Jerome Boettcher

George Mason undergrad overcomes health challenges to walk across the stage and accept her degree

Katarina Benson — Thu, 22 May 2025 14:25:23 +0000

George Mason undergrad overcomes health challenges to walk across the stage and accept her degree Katarina Benson Thu, 05/22/2025 - 10:25

Sporting green and gold Air Jordan sneakers, 海角社区 student Samantha Lewis rose from her wheelchair and put one foot in front of the other.鈥�

Less than four months after complications from medical treatments left her without feeling in her legs, Lewis walked across the stage to receive her bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology at the 2025 College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Degree Celebration on May 16.鈥�

鈥淚t is a surreal moment,鈥� said Lewis, who is from Ashburn, Virginia. 鈥淭he ability to be able to walk across the stage when in January I was lying in a hospital bed with no feeling in my legs and I had no idea if I鈥檇 ever be able to walk again.鈥濃€�

Heavy on Lewis鈥� mind at that moment was her late father, Matthew, who 36 years and three days prior also graduated inside EagleBank Arena with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in decision science from George Mason in 1989.鈥�

鈥淗e was my best friend,鈥� said Lewis, who was 16 when her father died of skin cancer. 鈥淚 know my dad is watching over me, and I know he is very proud of me. I wanted to go to Mason because that鈥檚 where he went.鈥濃€�

Psychology grad Samantha Lewis with the cap she created for graduation. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Last fall, Lewis was diagnosed with and underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, which occurs due to the compression of blood vessels or nerves, causing shoulder and neck pain.

Following treatment in late January, she suddenly lost feeling in her legs. Lewis had suffered functional neurological disorder, a condition that can cause paralysis and kept her in the hospital for more than 10 days.鈥�

After several falls at home, she was admitted to the hospital again for five days followed by two weeks of acute rehabilitation. Lewis finished up an 18-credit hour courseload to stay on track to graduate in three years while receiving physical therapy twice a week along with visiting a neuropsychologist and therapist several times a month.鈥�

鈥淲hat I learned in my major, particularly in cognitive psychology, helped me navigate those changes,鈥� she said. 鈥淯nderstanding things like resilience, coping mechanisms, cognitive distortions, and the power of mindset gave me practical tools to work through some of my darkest moments.鈥濃€�

Lewis鈥� fascination with human behavior drew her to psychology as she desired to learn more about 鈥渉ow and why we, think, feel, and act the way we do.鈥� Instructor Sam Neff, who taught PSYC 317 Cognitive Psychology, recalls Lewis always sitting in the front row and their conversations before class as he set up his presentations.鈥�

鈥淪he is intelligent, inquisitive, and was always looking to apply the concepts we talked about to her personal life,鈥� Neff said. 鈥淥n numerous occasions she had mentioned that the course was giving her information that was causing her to have 鈥�light-bulb鈥� moments about herself and the way that her cognitive processes worked.鈥濃€�

Lewis made the CHSS Dean鈥檚 List her last four semesters despite a heavy courseload, which included 26 credit hours over 10 weeks in summer of 2024 while she was also working at George Mason Recreation as a fitness program assistant.鈥€�

Samantha Lewis with her family. Photo provided

Prior to the 2024-25 school year, she shifted all her courses online. She credits George Mason鈥檚 Disability Services for helping and communicating with professors when she needed more time to complete coursework.鈥�

鈥淭hat kind of advocacy was really important,鈥� she said.鈥€�

When her name was called, Lewis鈥攚ith mother Kristine, stepmother Megan, and three grandparents in the audience鈥攑roudly walked across the platform, receiving a huge embrace from CHSS Dean Ann Ardis and a thunderous standing ovation from the thousands inside EagleBank Arena.鈥�

鈥淚 heard the cheering, but I obviously was focused on making sure I didn鈥檛 fall,鈥� Lewis said with a laugh. 鈥淚鈥檓 just overwhelmed by the support and response.鈥濃€�

