Maha Aamir

doctoral students

College of Science

Mason doctoral student uses archival practice to unfold the present

Pam Shepherd — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 21:23:28 +0000

Mason doctoral student uses archival practice to unfold the present Pam Shepherd Mon, 12/04/2023 - 16:23

In This Story

Laurence Bray, PhD

Gabrielle A. Tayac

As part of a military family, Timmia King, a doctoral student in history and art history at ��ӽ紫ý, was exposed to various cultures during her childhood. These experiences made her eager to explore new topics and gain insight into different people and their lives.

“I’m interested in community archiving, which is where community members participate in archiving and documenting their experiences,” said King. “It’s a way for individuals to take control of how they’re represented and put it out there for other people to participate or view.”

After earning a BA in Afro-American studies from Howard University and a dual MA from Indiana University-Bloomington in library science and African American and African diaspora studies, King chose Mason to pursue a PhD.

“The program I’m in focuses on not only pushing students into academia but also into the public history sector. I thought this would be a good place to gain academic training while being in an environment where it isn’t expected that you’ll solely go toward the academic route,” King said.

The community environment at Mason was a strong selling point for her, as were projects the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RCHNM) had conducted in the public history field.

The community environment at Mason was a strong selling point for PhD student Timmia King. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Along with community archiving, King is highly interested in African American studies, especially the ways in which African descended communities have documented themselves and their archival practices over time. She is focusing primarily on how and why they choose to document their customs and represent themselves in certain ways. This includes memories, naming practices, cultural practices (e.g., dances), and other traditions that are passed down (e.g., recipes). 

“I think what really influences my research interest is the strong desire to understand how and why people, particularly of African descent, have chosen to document themselves in certain ways outside of archival structures,” she said. “One way I’m exploring this topic is through naming, choosing individuals’ last names after enslavement, how they inscribed the memories on themselves, and what that means for them and future generations.”

Gabrielle A. Tayac, associate professor in the history and art history department, serves as King’s advisor. “Timmia's focus area on African American archives with community ties cultivates attention and value to overlooked and obscured experiences. Her research uplifts people whose lives and actions reveal essential experiences in history,” Tayac said. “Timmia brings wholeness and brave truthtelling to archival scholarship.”

King wants to help others learn about history and spread knowledge through her own passion in exploring that realm. Her thesis “Strategies and Approaches for Building an African American Digital Archive” displays a deeper look at the theoretical underpinnings of online community archiving.

“I am honored to be able to support Timmia’s innovative, compassionate, and rigorous work that uplifts African American community memory through archival practice,” Tayac said. “I feel inspired and encouraged that her community beneficial archival work will recreate historic understandings.”

In 2021, King was accepted into the Graduate Inclusion and Access (GIA) Scholarship program at Mason, a competitive scholarship awarded to new PhD first-generation college student applicants in need of financial aid.

“The scholarship is a recognition of the work you’ve been doing and also a way to say that you have people that support you, believe in you, and let you feel that what you’re doing is important,” King said. “Being a part of this community has given me more confidence in myself and my work.”

Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education believes Timmia’s work is already having a significant impact on American history, culture, and memory. “Through the GIA scholarship, I am delighted to see that Timmia is able to pursue her research interests and accomplish her professional goals,” Bray said.

Currently, King is involved in an ongoing research project titled “History and Culture Access Consortium” as a graduate research assistant at the RCHNM.”

“The project’s goal is to provide visibility to the collections at various HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] around the country,” King said. Her work includes helping to make a public website using Omeka S to share these collections,

King is interested in expanding her journey into the public sector, possibly in a job with a library or a government archive.

“Whatever position I end up in, my goal is to be available as a community consultant so that I’m able to help and maintain archives and provide guidance to others with their own archival journeys,” King said.

