Categories
Mason Family Flash

Encourage Your Student to Get Involved: Apply to be a Patriot Leader

Patriot Leaders

Each summer as a new group of students and family members prepare to join the Mason community, a group of students known as the Patriot Leaders work hard in preparation to welcome everyone to the Mason Family. The Patriot Leader team is established to make new students and their families feel at home here at Mason while sharing a glimpse of the Mason spirit.

A new group of students is chosen to become Patriot Leaders each year. These students demonstrate leadership qualities both inside and outside the classroom and are passionate about helping students and families get acquainted to the college environment. Patriot Leaders spend a lot of time assisting others in their transition to Mason, and should also have a desire to further their own personal leadership potential and individual growth.

At Mason, Orientation is not just the product of one office’s work, but is a university-wide event that brings a variety of offices and academic stakeholders together. In this way, being a Patriot Leader is an amazing opportunity for students to network with individuals from across campus while developing key professional competencies like teamwork, collaboration, and communication.

Orientation and Family Programs and Services is looking for students who fit this description and are ready to grow professionally while assisting students and families with this important transition to Mason. The application to be a Patriot Leader, and more information about students roles and expectations can be found at http://orientation.gmu.edu/student-leaders/. The deadline to apply is November 28, 2014. If you think your student would be a good fit for this role, encourage them to apply!

Rob Miller
Coordinator
Orientation and Student Leadership Team

Categories
Mason Family Flash

Ask a Patriot Parent Email Now Available

Creative Services

Have you ever wanted to know more about the Mason experience from a parent perspective? If you have questions that you’d like answered from a current Mason parent send an email to askpafc@gmu.edu to connect with another parent in the Mason community.

Members of the Mason Parent and Family Council, a group of parent volunteers, will be responding to emails sent to askpafc@gmu.edu and are excited to share their experiences with current and prospective families.

Orientation and Family Programs and Services is happy to answer any questions you have about the university via our families@gmu.edu email address, however, if you have questions best suited for parents of a current student then please send a message to askpafc@gmu.edu.

We hope this new email address will provide more opportunities to connect members of our Mason family. We look forward to hearing from you!

Kaitlin Cicchetti
Associate Director
Orientation and Family Programs and Services

Categories
Mason Family Flash

Important Dates for November

Breastival

November 4Spring Registration Opens- Remind your student to visit Patriot Web
November 6Family Webinar: Career Planning Tips for Sophomores- noon EST (https://masonfamily.gmu.edu/webinars/)
November 14Hoopla: First Men's Basketball Game- 7pm
November 26 - 30Thanksgiving Recess- No Classes
Categories
Mason Family Flash

What You Need to Know: Winter Break Transportation

Sandy Creek Shuttle Stop

Parking Services wants to make sure that you and your student have all the important information you need as you begin making travel plans for Thanksgiving and Winter Break. There are a number of options that will work well for your student regardless of whether they are driving, flying, taking the bus, or riding the train.

The following options are affordable ways for your student to travel back home for Thanksgiving and Winter Break. Tickets tend to sell out, so encourage your student to book a seat early!

Buses from Mason to Regional Cities and Dulles Airport
Mason offers affordable transportation to regional cities and Dulles Airport during Thanksgiving and Winter Break. For Thanksgiving, all buses will leave on Wednesday, November 26 from Research Hall at the Fairfax Campus and return on Sunday, November 30. Cities include Richmond, Virginia Beach, Charlottesville, New York City, and many more. For a full list of destinations and to buy tickets, please visit http://shuttle.gmu.edu.

Ridesharing with Zimride (http://zimride.gmu.edu)
Ridesharing is an affordable way to travel home for breaks. Zimride is the University’s free rideshare network for students, staff, and faculty. Your student can sign up for Zimride with their Mason NetID to find others in their area to carpool with and save money on gas.

Uber
Uber is a taxi service that provides on-demand rides. The application is available for Android and iPhone. Uber is offering up to two free rides worth $20 each to new customers. Your student can simply download the app, request a ride, and use the code “MasonIdea” to get $20 off their ride. This is a great option for travel to the airport.

Other Transportation Connections

Burke Centre VRE and Amtrak: Mason’s Burke Centre VRE shuttle travels to the station and students can take a connecting Amtrak or VRE train from there.

Union Station in DC: Students can board Amtrak and Marc trains, a number of different buses like Bolt Bus, Megabus, Greyhound, and Peter Pan, and even access rental car services from Union Station in Washington DC.

Follow Us
Keep up with parking and transportation news on social media.

Twitter: @MasonShuttles and @MasonParking
Facebook: MasonParkingTransportation

If you have any questions, please email us at transpo@gmu.edu or call 703.993.2828.

Marina Budimir
Transportation Coordinator
Parking and Transportation