鈥淚t is giving me chills even now,鈥� Kristine Lewis said. 鈥淭o watch her actually walk across the stage and then see the reaction from her professors and her dean, who just embraced her with such a strong hug... and then to see the student body do it, there are no words. That was such a moment of support for her and us. I was not expecting that.鈥濃€�

Lewis says she plans to take a break before considering her next steps. Her focus remains on making a full recovery as she has already gained sensation in most of her right leg. 鈥�

鈥淚t kind of scares me what I am going to do when I鈥檓 healthy,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou really can do anything when you set your mind to it. You just have to believe in yourself.鈥�

Connect with Disability Services

Topics

Disability Services

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Graduation

Students

Economics grad leaves their mark and legacy on forensics team

Katarina Benson — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:11:27 +0000

Economics grad leaves their mark and legacy on forensics team Katarina Benson Thu, 05/15/2025 - 11:11

When Dawn Lowry, the director of 海角社区鈥檚 forensics team, recruits prospective students to join the university鈥檚 intercollegiate speech team, she reviews videos of high school competitions.

A competitive speech coach for more than 30 years, Lowry remembers being blown away the first time she watched footage of now economics major Prem Ganesan in action.

Prem Ganesan. Photo provided

鈥淭hey reminded me of a hurricane鈥攁ll power, all energy,鈥� Lowry recalls. 鈥淚t was like if we can figure out how to harness that and control that energy, then they would be a real force.鈥�

Four years later, Ganesan left their mark and legacy on a George Mason program already rich in history.

Ganesan, who is graduating this spring with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics, won individual national championships during their career in a record six different categories鈥攖he most by a student in the 75-year history of intercollegiate competitive speech.

They captured seven national titles in six different categories at national tournaments recognized by the American Forensic Association and the National Forensic Association: After Dinner Speaking, Communication Analysis, Duo Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation.

鈥淭hey are a wonderful mix of artistry and analysis,鈥� said Lowry, who is also an instructor in the Department of Communication. 鈥淭hey have a wonderful ability to find the story that hasn鈥檛 been told and show a complete diaspora of human experiences. They give performances that make people cry, but if you look at them closely, they are also technically beautiful.

While still in high school in Minnesota, Ganesan was drawn to George Mason due to its economics program and the forensics team. The competitive speech program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has ranked in the top five nationally since 2007.

Ganesan has added to that reputation, helping George Mason finish as national champion runners-up three of the last four years. They often delve into LGBTQ+ issues; the Indian diaspora; and issues pertaining to diversity, economic development, and racial injustice.

鈥淭here are not a lot of people who look like me,鈥� Ganesan said. 鈥淥r who believe what I believe in, who are in this field advocating for what I want to see the world moving toward.鈥�

As a sophomore, their championship-winning speech in the After Dinning Speaking category focused on economics鈥� diversity problem.

The category, 鈥減ersuasive in nature,鈥� Ganesan said, requires competitors to present a societal problem, explain why that issue persists and then offer a solution鈥攁ll within 10 minutes. Ganesan utilized humor, a device they turn to often in their speeches, to address the problem and finish atop a category with more than 100 participants.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 like aiming for results; I like chasing the process of speech,鈥� Ganesan said. 鈥淗ow can we take new risks? How can we push the bar on performance choices? How can we write cool lines that the audience hasn鈥檛 heard before?鈥�

Ganesan speaking. Photo by Eduardo Macedo.

Ganesan has emerged as a leader, serving as a co-captain of the forensics team and teaching at high school speech camps during the summer both at George Mason and Illinois State University, along with coaching part-time at a high school back home in Minnesota.

They were also the senior student representative on the National Council for the National Forensic Association, serving as the voice of the students and pushing for accessibility for all participants at competitions.

鈥淸Prem] is always at the other end of the phone if you need advice,鈥� freshman Emma Schaible said. 鈥淭hey are probably one of the upperclassmen that has been there the most for me and the rest of the first years (on the team).鈥�

Added Lowry: 鈥淭hey are a powerful advocate in making sure everyone has the resources they need.鈥�

After graduation, Ganesan plans to attend Illinois State鈥擫owry鈥檚 alma mater鈥攖o pursue a master鈥檚 degree in communication. They will also work as a graduate teaching assistant for the university鈥檚 forensics team.