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Mason’s Virginia Climate Center delivers vital research knowledge and resources for Mason and the commonwealth

Colleen Rich — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 18:50:56 +0000

Mason’s Virginia Climate Center delivers vital research knowledge and resources for Mason and the commonwealth Colleen Rich Thu, 10/12/2023 - 14:50

The new Virginia Climate Center (VCC) at ��ӽ紫ý is leading research on tackling climate-related challenges, such as energy, vector-borne illnesses, and extreme weather and flooding in Northern Virginia and throughout the commonwealth. Funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and sponsored by U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA), this two-year, congressionally directed community project seeks to increase Virginia’s resiliency to the impacts of climate changes and variability.

Mason researcher Jim Kinter presenting at the Resilient Virginia Conference. Photo by Sophia Whitaker/VCC

“We have high hopes that the Virginia Climate Center will become the go-to resource for communities in the commonwealth to understand their climate risks and find more resilient ways to protect themselves from threats to human health, life, livelihood, and property,” said Jim Kinter, a VCC principal investigator and director of the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), a research center within Mason’s College of Science.

“Mason’s VCC has a powerful vision for resilient communities that is catalyzed by the university, advanced through partnerships, and powered by community engagement,” said Andre Marshall, vice president of research, innovation, and economic impact. “This boundary-spanning center is bringing together academic disciplines, municipalities, and the business community to form a new university-based cooperative framework that not only addresses the challenge of resilience, but also establishes a community-engaged model for universities to tackle the grand challenges of our time.”

One of VCC’s current projects is with the City of Alexandria staff to address extreme heat in the region through case studies and data collection of successful adaptation strategies in urban settings, such as cooling centers. Mason experts leading these tasks are Luis Ortiz, Marybeth “MB” Mitcham, Ed Maibach, and Dan Vecellio.

“[This project] will provide my students with the opportunity to explore and contribute to real-time work, as part of exploring public health community assessment and partnership strategies,” said Mitcham, director of Mason’s online master of public health (MPH) program and assistant professor in the Department of Global and Community Health. “Ultimately, our MPH students will help to improve the quality of life of local community members and help promote an awareness of the relationship between climate change and adverse health outcomes.”

The VCC is also working closely with Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) to support the installation of flood sensors and the development of a real-time flood forecasting system for the region. Flooding and extreme weather have devastating impacts on our communities and Virginia’s infrastructure and economy. Studies by Mason researchers predict more intense and stronger storms in our region, stressing our infrastructure and likely increasing the impacts of extreme weather in our area.

P Ruess, a postdoctoral research fellow on the VCC team, is investigating the relationship of road closures and water rescues. “I am excited to work closely with stakeholders in an advisory relationship reliant on direct and intentional stakeholder involvement,” Ruess said.

"My work on the NVRC project holds the potential to greatly benefit our region, the Northern Virginia community, and my own education,” said Zeeshan Khalid, a master’s student in data analytics engineering. “By proactively identifying and addressing road closures during flash floods, we aim to minimize disruption, reduce property losses, and enhance community safety. This project underscores Mason's commitment to contributing positively to the well-being of our community.”

Looking ahead, the VCC will remain in its partnerships with municipalities in Northern Virginia, including the NVRC, City of Fairfax, and Fairfax County, and will continue to work with them to address climate risks and codevelop adaptation solutions.

With the aid of funding from Mason’s Strategic Investment Fund, the VCC team in collaboration with Mason’s Local Climate Action Planning Initiative and the Institute for a Sustainable Earth, is expanding beyond Northern Virginia to aid Virginia’s rural communities in their climate resiliency and, now also, mitigation planning.

Learn about Sustainability at Mason

In this Story

Chris DiTeresi Named Associate Vice President for Research Integrity and Assurance

Pam Shepherd — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 20:37:09 +0000

Chris DiTeresi Named Associate Vice President for Research Integrity and Assurance Pam Shepherd Wed, 08/30/2023 - 16:37

Chris DiTeresi is ecstatic to take on his new role as associate vice president for research integrity and assurance at ��ӽ紫ý, where he provides leadership and strategic direction for the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) and its six major compliance programs, including human participants protection, animal care and use, research integrity and responsible conduct of research, secure research, export control and sanctions, and conflict of interest.

