion for PR and storytelling. This opportunity allows her to further develop her already acquired skills as well as learning new skills by working closely with the CEO and learning various skills required in business operations and development.

is at the Eastern Communication Association () conference in Pittsburgh! Many of our faculty, staff, and PhD students are attending and presenting research!

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🚨Attention all COMM students!🚨

If you still need a COMM class to take this summer, look no further than these awesome classes that still have open seats ⬇️⬇️⬇️

COMM 395: Social Media & Health Communication
✅Offered in summer session A with Dr. Kevin Wright
✅Online!
✅Students will learn the many ways social media has transformed the way we receive health-related news and information. Students will also examine how government agencies use social media to monitor populations at risk for health concerns/spread of health misinformation/etc.

COMM 304: Foundations of Health Communication
✅Offered summer A session with Dr. Iccha Basnyat
✅Online!
✅This course explores health communication research practices including the role of communication in health care delivery, health care promotion & disease prevention, risk communication, etc.

COMM 465: Topics in Communication & Gender
✅Offered in summer C session with Dr. Jackie Poapst
✅Online!
✅This course explores how gender shapes communication in personal, cultural, and professional contexts through engaging discussion-based seminars.

COMM 335: Organization Communication
✅Offered in summer session C with Dr. Anne Nicotera
✅Online!
✅Students will learn about the sending and receiving of messages in an organizational setting (among employees and with stakeholders) and learn how organizations function!

➡️If you have any questions, or need to speak with an advisor, please email [email protected] or schedule an appointment with Amy Vaillancourt Mandt on Patriot Connect!

Meet the Intern of the Week: Barrett Balzer! ✨

Barrett is a junior Communication major, concentrating in political communication and minoring in journalism. She is a Spring 2026 intern with the Fairfax Girl, an online lifestyle publication. The Fairfax Girl is a part of the Local Girl brand, which has similar publications all over the East Coast. This woman-owned business provides a myriad of stories ranging from weather tips, small business profiles, places to eat and more.