Jasmine Acayo Okidi

Laying the Foundation for our Future in the Next System Fellows Program

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 17:30:18 +0000

Laying the Foundation for our Future in the Next System Fellows Program Wasiq Muhammad… Fri, 11/04/2022 - 13:30

Amid the complex challenges facing our world, now is a crucial time for young people to apply their talents toward building the future. As a leader in research innovation and civic engagement, ��ӽ紫ý prepares students to explore actionable solutions to political, economic, environmental, and more global challenges. The Next System Fellows Program is an inquiry-based, experiential learning opportunity for students eager to build a more just and sustainable global order for the future.

The Next Systems Fellows Program introduces Mason students to the emerging field of Next System Studies, connecting them with community changemakers working right now on alternative systems. Next System Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that brings together scholars and practitioners committed to reconstructing our economy, legal system, politics, and culture at local and global scales. In seeking a more just social order, the field prioritizes empowerment of marginalized communities and democratization of decision-making processes.

Dr. Ben Manski, faculty lead for the Next System Fellows Program and Assistant Professor of Sociology, emphasizes the importance of bringing Next System Studies to Mason students: “We connect students with transformative community initiatives to both aid the initiatives directly through engaged research and the labor power of students as workers, but also to better equip students to move on to become leaders in building Next System initiatives.”

Through the program, students will spend the Spring semester asking questions, learning theories, applying methods, and closely examining real-life cases, while contributing to local efforts. The program prepares participants for future careers leading change in their respective fields. In fact, Next System fellows are among some of the first around the world to be actively exploring the area, a testimony to Mason’s ranking among the top 10 universities nationally for innovation. Living in a center of the global political economy like the D.C. metropolitan area, Manski explains, fellows are well positioned to apply knowledge and skills for building our futures.

The program follows the cohort model of all Arlington Fellows Programs: a cohort of 15 to 25 students will enroll in four courses totaling 15 credits. These courses orient students to Next System Studies, probing system designs, system change, and systemic movements, all in a small seminar environment where peer fellows build close relationships.

Fellows will pursue an internship with a partner engaged in Next System work, bolstering their professional development with hands-on collaborative learning. Partners are drawn from a variety of different nonprofits, NGOs, and advocacy groups, including national organizations CODEPINK, Public Citizen, local organizations like the Virginia Solidarity Economy Network, and Next System’s very own Democratizing NOVA.

Spring 2022 Next System alum and Honors College student, James Condo, found this dimension of the program especially rewarding. “During my college career,” he recounts, “I had this deep-seated conviction that the system that we live in is not sustainable, and I wanted to do something about it, but a lot of the humanity’s problems felt completely insurmountable.”

Learning about the Next System Fellows Program, then, was an answer to his urge to take action. “I saw Next System Studies as a much more hopeful field. I wanted to see if there was an alternative to our system, what that would practically look like, and what the practical implementation of a next system would actually be.”

As a fellow, Condo interned with Democratizing NOVA (DNOVA), an original community-engaged research project of Next System Studies at Mason that connects multiple pro-democracy initiatives in the region. In addition to a group project creating a database of Northern Virginian democratization–with over 150 initiatives identified so far–Condo developed an individual research project on cooperatives in Northern Virginia. Through the internship and the research project, Condo was exposed to many organizations effecting change locally, an experience that has since shaped his academic and career interests. Condo has continued beyond the program serving as the Next Systems Communications Specialist, which involves managing their social media and a newsletter that reaches Next System scholars and practitioners around the world.

“For those who are from here, or who intend to stay here, they can think about the Next Systems Fellows Program as a route to creating a new identity and purpose for this region–being involved in setting the future for Northern Virginia, instead of having it set for you. They can become part of building their own future and the world they are going to inhabit,” Manski says.

From community collaborations to organizing workshops, plenty exciting opportunities are in store for the Spring 2023 cohort. Those interested in the field should also look out for a Next System minor, available in the near future. Apply to be a fellow today!

Topics

Next System Fellows Program

Center for Social Science Research

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Arlington Fellows

Addressing Real-World Professional Challenges through HNRS 361: Industry Challenges

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:23:35 +0000

Addressing Real-World Professional Challenges through HNRS 361: Industry Challenges Wasiq Muhammad… Fri, 10/14/2022 - 12:23

Internships are a major part of a student’s career development during their undergraduate experience. ��ӽ紫ý’s prime location grants students access to work opportunities in a range of fields across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. With 77% of graduates reporting having held an undergraduate internship, Honors College students are highly successful in scoping out and securing opportunities in the region. While many of the remaining students also successfully pursue on-campus projects, some students need to prioritize the jobs that help finance their education over these pre-professional experiences. In response, Honors College faculty sought out a way for students to pursue similar professional development opportunities without having to compromise their financial responsibilities. The solution? HNRS 361: Industry Challenges, a for-credit course built into the Honors College curriculum which brings high impact experiential learning opportunities to all students.