Chris DiTeresi

DiTeresi’s vision for his new position is clear: “cultivate the organizational readiness and relationships required to cope effectively with uncertainty and respond flexibly to new challenges.” He plans to achieve this through strengthening and deepening communication between the ORIA teams responsible for different compliance areas and those whose research relies on their expertise and support.

“The more ORIA knows about the research faculty and units are not only actively conducting, but also pursuing and contemplating, the better able we will be to anticipate research compliance needs and ensure that resources and procedures are well aligned with actual research agendas,” he said.

Feeling empowered, DeTeresi is eager to utilize all the resources in his new position to continue developing and implementing a university strategy for fostering a culture of integrity in research and scholarship while supporting an ethical and responsible conduct of research.

DiTeresi finds inspiration in the variety and richness of research, scholarship, and creative activities at Mason and is looking forward to continuing to collaborate with a network of colleagues and an already outstanding ORIA team. He is proud to join and support the full spectrum of values, commitments, and passions of Mason’s researchers.

“I am excited and grateful that it is now my job to ensure the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance continues to meet the diverse and expanding compliance needs of Mason’s remarkable research enterprise,” he said.

Prior to joining ORIA, DiTeresi served as a faculty member in the College of Humanities and Social Science’s philosophy department, where he continues to teach and holds a secondary appointment as University Affiliate Faculty.

His path from philosophy to research integrity and assurance became clear as he and his then-colleagues assessed the research environment at Mason and created a framework and strategy for fostering a strong culture of ethical and responsible research.

“To me, research integrity and assurance is philosophy of science in action, philosophy going where it is needed and making a difference,” he said. “What interests me about this position is that I get to pursue—in an excitingly engaged, complexly situated, organizationally anchored form—the same intellectual work that has been my passion for decades.”

Based on DiTeresi’s experience, he believes most people understand that integrity is essential to the research enterprise. Without grounds for trust and confidence in the conduct of other researchers, cumulative growth of knowledge would be impossible. With that said, he finds it helpful to emphasize that ethical and responsible research is impossible without the scaffolding and support of a research institution.

“One of the great privileges of conducting research at an R1 institution is that Mason is committed to ensuring that researchers receive the support they need to conduct their research responsibly,” he said. “Excellence and integrity in research are institutional achievements that depend upon researchers partnering effectively with ORIA staff and other research administrators.”

Topics

Office of the Provost

Faculty and Staff News

Meet Quentin Sanders: An Expert in Exoskeletons and Prosthetics

Pam Shepherd — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 20:46:02 +0000

Meet Quentin Sanders: An Expert in Exoskeletons and Prosthetics Pam Shepherd Fri, 08/25/2023 - 16:46

In This Story

Quentin Sanders

We had a conversation with one of Mason’s newest faculty, Quentin Sanders, who holds a joint appointment in the Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments where he is on the forefront of exoskeleton and prosthetic research and development. In this video, Sanders describes his work, his inspiration, and how he sees his research impacting the future.

Topics

College of Engineering and Computing

Research

Bioengineering

Mason graduate student awarded Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship

Colleen Rich — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 19:28:23 +0000

Mason graduate student awarded Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Colleen Rich Wed, 08/23/2023 - 15:28

��ӽ紫ý’s Senior of the Year has a new accolade to add to her resume: a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Hannah Adamson, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution, is one of 62 recipients nationwide to be awarded a fellowship worth $8,500 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

As the Phi Kappa Phi Deborah and John Yeakel Fellow, Adamson will pursue a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution through Mason’s Accelerated Master’s Program.

“I was looking at different options to fund my graduate study and I appreciated that Phi Kappa Phi offered applicants the opportunity to define how their graduate studies will contribute to achieving their goals,” said Adamson. “Knowing that an organization is comfortable investing in what I have to offer is empowering.”