Reflecting on their time at George Mason, Ganesan said their interactions with students, faculty, and staff in the Department of Economics and on the forensics team sparked 鈥渃ountless relationships, friendships, and mentors.鈥�

鈥淒iversity is such a cornerstone of my college experience,鈥� Ganesan said. 鈥淚nteracting with a variety of human beings has been so transformational. I am a lifelong student, so learning from as many different people as possible and then taking their experiences and trying to adapt them into my own little pedagogy has been super cool to do. And speech has taught me how to do that. To take in, not to just communicate, but to listen to other people and learn from them.鈥�

Topics

Graduation

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Forensics Team

Students

CEHD alumnus finds success on the waves

Colleen Rich — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:14:28 +0000

CEHD alumnus finds success on the waves Colleen Rich Mon, 04/14/2025 - 16:14

Since he first stepped onto campus more than 35 years ago, David Horna believes 海角社区 helped put him on a path to success.

Dave Horna. Photo provided

Or, more appropriately, a wave of success.

A 1994 graduate with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in health sciences from the College of Education and Human Development, Horna can be found these days in sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida, teaching surfing lessons. Big Wave Dave, as he is known to patrons and students at Ron Jon鈥檚 Surf Shop, credits his current occupation to his experience at George Mason.

鈥淏eing a surf instructor is one of the best gigs you can get in surfing,鈥� Horna said in a phone interview between surf lessons. 鈥淲hat put me at the top of the list was having a George Mason BSEd. You can see the thread of George Mason in not just the education I got, but how it opened doors [for me].鈥�

Horna grew up in nearby Clifton, Virginia, and spent many of his summers competing in boogie board contests in Virginia Beach and Ocean City, Maryland. So, finding him in the ocean these days is not surprising.

Inspired by his mother, who was a third-grade teacher at several schools in Fairfax and Prince William counties, Horna attended George Mason as a commuter student and fondly recalls building friendships while working out at the fitness center on campus. His curriculum and professors at George Mason also left a lasting impression on him.

While still a student, he served as a guest expert at WJFK Radio (106.7 FM) in Washington, D.C., where he was on a modern exercise panel with an Air Force colonel and a George Washington University professor who chaired a research center. This segment sparked Horna to pitch to his health sciences professors on the idea of fulfilling his internship requirement at the radio station, where he worked on former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy鈥檚 show.

鈥淕eorge Mason was creative enough and open minded enough to give me an opportunity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you pitch us? Tell us why and how this fits in with health sciences.鈥� I said, 鈥業鈥檓 going to create a health segment for the show.鈥欌€�

His dip into media led him to his first job with then-start-up E&E (Environment and Energy) News. The publication, which covered policy, government, environment and energy, and business development, began with just six reporters before reaching a newsroom of 65 across the world when it was acquired by Politico in 2020.

Horna started as an account executive, and by 2009, he had become a partner in the firm and was at a crossroads in his career. He was proud of the company he had helped build but was ready for a new challenge.

Dave Horna catching a wave. Photo provided

鈥淚 wanted to do something for me, for my soul,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to surf big waves.鈥�

Horna moved to Puerto Rico and spent the next six years surfing, training, and practicing yoga while also working as a sales consultant and freelance writer for several publications. During that time, he spent six months in Hawaii, surfing the legendary North Shore in Oahu. He also made surfing excursions to Ireland, France, and California.

For nearly a decade, Horna has lived in Cocoa Beach, just five miles south of Cape Canaveral Space Station. Through his consultant work with SOFX, a media and networking company focused on the special operations community, he met CEO Sam Havelock Jr., a retired Navy SEAL. Havelock, who was also a surf instructor, suggested to Horna that he look into teaching.

Since 2022, Horna has taught private lessons five days a week, in addition to helping at surf camps and working in Ron Jon鈥檚 Surf Shop on the weekends. He has had students as young as 5 and as old as 70.