Industry Challenges is a unique section of the 300-level Multi-Disciplinary Challenges Honors College curriculum requirement restricted to students who have completed at least one year at Mason. As the practicum option (an alternative to the research focused HNRS 360), HNRS 361 is an experiential-learning course inviting students to take a hands-on approach to complex challenges. Industry Challenges, in particular, connects students with businesses that partner with the Honors College to investigate a challenge and present a usable deliverable for the partner. Past partners have included Peraton, Transurban Group, and Virginia Small Business Development Centers; during Spring 2022, students worked with Northrop Grumman Corp. and MITRE.

The course groups students from a variety of academic backgrounds into project teams designed to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration. With the support and mentorship of Honors College faculty and industry partner representatives, teams leverage their respective knowledge and experiences to develop methods of tackling a designated industry challenge.

As the highest-level course of the Honors curriculum, Industry Challenges provides a space for students to exercise key skills and competencies accrued during their Honors College experience. HNRS 361 challenges students to transfer discipline-specific skills to problem-solving outside of their specialty areas. Past students have enjoyed expanding their skillset through the group project and recognized the applicability of their newly acquired knowledge beyond HNRS 361. The course’s environment encourages students to build their capacity for multidisciplinary exchange, a critical skill for postgraduate collaborations.

One prior team partnered with Northrop Grumman, proposing ways of evaluating the efficacy of IT services used by the corporation to determine what constitutes a successful digital transformation. Student members of the Northrop Grumman team valued working with a corporate partner on an issue outside of their typical academic focuses. “Even though we aren’t STEM majors,” one past student recounted, “it was refreshing to work on a project that will be beneficial for our partner and increase our skillset.”

If you're looking for Honors courses for next semester, the Spring 2023 Schedule of Classes is now available to view on Patriot Web. Information on Spring 2023 registration dates and times is forthcoming, but you can expect Industry Challenges to be listed as an HNRS 360 option. Be sure to register to boost your career readiness while supporting a local partner!

Topics

HNRS 361

Honors College

internships

Fall 2022 Yoga Day

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:31:40 +0000

Fall 2022 Yoga Day Wasiq Muhammad… Wed, 10/05/2022 - 14:31

With the arrival of the fall came the perfect breezy weather to cool participants off as beginners and regulars, alike, enjoyed an array of benefits from coming together to practice yoga.

Since its inception, Argento has valued being able to connect with current students while practicing yoga and teaching participants about its significance. For Friday’s session, Argento centered the breath as the starting point for any yoga practice, taking several moments to ground and center so that the students could notice and connect with their breath.

“I used that as an opportunity to remind the students that the asanas (physical poses) of yoga are excellent forms of exercise,” Argento explained. “At the same time, it is the movement and consciousness of the breath that cultivates yoga. In addition to our breath, we focused on engaging the core and moving mindfully to ease our bodies into the asanas.”

Throughout the session, Argento guided the group through the multiple benefits of practicing yoga, especially important for students in college:

Physically, yoga reduces blood pressure, improves balance and mobility, expands lung capacity, promotes better sleep, and more;

Mentally, yoga reduces stress and anxiety, promotes a sense of calm, supports the ability to focus, and more;

Spiritually, yoga offers students an opportunity to connect with their personal beliefs, their community, the world - it is an opportunity to explore ourselves and what we need to find balance through moving meditation.

Patti Troup, a third-year Honors student and three-time Yoga Day returnee, was excited to learn from Argento again and spend the afternoon out on Finley Lawn. In addition to reaping the rewards of yoga, Troup delighted in quality time with Honors peers, faculty, and alum: “I also love seeing Telecia from Honors College and seeing Jaime since we are both interested in the professional legal world.”

For students like Troup, Yoga Day brought a chance to take a necessary break from college commitments. “I like being active and mindful so practicing yoga whenever I can makes me happy,” she shared. “Any chance I get to clear my head and stretch my tense muscles will be taken advantage of.”

Missed this year’s Yoga Day? Look out for future opportunities with the Honors College to support your personal wellness and connect with the Honors College community!

Topics

Second-Year Student Molly Izer: Taking Policy Research International

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 19:52:53 +0000

Second-Year Student Molly Izer: Taking Policy Research International Andrew J Schappert Tue, 09/20/2022 - 15:52

In This Story

Jennifer N. Victor

Molly Izer presents her work at the 2022 American Political Science Association annual meeting in September. Photo by Jennifer N. Victor/Schar School of Policy and Government

Molly Izer’s political curiosity knows no bounds. As a second-year student in the ��ӽ紫ý Honors College, she has already explored a range of political advocacy spheres. From her high school origins in grassroots organizing in Oregon to her freshman-year congressional internships in Washington, D.C., Izer is now taking the next step with policy research at Mason and beyond.