“Phi Kappa Phi is one of the nation’s most prestigious honor societies, representing the next generation of leaders and scholars,” said Megan Bruening, director of Mason’s Office of Fellowships, who worked with Adamson on her application. “Hannah’s fellowship demonstrates how our own Mason Phi Kappa Phi chapter produces outstanding candidates from a select pool of applicants.”

“Growing up as a first-generation American, I have experienced the complexity of my U.S. culture with both my Irish and New Zealander heritage. Unifying these backgrounds is my commitment to make a positive impact, especially bridging social divides and protecting nature,” Adamson wrote in her personal statement for Phi Kappa Phi’s fellowship application.

Adamson’s goal is to have her education serve as a launching pad for community and international peacebuilding and environmental justice work. Currently, she works with a team at the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation as a program officer researching insider-reconcilers—community members who use their connection to conflict parties to work toward peace.

She also enjoys working at Think Peace Learning and Support Hub as a program manager of the Peace and Trust: Horn of Africa program, where she accompanies local partners as they facilitate conversations within communities affected by violence by implementing trauma healing and mental health support in the path to peace.

“As a graduate student, I will continue to focus on understanding how individuals, communities, governments, and organizations can collaborate to identify contextualized solutions and prioritize an inclusive and sustainable future,” she said.

A University Scholar in the Honors College during her undergraduate years at Mason, Adamson was selected Senior of the Year by Mason’s Alumni Association and will be recognized at the university’s annual Celebration of Distinction in October.

Looking to the future, Adamson aims to work either in a nonprofit, government, or inter-governmental organization. She aspires to bring people together to nurture sustainable communities, especially in terms of overcoming systems of injustice and ensuring all people have access to a healthy environment and adequate resources.

Learn more about the Accelerated Master's Program

Topics

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Senior of the Year

Honors College

Office of Fellowships

FamilyU cohort supports student-parents on campus

Colleen Rich — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:13:45 +0000

FamilyU cohort supports student-parents on campus Colleen Rich Wed, 08/23/2023 - 14:13

Attending college as a student-parent can come with work, family, and financial responsibilities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than one-fifth of all college students are student-parents. That’s nearly 4 million college students with children.

��ӽ紫ý team with members of Generation Hope's Learning and Innovation Team attending the 2023 FamilyU Cohort celebration at the Martin Luther King Library in Washington, D.C. Photo provided

At ��ӽ紫ý, parenting and expecting students are seen as valued contributors to the community. To augment existing resources available to student-parents on campus, Mason’s senior leadership partnered with Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Generation Hope to better support this student population.

Founded by Mason alum Nicole Lynn Lewis, Generation Hope focuses on supporting student parents through mentorship, financial resources, and systems- and policy-based advocacy.

“Mason and University Life have been working with Generation Hope since 2017—initially working to set up a partnership with the organization to eventually supporting student-parents at Mason through their Scholars program,” said Sally Lorentson, assistant vice president of University Life.

In August 2021, Mason joined Generation Hope’s inaugural FamilyU Cohort, which is a comprehensive, customized, evidence-based, two-year capacity-building experience designed to build and refine institutional competencies to improve student parent success. Mason was one of four institutions participating.

"Being an advocate for student-parents means I get to use my voice and experiences to shed more light on the resources and options available, while also helping to create more so as to bridge any gaps."
- Valeria Fernandez, FamilyU Student-Parent Fellow

“Being among the first cohort of FamilyU means that we were able to work alongside and in collaboration with other [Washington, D.C. area] colleges and universities who have committed to making their campuses more family-friendly,” said Shyama Kuver, associate director of Contemporary Student Services at Mason.

“FamilyU [helps] institutions identify barriers, set goals, and stay focused to achieve them, while working alongside advocates and experts in the work of supporting student-parents,” Lorentson said. For the FamilyU Cohort experience, Mason targeted four main areas of the campus ecosystem: people, policy, culture, and data.