One of his proudest moments was helping a 16-year-old who had just one arm due to a birth defect. By the end of the two-hour lesson, the teenager was up on the board and riding waves. 鈥淗e was so stoked. I was so stoked. You can鈥檛 write me a paycheck big enough to see that guy鈥檚 smile,鈥� Horna said. 鈥淪urfing makes people鈥檚 lives better. It鈥檚 healthy, it鈥檚 therapeutic. I get to be the person who helps somebody find that.鈥�

Horna believes George Mason opened the door to his surf instructing job, too. When he interviewed for the position, his supervisor was intrigued by his degree in health sciences. Through his education Horna knows, for example, the role that dorsiflexion鈥攖he backward bending and contracting of the foot or hand鈥攑lays in the placement of the toes in the 鈥渞eady position鈥� on the surfboard.

鈥淚t is one of the most crucial things because when they are in that position, they鈥檒l glide into the waves,鈥� Horna said. 鈥淵ou want to have everybody ready because everything happens so fast out there. It鈥檚 my job to get them ready.鈥�

And he proudly displays his alma mater when in the water, often wearing a gray George Mason shirt during lessons. 鈥淚 want people to know that they鈥檙e getting instruction from a 海角社区 graduate,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 take a lot of pride in that. The school did a lot for me.鈥�

Start your journey at the College of Education and Human Development

Topics

Alumni

College of Education and Human Development

Groundswell partners with Mason LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services

Colleen Rich — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 19:46:30 +0000

Groundswell partners with Mason LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services Colleen Rich Thu, 09/12/2024 - 15:46

As with most internships, information technology consultant Groundswell aims to provide an experience that gives 海角社区 students a chance to learn about the company, delve into new areas and discover more about the industry.

Photo provided

Over the 2023-24 school year, Mason LIFE student Mohammad Nadeem did just that through his internship with McLean-based Groundswell, learning about data analytics, software development, and physical hardware.

鈥淲e wanted to ensure that we maximized his opportunities to grow as an individual,鈥� said Tim Kelly, vice president for operational excellence for the People Services team at Groundswell. 鈥淲e wanted meaningful work for him. We wanted him to try different things.鈥�

Like destroying a laptop.

Nadeem strapped on safety goggles, wielded a hammer, and broke open laptops. Kelly said Nadeem was educated on the intricacies of removing critical components for recycling and security purposes. Over time Nadeem discovered patterns, learned how to make repairs and extract components in different devices.

鈥淗e absolutely loved it,鈥� Mason LIFE Employment and Adult Services Coordinator Chris Williams said. 鈥淗e was exposed to different things, and it offered professional building. He really enjoyed the atmosphere. Just working with others and just being treated as part of the team was valuable for him.鈥�

鈥淚 made some friends over there,鈥� said Nadeem of his time at Groundswell. 鈥淚 would like to go back and work there. The boss is very nice.鈥�

Nadeem will graduate next spring from the College of Education and Human Development鈥檚 (CEHD) Mason LIFE program, a four-year post-secondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment. Mason LIFE students regularly complete internships, working in a wide range of settings, including at software companies, George Mason rec centers, Fairfax County Public Schools, and animal care facilities.

Williams said Nadeem鈥檚 experience with Groundswell boosted his confidence and independence. He drove independently from his parents鈥� home in Alexandria to McLean twice a week for the internship. Mason LIFE also provided support staff in to be on-site at Groundswell with Nadeem, but Kelly said as the internship progressed, 鈥渋t became far less, less of them guiding him.鈥�

鈥淚t has a huge impact. The internship experiences are critical,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he students are learning the importance of going to work on time. Knowing they have duties and responsibilities assigned to them that they have to complete. Working with others. Receiving feedback from their employers. Students are also learning what they like, what they don鈥檛 like.

鈥淭hey were thrilled to have Mohammad. They enjoyed that they pushed him. They really appreciated that whatever they assigned Mohammad he gave 100% effort and he tried his best.鈥�

One of those assignments, Kelly said, contributed to Groundswell winning a major environmental award. Nadeem performed analysis over several weeks to calculate the environmental impact Groundswell employees had made due to a company-wide emphasis on telecommuting.