Merging her interests in policy advocacy and research, the government and international politics major at the Schar School of Policy and Government spent this past summer as a legislative affairs intern for the Executive Office’s Council on Environmental Quality and an Undergraduate Research Scholar with Mason’s Office of Student Scholarships, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR). In both roles, she developed an understanding of the internal dynamics of and interactions between Congress and the White House, areas she was encouraged to explore through her first-year research course, HNRS 110: Principles of Research and Inquiry.

“In my [HNRS 110] class we were taught to not only look for differences that we could see on the outside, but also look at why they happen that way,” Izer said.

Practicing collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing information through HNRS 110 prepared Izer for her summer OSCAR project. Mentored by Schar School associate professor Jennifer N. Victor, she investigated the informal dynamics that occur within the House of Representatives through congressional caucuses, seeking to understand how the interactions influence various types of legislative behaviors.

Her work culminated in presenting her findings before scholars at the 2022 American Political Science Association’s (APSA) annual meeting in Montreal in September, a rare opportunity for an undergraduate to present research at an international conference. APSA is the leading organization for the study of political science. The meeting convened in Montreal, Quebec, this year.

“The conference was a fantastic experience,” Izer said. “I felt I learned a lot, pertaining to both political science and research more generally. Everyone I met was very kind and willing to teach, and all encouraged me to continue to incorporate research in to my academic path…We received valuable feedback that we plan to incorporate in to the paper moving forward.”

Not a moment in Montreal was wasted.

“I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Victor as she chaired a panel, which was very informative and a great experience,” she said.

Sharing her work widely beyond the Mason community is especially important. On research communication and applicability outside of academia, Izer believes it is important “to [transform research] into something that other people can gain from and something that other people can see and learn from.”

She attributes her preparation for this task to her training in the Honors College. “The Honors College in particular teaches how to not just learn but to be teachers, and producing research gives us an avenue to be a teacher,” she said.

She encourages Honors College students looking to further their research or get involved in political advocacy to put themselves out there and ask for help. Her experiences prove to her that reaching out to the professor or applying for the position that interests you can lead to impactful experiences.

—Additional reporting by Buzz McClain

Topics

Research

Honors College

Schar School News September 2022

From Capitol Hill to Quebec, Molly Izer Makes Policy Research International

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 17:10:29 +0000

From Capitol Hill to Quebec, Molly Izer Makes Policy Research International Wasiq Muhammad… Fri, 09/16/2022 - 13:10

Molly Izer’s political curiosity knows no bounds. As a second-year student in the Honors College, Izer has already explored a range of political advocacy spheres. From her high school origins in grassroots organizing in Oregon to her freshman-year congressional internships in Washington, D.C., Izer is now taking the next step with policy research at ��ӽ紫ý and beyond.

Merging her interests in policy advocacy and research, Izer spent this past summer as both a legislative affairs intern for the Executive Office’s Council on Environmental Quality and as an Undergraduate Research Scholar with Mason’s Office of Student Scholarships, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR). Between both roles, Izer developed her understanding of the internal dynamics of and interactions among Congress and the White House, an area she was encouraged to explore through her first-year research course, HNRS 110: Principles of Research and Inquiry.

“In my [HNRS 110] classes…we were taught to not only look for differences that we could see on the outside, but also look at why they happen that way,” Izer recalls from the course, a first-semester requirement for all Honors College students.

Izer found that her Honors College background in research greatly shaped her success with the summer internships. “[Y]our job [as a congressional and White House intern] is to produce information and compound it in a way that people can consume it quickly, understand it very clearly, and they can apply immediately.”

Practicing collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing information through HNRS 110 also prepared Izer for her summer OSCAR project. Mentored by Schar School of Policy and Government professor Dr. Jennifer Victor, she investigated the informal dynamics that occur within the House of Representatives through congressional caucuses, seeking to understand how the interactions influence various types of legislative behaviors. In September, Izer looks forward to sharing her current findings at the 2022 American Political Science Annual Meeting. Hosted by the leading organization for the study of political science, the meeting convenes in Montreal, Quebec this year. Izer is eager to present her work before similarly motivated distinguished scholars, an opportunity to which she notes few if any undergraduate students are invited.

However, she is no stranger to academic conferences. In Spring 2022, Izer participated in the Midwest Political Science Association’s 2022 conference, presenting her HNRS 110 project "Misinformation: Gone Viral.” Sharing the product of her work widely beyond the Mason community is especially important. On research communication and applicability outside of academia, Izer believes it is important “to [transform research] into something that other people can gain from and something that other people can see and learn from.”

She attributes her preparation for this task to her training in the Honors College: “The Honors College in particular teaches how to not just learn but to be teachers, and producing research gives us an avenue to be a teacher.”

Looking forward, Izer plans to publish her summer research project with Dr. Victor. Her HNRS 110 paper is also forthcoming in the ��ӽ紫ý Review journal. She encourages Honors College students looking to further their research or get involved in political advocacy to put themselves out there and ask for help; her experiences prove to her that reaching out to the professor or applying for the position that interests you can lead to impactful experiences.

Topics

Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR)

Schar School of Policy and Government

U.S. Politics & Legal Studies