Based on national and Mason-specific qualitative and quantitative research, Generation Hope provided Mason with a work plan that supported Contemporary Student Services and the Student-Parent Task Force to make direct impact on student-parents’ access to success and support campus partners in connecting with these students.

“Some of the direct benefits of this work were more consistent and robust student-parent and family-friendly programs across the three Mason campuses in Virginia, a toolkit from Counseling and Psychological Services that speaks to the many mental and emotional well-being obstacles that student parents may face, and the expansion of child-friendly spaces on campus,” Kuver said. 

Kuver shared that Generation Hope also “provided funding for us to have a student-parent fellow who supported our efforts by connecting directly with other student-parents and hosting a monthly student-parent community gathering.”

Throughout the two-year program, Mason student-parent fellow and psychology major Valeria Fernandez provided great insight by offering her lived experience as a student-parent at Mason. Fernandez also helped kick off the first Student Parent Outdoor Fun Day event on Aug. 5 through the Student Parent Community Spaces program she helped establish.

The time I spent as a FamilyU Fellowship member was something that I will never forget because it completely changed my student-parent experience for the better.

"Being a student-parent fellow helped foster a new level of pride and confidence that I did not have before," said Fernandez, who has a three-year-old daughter. "It also helped me see another layer to being a student-parent that I didn’t even realize before. Student-parents are not only changing their own future along with our families, but we are also providing our children with the knowledge that they can do anything they put their minds to by setting the example for them."

The FamilyU Cohort celebrated its “finale” in July at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.

Looking ahead, Mason is considering additional funding for the program through grants, actively seeking the FamilyU seal from Generation Hope, and leading the Student Parent Task Force, which was commissioned by Provost Mark Ginsberg and University Life Vice President Rose Pascarell last fall.

Learn more about FamilyU

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Mason doctoral student wants her voice to inspire others

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:34:20 +0000

Mason doctoral student wants her voice to inspire others Colleen Rich Wed, 04/26/2023 - 12:34

Losing those around you to acts of violence and prison is a difficult reality to accept, yet one that is all too familiar to Briana Davis, a first-generation student in the second year of her PhD in communication at ��ӽ紫ý.

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“I used to always think, how could we be in the same classroom and have the same teachers, but have two separate ways of life?” said Davis, who is originally from Norfolk, Virginia. “I’ve lost a lot of classmates and friends from back home to prison and gun violence. I think about what they didn’t get to do, and the opportunities they didn’t get to have. I’ve got the opportunity so I want to do it for all of us.”

After graduating from high school, Davis chose to enroll at Radford University, where she earned a BS in communication studies. After completing an MA in strategic communication from High Point University, Davis spent two years teaching sixth-grade and first-grade students in North Carolina.

Her teaching experience made her eager and willing to get a new perspective on communication, so she moved back to Virginia and applied for a PhD at Mason.

Davis said she was attracted to Mason and the Communication Department because of the faculty she’d have the opportunity to work with and learn from, and said she often feels that she is treated more like a colleague than a student.

“These are by far my favorite set of faculty and professors that I’ve had in all three schools,” Davis said. “I felt like with this program I would have the opportunity to explore what it is about communication that I’m the most passionate about.”

Davis also teaches COMM 101 Fundamentals of Communication, also known as inclusive public speaking, to first-year Mason students.

Her research interests stem from her background and hometown—an urban, low-income environment with mostly Black and brown bodies.

“Once I got to see the world differently, especially when I attended Radford University and High Point University—two predominantly white institutions—I started to see the difference in opportunity,” she said. “That pushed the growth on my focus toward marginalized identities, with race, gender, and class in mind.”

She has since shifted her focus toward instructional communication in the educational side of communication due to her experience in teaching.