Through the Groundswell TTRIP (Transit and Telework Resources, Impactful Practices) Program, Nadeem found that Groundswell employees in 2023 saved 49,918 gallons of gas and 24,312 trips to the office, among other notable data points.

鈥淗e became an integral part of our team,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淚 was really proud of him. To see his confidence, see his joy, seeing him understanding the impact of the work for the company and really add value and do meaningful work.鈥�

Kelly has been so impressed with the partnership with Mason LIFE that Groundswell recently announced the creation of scholarships for Mason LIFE students.

In addition, Groundswell wants to continue helping Mason LIFE students in their career development. This past April, Kelly and several Groundswell employees visited CEHD and facilitated an 鈥淚ntroduction to Work 101鈥� workshop.

A photographer took headshots of each of the 16 Mason LIFE students who attended. Kelly and his team helped the students set up LinkedIn accounts, creating their bios and providing dos and don鈥檛s for social media. Williams and Kelly both hope to make the workshop a semiannual career development event for Mason LIFE students.

Williams said it was truly a really great day. 鈥淭o be able to hear from a professional workplace outside of the Mason community was really impactful and resonated with the students.鈥�

Topics

Students

internships

Mason LIFE Program

Workforce Development

Behrmanns add to legacy with creation of undergraduate scholarship for special education program

Colleen Rich — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:52:21 +0000

Behrmanns add to legacy with creation of undergraduate scholarship for special education program Colleen Rich Fri, 07/26/2024 - 10:52

Year in and year out, 海角社区鈥檚 special education graduate program ranks as one of the best in the nation.

June and Mike Behrmann. Photo provided

In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of online master鈥檚 degree programs, George Mason鈥檚 special education program ranked eighth in the country. In 2023, the special education graduate program ranked 17th in the country among public institutions and 19th overall.

Pamela Baker, the Special Education Division Director, points to one man for laying the foundation for a program that consistently produces quality teachers鈥�Michael Behrmann.

鈥淗e is kind of a legend here,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淗e built the special education program.鈥�

Seven years after retiring from a nearly 40-year career in the special education program that included serving as division director prior to Baker's tenure in that role, Behrmann, now professor emeritus of special education, continues to add to his legacy.

Behrmann, along with his wife, June, has generously created an undergraduate scholarship for George Mason students in the special education program. The undergraduate special education program, which was created in 2019 along with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in elementary education and early childhood education for diverse learners, aims to tighten the nationwide teacher shortage gap.

Students who plan to teach may focus their program on a specific area in the special education field by adding a licensure concentration鈥擪-12 adaptive curriculum, K-12 general curriculum licensure or PK-12 blindness and visual impairments licensure鈥攐r pursue a nonlicensure concentration.

鈥淐hildren with special needs are our most vulnerable students. We need more teachers working with this population of students,鈥� Behrmann said. 鈥淯ndergraduate programs are one way that can be really addressed and start to bite into that shortage of qualified teachers.鈥�

Behrmann arrived at Mason in 1979 as the coordinator of the special education graduate program, which had just three faculty members and a small handful of graduate students.

Over the next four decades, the program grew as Behrmann secured more than $90 million in external grants and contracts, $30 million in revenue-based projects, and $4.5 million in gifts for special education to the university. In the mid 1980s, he also designed and implemented a master鈥檚 and a doctoral program in assistive/special education technology.

The special education program now enrolls more than 1,000 students annually and employs more than 150, which includes faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers.

鈥淚 consider the faculty who are at George Mason now as my legacy,鈥� Behrmann said. 鈥淢aster鈥檚 and doctoral students who are now faculty members. They are such great researchers and trainers. Pam and that whole crew of special educators are just tremendous.鈥�

Behrmann wants the scholarship to support special education undergraduate students who are working with the Mason LIFE Program, a four-year postsecondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment.

When Behrmann founded the Mason LIFE program in 2005, his vision was twofold. He wanted to provide an educational, on-campus experience for students with disabilities. But he also wanted to offer Mason graduate and doctoral students鈥攁nd now undergraduate students鈥攚orking in the Mason LIFE program an opportunity to attain hands-on special education experience while also pursuing their degree.

