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Honors College students have had the opportunity to learn about the first-generation college student experience in a section of HRNS 131: Contemporary Social Issues. The section titled First-Gen College Students is a “safe place for first-generation students to openly discuss their experiences,” said Zainab Samsudeen. There is an abundance of experience and representation of first-generation college students here at Mason with 40% of students identifying as being the first in their family to attend college.
“We examine and discuss the difficulties this diverse group of first-generation college students face and also some of the key perspectives that they bring into the classroom”
- Tharuna Kalaivanan, Instructor
Meet the Honors College Communications Team!
Consisting of the 12 interns you all have been introduced to and
led by the Director of Communications Mr. Richard Todd Stafford, this small team of students works towards strengthening the Honors College community. Creating content for social media, connecting students with learning opportunities, maintaining alumni newsletters, and covering events are among the many tasks we undertake. As the Honors College community continues to grow and evolve, our job is to promote and applaud its and your successes!
Meet Hana Shawi!
🎓 Year: Sophomore
📘 Major: Forensic Science
Hana joined the Honors College Communication Team in the Fall of 2021 as a general intern that performs various tasks such as writing articles, conducting interviews, creating social media content, and editing videos.
Beyond her role in the Communication team, Hana is involved in multiple organizations on campus. She is a tour guide for Mason Ambassadors, part of the Honors College Recruitment Team, and a mentor for the Honors College Connects program. In addition, Hana is a Certified Pharmacy Technician and hopes to work in the medical field in the future. She enjoys seeing her friends during her free time, and is always down to try new desserts.
Meet Wasiq Ali!
🎓 Year: Freshman
📘 Major: Computer Science
Wasiq joined the Honors College Communications Team in the fall semester of 2021 as the website intern. His role involves keeping the Honors College website up to date and doing other IT tasks.
Outside of his role on the Communications Team, Wasiq is passionate about healthcare and the medical field. He spends his time volunteering at a free clinic and at a hospital. He enjoys walking around campus, spending time with friends, going on excruciatingly long drives, and playing video games.
Meet Mariam Qureshi!
🎓 Year: Senior
📘 Major: English
Mariam joined the Communications Team her sophomore year as the Writing & Copyedit Intern, she has written articles, conducted interviews, supported the newsletters, onboarded new team members, and provided written content for social media.
Outside of the Communications Team, Mariam is a writer who is passionate about equitable education opportunities for all students. She is an instructor at the McLean Islamic Center where she teaches enrichment and leadership classes to Muslim youth. In addition, Mariam works with incarcerated students at a local juvenile detention center by teaching creative nonfiction writing workshops and participates in abolitionist mutual aid efforts. After her undergrad, Mariam hopes to find her place between the intersections of education and policy in order to facilitate more favorable outcomes for incarcerated and otherwise underserved communities.
Meet Maia Ocampo!
🎓 Year: Freshman
📘 Major: Applied Computer Science
Maia joined the Honors College Communications Teams this past fall 2021 semester as a General Intern creating media content for the team.
Outside her roles as a team member and student, Maia is passionate about the arts. She often spends her free time reading, making art, and also spending time with her family.
Meet Kimberly Laura!
🎓 Year: Junior
📘 Major: Community Health
Kimberly is the graphic designer for the Honors College Communications Team. She creates outreach materials for newsletters, affiliated websites, and print campaigns. Further, Kim designs posts and logos for social media platforms. She is also a Community Assistant for Housing and Residence Life and is involved in clubs such as F1st Gen Mason and the Student Health Advisory Board.
Meet Juan Escalera!
🎓 Year: Senior
📘 Major: Marketing and Economics
Juan joined the Honors College Communications Team in the 2021 spring semester as the social media intern. His role involves creating social media strategies and content for Honors College events, activities, and student achievements programs.
Outside of his role on the communications team, he worked with the Early Identification Program as their social media manager. He is passionate about outdoor activities such as backpacking and camping, along with spending time with friends
Meet Jessica Taylor!
🎓 Year: Freshman
📘 Major: Music Technology
Jessica joined the Communications Team in the Fall of 2021 as the audio production intern. Her role on the team involves creating and writing original music to accompany videos, capturing live audio for interviews and events, and assisting in video editing and production.
Jessica has been producing music for over five years, and writing music for about ten. Beyond her work with the communications team, she is a freelance music producer, vocalist, and songwriter. She has released 8 original songs onto streaming platforms under the name Jessica Taylor, which have gained over 100,000 streams in total. She loves her two little dogs, all sorts of video games, and playing soccer. She hopes to pursue a career as a music producer and engineer.
Meet Hanan Isse!
🎓 Year: Junior
📘 Major: Accounting and Information Systems and Operations Management
Hanan joined the Communications Team in the Fall of 2021 to conduct research and gather data through surveying and facilitating focus groups for the assessment reports. These reports are used as a way of measuring success as well as getting feedback to better the Honors College’s means of communicating. She is also an Early Identification Program (EIP) mentor and is involved in clubs such as Muslim Student Association and The Somali Student Association.
Meet Daniel Chung!
🎓 Year: Junior
📘 Major: Information Technology
Daniel joined the Communications team in the Fall semester of 2021 as the webmaster, in charge of updating and creating webpages for the Honors college while also performing other IT tasks.
Outside of the Communications Team, Daniel is passionate about staying up to date with the latest technology. Daniel also enjoys staying active, spending time with family/friends, and playing video games in his free time.
Meet Cara Chiswell!
🎓 Year: Sophomore
📘 Major: Forensic Science
Cara joined the communications team in the Fall of 2021, pursuing passions outside of the STEM field in writing, videography, and social media.
Outside of the communications team, Cara is a member of the George Mason Forensics Team where she enjoys public speaking and acting, as well as being a Mason Ambassador. She hopes to inspire more students like herself to come to Mason in the future through her academic and social life. She enjoys dancing, acting, and playing a variety of horror games, but nothing beats quiet time alone with a book.