“In the two years I spent teaching, the first year was at a Title I, urban school and the second at a grade A school,” Davis said. “I could see the substantial learning differences that took place in the discipline policies, the academics, in the students’ behavior, and the teachers’ approaches which stirred my interest into instructional communication.”

Davis also spent time exploring different methods of conducting research such as quantitative research, qualitative research, and critical methodology.

She is currently working on a research project that explains how trauma is present in education through the different disciplinary policies seen in various types of schools. One example she cites from personal experience is a school policy known as “silent lunch” that can be seen as a negative reflection of the school imposing it.

Emily Brennan-Moran, assistant professor for the Department of Communication, is Davis’s advisor. “Briana has a clear sense of the stakes of her research. She wants to make the classroom a less traumatic, more equitable place, particularly for young students of color,” Brennan-Moran said.

One of the bigger pieces of Davis’s research revolves around the “white savior” concept” and how these identities matter when it comes to learning. Davis presented on the topic with her abstract “What the White Savior Forgets to Save” at the 2023 Mason Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference.

“I have an opportunity to use my voice and deliver messages that resonate with people to look at life in various perspectives,” Davis explained. “Public speaking also gives me the opportunity to use my voice and be a voice for people who look like me.”

Richard T. Craig, director of the master’s program in communication and associate professor, who served as Davis’ advisor during the 2021-22 school year, describes her as a very talented scholar who can take complex concepts and make them relevant to her audience.

“Briana consistently looks at the means in which she can use her research to help the learning processes/environments of children from marginalized groups,” Craig said. “I like to think for my part I am a positive influence on Briana's development, particularly as a qualitative/critical scholar, I can certainly attest she has been a positive influence on me.”

In Fall 2020, the day after she submitted her application to the PhD program at Mason, Davis received an email that she had qualified for the Graduate Inclusion and Access (GIA) Scholarship.

“When I applied to the GIA scholarship and received it, I was told it is a very competitive scholarship that was open to new PhD first-generation college student applicants in need of financial aid,” Davis said. “When I read that I had been chosen, I swallowed that with a lot of pride because I’d been given the opportunity to teach and continue my passion for communication.”

Davis says the scholarship makes her think about her positionality when conducting research and gives her confidence knowing she has a space to work, talk, and connect with individuals that are outside of the standard, hegemonic views of society.

“When I get to be with these groups of people or lead them, it makes me reflect on my own identities and that influences my work,” Davis said. “I’m writing not just as a scholar, but as a Black scholar. I’m writing as a Black graduate student. I’m writing as a Black queer scholar in my work.”

Brennan-Moran is fond of Davis’ writing abilities and the way she weaves together theoretical insights with a stunning narrative voice. “Briana is an incredibly gifted writer—it is a treat to read her work,” Brennan-Moran said.

Davis’s main desire is for her degree to inspire people and to use the privilege of her current education to be the voice and advocate for people who don’t possess similar opportunities.

“I don’t want anybody that’s from my hometown or that I grew up with or went to school with to ever say that they don’t know anyone with a PhD,” Davis said. “I want my work to connect to them. I want to make research articles and papers that are understandable to not only my faculty and staff but to the people back home.”

Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education sees Davis’ story as an inspiration to future GIA scholars. “Briana’s story is a wonderful example of why scholarships, like the GIA one, are critical to higher education and can give every student an opportunity to pursue their dreams regardless of their background,” Bray said.

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Women's History Month

Mason PhD student’s personal experience shapes his passion for food access

Colleen Rich — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 20:50:06 +0000

Mason PhD student’s personal experience shapes his passion for food access Colleen Rich Wed, 03/15/2023 - 16:50

Food insecurity is something that Drew Bonner, a second-year sociology PhD student at ��ӽ紫ý, experienced before he knew what to call it.

Mason PhD student Drew Bonner. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Bonner’s interest in understanding food access was piqued during his AP human geography class in his junior year of high school, when the class studied food deserts, areas where access to affordable and high quality fresh food is limited.

