Author: Shyanne Hardy

 

Every year, as a new group of students and family members prepare to join the Mason community, the Patriot Leaders, hired student leaders within New Student and Family Programs, work hard to prepare and welcome everyone. The Patriot Leaders assist in making new students and their families feel at home here at Mason while sharing a glimpse of the Mason spirit. These students demonstrate leadership qualities both inside and outside the classroom and are passionate about helping students and families acclimate to the college environment. Patriot Leaders spend a lot of time assisting others in their transition to Mason.

Here at Mason, orientation is a university-wide event that brings a variety of offices and academic stakeholders together. Serving as a Patriot Leader allows students the ability to network with individuals from across campus while developing key professional competencies like critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration/communication, and commitment to cultural competence. Through the global pandemic and adapting to Mason’s COVID-19 guidelines this past summer, the Patriot Leader position continued to provide those involved a sense of belonging, a unique and enriching experience, while maintaining an emphasis on career readiness, mainly in the areas of virtual, remote, and electronic work.

New Student and Family Programs is looking for students who fit this description and who are ready to grow professionally while assisting students and families with this important transition to Mason. This position also provides students an opportunity to further their own personal leadership potential and individual growth. To learn more about the role and expectations, the full position description, FAQs, and the application link can be found at greenpolo.gmu.edu. The deadline to apply is Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. If you think your student would be a good fit for this role, encourage them to apply! 

#PL2021 #WearThePolo

Joseph Deluna
Assistant Director
New Student and Family Programs

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

No Fall Break, Mason Closed on Election Day and Thanksgiving Pivot
The Mason community should be aware of several changes to the calendar during the Fall 2020 semester.

Fall Break and Election Day
George Mason University will close on Tuesday, November 3, to observe Election Day. To ensure the closure will not result in a loss of instructional time for Tuesday classes, the university will not hold Fall Break which was scheduled for Monday, October 12. Instead, that day will be transformed into an instructional day and regularly scheduled Monday classes will meet and Tuesday classes will meet on Tuesday, October 13. (As previously scheduled, Monday classes would have met on Tuesday.) Faculty are encouraged to be flexible as students re-arrange the schedule for their classes and associated personal plans.

Thanksgiving Pivot
The Mason community should also be aware that following the Thanksgiving break, all classes and associated instructional activities—including final exams—will be conducted virtually beginning Monday, November 30. Therefore, the last week of the semester’s class schedule, and the final examination period, will be fully virtual. Please be assured that Mason’s campus will remain open after the Thanksgiving holiday. Residence halls and dining will continue to be open and operating, as will all other campus facilities. In addition, student services will be available and research will continue. Some students may need access to instructional spaces on campus to complete final projects for research and/or coursework. In those cases, faculty and students should discuss those needs.

To view the Fall 2020 Academic Calendar in its entirety, visit registrar.gmu.edu/calendars/fall_2020.

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

Career development opportunities for your student in the new virtual world
A full house of employers is expected for the 2020 Fall Career Fair on October 8 & 9 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. While the market has been somewhat uncertain due to the pandemic, there are plenty of employers still looking to hire Mason students and alumni. A range of national, regional and local employers are expected, including:

• Amazon, General Dynamics, Inova, Dominion Energy, Politico and other major employers from around the Northern Virginia area.
• Many federal and local government agencies are also registered including the FDIC, FAA, Patent & Trademark Office and several branches of local county governments.
• Nonprofits include the Cato Institute, the Institute of World Politics, City Year and Teach for America and more.

All Mason students and alumni are welcome to register and attend the career fair. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with employers in real-time to discuss internships and job openings.

The new virtual career fair – how it works and what’s different
We will be using a virtual fair platform that allows students to visit e-booths of employers in both camera, audio, and text formats.

• NEW: Registration is mandatory – Visit JobsConnected register by midnight, Tuesday, Oct. 6.
• Encourage your student to attend a preparation event before the Career Fair to practice speaking with employers and to have their resume reviewed. Events can be found on the Career Services Events Calendar.
• Suggest that your student attend the Career Fair professionally dressed to make a strong first impression. We have a Pinterest Work Wear board that they can use for ideas of what to wear.
• Your student can research employers attending the virtual fair. They can use their Handshake account to review the employers attending and the positions that are open.
• NEW: Your student can submit a resume via an employer’s Resume Dropbox. At the virtual career fair, your student will be able to upload their resume as an attachment to the employer’s Dropbox.
• NEW: Recommend that your student check their technology in advance. Since your student will be meeting with employers in real-time, it will be important that they check their webcam and microphone in advance.
• NEW: Encourage your student to visit our Prepare for the Fair page for more information about how to make the most out of the Virtual Fall Career Fair!

This year’s Suit-Up Mason Event in partnership with JC Penney is online! Mason students and alumni are invited to shop mega discounts on career wear, including shoes and accessories. Combine this coupon with other in-store offers for up to 60% off most items.

How to shop:
• Step 1: Text GMU to 67292 to get your Extra 30% off discount code (discount code expires Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020)
• Step 2: Visit jcpenney.com/m/suit-up to find discounted items

Bernadette Davey
Career Fairs Manager
University Career Services

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

There are a number of initiatives in place across campus to help students thrive at Mason. One of these efforts is Patriot Success, an initiative that includes an online survey that helps us learn both about students’ experiences at Mason and about their academic behaviors and skills. Data from the Patriot Success survey, coupled with a student’s college entry characteristics (e.g., standardized test scores, high school GPA), provide an early indication of whether a student is at risk for poor academic performance and/or at risk for leaving Mason. To see past Patriot Success data, please visit the OIEP website at oiep.gmu.edu/data-analytics-research/survey-results. This data can be filtered by college, program, and/or demographics.

Patriot Success establishes connections with all undergraduate students and enables Mason to be proactive in our efforts to identify and support student needs. Navigate, Mason’s online tracking system, offers detailed information about the issues students are facing as well as a network for making referrals and sharing information across campus. This network includes academic advisors, success coaches, University Life professional and peer staff, faculty members, and peer advisors.

The fall survey is available to all undergraduate students now and will remain open through Sunday, October 4. Please encourage your student to take the Patriot Success survey. The direct survey link is gmu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8ctU8wCusC4bVNb.

If you think your student would be assisted by a referral to the Patriot Success Team, please feel free to reach out to the leadership team for this initiative. They can be reached via success@gmu.edu or by calling Emilie Dubert at (703) 993-2174. Thank you for your support. These efforts will contribute to student success and to our overall retention.

Emilie Dubert
Director
Contemporary Student Services

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.