The Mason LIFE program, currently led by director Linn Jorgenson, enrolls around 50 students every year, with 18 freshmen admitted for the 2024-25 school year.

鈥淎t the time, it was one of only one or two programs in the whole United States,鈥� Behrmann said. 鈥淭hey have spun off, with federal support, and are much more common across the country. Seeing that program continue to be supported, within the diversity of the university, really makes me proud. All the university presidents from Alan Merten to current president Gregory Washington have been great supporters of the Mason LIFE Program.鈥�

鈥淚t is a program that affirms our mission,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淲e are here to make a positive impact on the lives of people who have disabilities. These young adults are integrated into the fabric of the university. They come back as alumni. Our Mason LIFE students have been in the Green Machine band. They have been cheerleaders. They are all over the campus. Mike had the vision.鈥�

The Behrmanns met when they were both teaching in Cincinnati. June then spent more than 20 years as a writer specializing in special education issues before returning to the classroom as a special education teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools. Now they want to help ensure that George Mason鈥檚 undergraduate program shapes the next generation of special education teachers.

鈥淚f we can give this [undergraduate] program the kind of marketing it needs, support more students, it has real potential to grow into a large scholarship program,鈥� Behrmann said. 鈥淭he special education program is one of the strongest programs in the university, and I鈥檓 excited to see it continue to grow.鈥�

The Behrmanns encourage graduates of the special education programs and certificate programs to get involved personally and give back to the scholarship fund. To make a gift, click here.

鈥淸Behrmann] is kind of a legend here,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淗e built the special education program.鈥�

Learn more about George Mason's Special Education Graduate Program

Support 海角社区

Mason alumna gets her close-up with the president

Colleen Rich — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 22:36:58 +0000

Mason alumna gets her close-up with the president Colleen Rich Thu, 01/21/2021 - 17:36

Mason alumna Ariana Freeman (far left) worked in the Capitol Rotunda during the 59th presidential inauguration as a broadcast associate for CBS Evening News. Photo provided

When 4:45 a.m. came and went and her Uber hadn鈥檛 shown up, Ariana Freeman shook off her heels, strapped on a pair of boots and hoofed it 30 minutes to the U.S. Capitol.

Nothing was going to stop the 海角社区 alumna from covering her first presidential inauguration. Freeman spent the day inside the Capitol Rotunda reporting as a broadcast associate for CBS Evening News.

鈥淚t was absolutely amazing and I鈥檓 just so thankful I got to go,鈥� Freeman said. 鈥淚 was taking it all in.鈥�

Ariana Freeman

On Wednesday, her job consisted of working with the pool camera from NBC to inform her senior producer of key happenings behind the scene. When she saw President Joe Biden coming down the hallway, she alerted her producer to get ready to roll the rotunda camera in five seconds.

鈥淵ou see the gifts presentation but, hey, you might have missed [Vice President] Kamala Harris just winked at Sen. Amy Klobuchar,鈥� Freeman said. 鈥淕iving that color, those details that the viewers and correspondents don鈥檛 see, pretty much that was my job鈥攖o catch them coming in, coming out, make sure our cameras were rolling.鈥�

Two years ago, Freeman couldn鈥檛 have imagined herself working in politics, let alone covering the 59th presidential inauguration. The former collegiate women鈥檚 basketball player always thought she鈥檇 end up working in sports, possibly as a sideline reporter.

Her master鈥檚 degree, after all, was in sport and recreation studies with a concentration in sport management. She freelanced with the Washington Football Team鈥檚 Charitable Foundation in addition to serving as a features reporter for ESPN+ broadcasts of George Mason men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball games.

But as she finished graduate school in 2019, she ran into a former basketball coach at her alma mater, St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. He suggested she reach out to a friend of his, Jan Crawford, who served as a political and legal correspondent for CBS News. Hesitant at first to venture into politics, she agreed to shadow at CBS News for a day.

鈥淭he moment I walked into CBS News鈥� I think I just loved the energy I felt,鈥� she said.