“When I heard the term, I thought to myself that I live in a food desert. I realized that I grew up in one,” said Bonner, who was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “Even as a kid when I moved houses from one side of the city to another, I lived in a mostly black residential neighborhood where people were just above the poverty line.”

His firsthand experience with food deserts motivated Bonner to learn more about food access research.

“My family had trouble with diabetes and other health disparities related to food consumption habits and general access to healthcare,” Bonner shared. “That is a major part of what inspired my research interests.”

Bonner spent the following years heavily involved in church, charity work, food banks, food pantries, and food donations. He also volunteered with such organizations as The 6th Branch, a neighborhood development nonprofit that helps communities and schools restore and manage green spaces. These commitments helped shape his goals toward a career choice in sociology.

Prior to graduating with a dual BA in sociology and criminal justice and a minor in African and American studies from Mount St. Mary’s University, Bonner completed his senior thesis project on food access and how it impacts educational attainment. His passion to become a social change agent grew and he came to Mason to pursue an MA in sociology.

“I was attracted by Mason’s public sociology initiative and the manner they were interfacing with the community and wanted to make real change,” Bonner said.

In November 2020 in the final year of his master’s program, Bonner stumbled on a post about Mason’s Graduate Inclusion and Access (GIA) Scholarship. The competitive scholarship program is for first-generation college students who are incoming fall semester full-time students from populations underrepresented in doctoral programs at Mason and are in need of financial aid. He made the decision to apply and received the scholarship starting in the fall of 2021.

“The scholarship means everything; I wouldn’t be able to be in school without it,” Bonner said. “I thought the scholarship would help me make real-world impacts and be able to spread my research. I want to be able to get on the ground and improve people’s actual living conditions.”

The GIA scholarship allows Bonner to invest himself in the educational world, to have more time to read about his interests, and to network.

Bonner’s current research includes working with a food organization known as FRESHFARM, where he conducts program evaluations under two of FRESHFARM’s market programs, Produce Plus and GUSNIP, assessing how the nutrition and produce incentive access programs are working for participants.

“I’m able to see how other people are experiencing food insecurity or how they’re accessing food [grocery stores, food hubs, etc.],” he said. “Most of the people we work with are other Black individuals so just seeing the same experiences in another context really solidifies my work in research on how food access and food security are a systemic issue and something we need to address through policy and structural change.”

“Drew has already had a tremendous impact on our community, and I commend him for his work, passion, and commitment to helping people in need,” said Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education. “His interest and dedication to teaching, research, and services would make Drew a fantastic future professor in academia.”

Bonner wants to keep one foot in academia and the other in applied sociology and/or research. He wants to make a positive impact on people’s living conditions by working for a nonprofit organization, providing produce incentives to people more equitably, or being employed in government and implementing national policy interests.

He also wants to teach and welcome more people into the academic realm, specifically Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) to help them learn about food-related issues.

“I wasn’t aware of things going on in my own world. I knew something was wrong but didn’t know how to describe it. So being able to teach in any capacity would be of interest to me, specifically on food access and nutrition,” Bonner said.

Bonner’s advisor, Shannon Davis, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs at Mason Korea, describes him as a “truly public sociologist” who sees the value in developing a deep understanding of the social world and then using that knowledge to give back to society.

“He values social justice and is expanding his research skills so that he can more effectively work towards greater social justice,” Davis said. “You can see this through the classes he has taken, drawing from across multiple disciplines on campus to ensure he is framing his questions and analyses through deeply informed perspectives.”

Relationships between advisors and PhD students are critical for student success, and Bonner keeps a robust bond with Davis via Zoom and email exchanges.

His biggest and most ambitious goal is to have standardized nutrition across the country.

“I would love to have every grocery store, corner store, or anywhere that serves food to be able to access a brand that will allow them to have a sizable amount of fresh produce that also meets a certain quality,” he said, “standards that make real world impact on the accessibility of produce and how people can access healthy options.”

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

doctoral students