By the end of the day, the Washington bureau chief offered her a position as a news associate, essentially an internship position. Two full-time promotions and two years later, she鈥檚 covered press conferences at the White House, was inside the Senate chamber for the 2020 impeachment trial of President Trump and reported on breaking news such as the deadly shooting in a Virginia Beach municipal building. Freeman currently works daily with CBS Evening News host Norah O鈥橠onnell to ensure her script and broadcast is accurate.

鈥淚鈥檓 so new into news that I鈥檓 still learning,鈥� Freeman said. 鈥淚t is definitely way different than sports, but it is just so rewarding. Politics just promote that change I want to see.鈥�

Freeman, who received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in journalism at the University of Colorado, credits her professors at Mason for emphasizing the power of networking. She also said the sport management program stressed elements that transcended sports, such as finding 鈥渓ittle nuggets and a different way to tell a story.鈥�

鈥淪ome people just have that drive,鈥� said Sport and Recreation Studies Associate Professor Pierre Rodgers, who was Freeman鈥檚 advisor. 鈥淎riana always had a plan to do what she was going to do. She was going to be great no matter where she went.鈥�

Topics

Mason alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:26:32 +0000

Mason alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL Colleen Rich Wed, 01/13/2021 - 16:26

Callie Brownson. Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.

海角社区 alumna Callie Brownson and her boss, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, often joke that there is no job description for her role as the team鈥檚 chief of staff.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an anything and everything role,鈥� said Brownson, who received her bachelor鈥檚 degree with a concentration in sport management from the College of Education and Human Development in 2016. 鈥淏asically, how we operate as a team runs through me. I kind of enjoy the challenge that no day is the same.鈥�

While her job as chief of staff鈥攖he first female to hold the position in the NFL鈥攗sually pertains to logistics, operation, and organizing practice plans, Brownson has been a 鈥渦tility player鈥� for the Browns during an unprecedented season that continues Sunday in a playoff matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Most recently, she has put on a headset and fulfilled her true passion鈥攃oaching.

During three games this season, Brownson has filled in as a position coach for a Browns鈥� coaching staff dealing with positive COVID tests. On Jan. 9, she coached the tight ends during the Browns鈥� upset of Pittsburgh in a wild card playoff game, the franchise鈥檚 first postseason victory in 26 years.

The Alexandria native also coached the tight ends on Nov. 29 in a victory over Jacksonville, becoming the first woman to coach a position in an NFL regular-season game. The sideline jacket she wore that day and an autographed game ball sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, she joined Washington Football Team coaching intern Jennifer King and game official Sarah Thomas in the first NFL game with a female official and female coaches on both teams.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really special what鈥檚 happening in the league,鈥� said Brownson, who is in her first year with the Browns after serving as a full-time intern with the Buffalo Bills last season. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a really cool time for women to see all these possibilities and all these barriers breaking.鈥�

Mason sport management instructor Charley Casserly, a longtime NFL executive who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Football Team, recalled Brownson鈥檚 ambition and drive.

While pursuing her degree at Mason, Brownson was also playing football for the D.C. Divas鈥擶ashington鈥檚 professional female football team鈥攁nd coaching softball and football at her alma mater, Mount Vernon High School.

鈥淲hen they are already working on their life鈥檚 goals when they are still in college, those are the ones that are most successful,鈥� Casserly said. 鈥淚t was just a question of where she was going to be successful.鈥�

Brownson said Casserly鈥檚 advice to 鈥渢ake advantage of every opportunity to get in front of people鈥� has always stuck with her, whether she was at Mount Vernon, working a scouting internship with the New York Jets or on Buddy Teevens鈥� staff at Dartmouth as the first female full-time Division I football coach.

Brownson said the smaller size of Mason鈥檚 sport management program and having multiple classes with faculty such as Professor Robert Baker and Associate Professor Craig Esherick helped sharpen her skills, narrow her career direction and develop a plan to reach those goals.

鈥淓nding up at that program was such a stepping stone,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he involvement and push: 鈥榃hat is your plan? How are you going to do it?鈥� That is extremely rewarding. It鈥檚 really special.鈥