Category: Profile of a Senator

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July 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Erin Iacangelo Rogers: Staff Senate Chair and Event Coordinator, SciTech Executive Office

Erin Iacangelo Rogers, Chair, Staff Senate. Photo by Creative Services / George Mason University

 

ROLES: I manage SciTech event requests through 25Live, handle contracting with non-Mason event clients, give tours of the event spaces, provide logistical support to event clients, and provide coordination services for special events. This position allows me to be more connected with our Mason community and the surrounding community.

COVID-19 TRANSITION: The transition to telework and virtual programming was hard on events. We had to act fast in the event office to pivot and support virtual events. This meant doing industry research to find and purchase the best equipment to support this new virtual world. As restrictions reduced we also had to adapt to hybrid events and what that would look like for us and our clients. I’m thankful for the opportunities this presented me. I was able to learn a lot about managing virtual and hybrid events and expanded on my skill set as an event coordinator.

MASON JOURNEY: I began my Mason journey as a freshman in fall 2008 in the young degree of tourism and events management. In early 2010 I started working for University Life SciTech as the assistant special event coordinator then moved on to Artist Services with the Center for the Arts and Hylton Performing Arts. I briefly left Mason after graduating in 2012 then returned in 2015 in my current position as event coordinator. I just couldn’t stay away from the Mason Nation community! In my time at Mason I was nominated to serve on the Staff Senate in 2016, became co-chair to the events committee, nominated as vice chair in 2019 and as of this month have begun to serve as chair. I’m excited to see how my journey continues.

WHY I SERVE ON STAFF SENATE: Working out of the Executive Office provides numerous opportunities to collaborate with Mason leadership and VIPs outside of the university. I saw the senate as a great opportunity to expand my Mason knowledge, network, advocate, and be more in the pulse of the university.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: I am a Mason Patriot whether on the clock or at home. I am always finding myself working Mason into conversation. When I do disconnect from work I enjoy spending time with my two bunnies, new puppy, and going on hikes with my husband.

 

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June 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Alyssa Goff: Staff Senator and Administrator, Freshman Programs, Global Education Office

Meet Alyssa Goff: Staff Senator and Administrator, Freshman Programs, Global Education Office

ROLES: My primary role is to recruit, retain, and engage our ever-growing 200+ freshmen Global Gateway students who study abroad their second semester at Mason through the Global Education Office (GEO). This position has allowed me to grow in many of my strengths from social media management to building a rapport with our cohort via engagement programs to teaching UNIV-108, a specialized transition to Mason course. Teaching UNIV-108 is my favorite duty because it keeps me connected to the students.

COVID-19 TRANSITION: Like all Mason offices, GEO had to pivot our programs from in-person to virtual as much as we could, given study abroad is all about the experience. Our team had to find creative alternatives such as virtual internships and virtually attending a school abroad. Global Gateway was able to send 35 freshmen to Mason Korea for the Spring 2021 semester, and COVID-19 certainly added another level of stress for their transportation. Six hundred students studied abroad, interned abroad, or enrolled in virtual international experiences. It has been a busy time transitioning to telework and monitoring the pandemic around the world but it has also shined a light on many new online opportunities!

MASON JOURNEY: I began my Mason journey as a freshman in fall 2014! Time truly flies seven year later. My professional journey started in 2018, and I started my graduate coursework with the Tuition Exemption Benefit offered to all Mason staff. I completed my M.A. in Higher Education this year. In my three years, I have worked in a variety of offices within the university, and I am so grateful for the unique experiences contributing to where I am today in GEO. From undergraduate student to the role I have now, I hope my mix of experiences leads to being a successful Staff Senator offering a different perspective.

WHY I SERVE ON STAFF SENATE: I wanted to be a voice for the new staff who are finding their place at Mason and connect with more colleagues across campus. Staff Senate is a great place to remember why we work here and help each other out.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: I am a young professional, new dog-mom, and excited to see where Mason will take me! I wear many hats on and off campus, and I look forward to this new opportunity to improve Mason for our staff. GEO is a place for students to have a study abroad experience and also a place for individuals to grow and prosper. Mason has given me so much since I was a student, and I enjoy being able to give back through my work with Staff Senate.

Fast Facts about the Global Education Office

  • Students can choose from among more than 220 programs.
  • GEO maintains more than 100 partnerships in over 60 countries.
  • Each year GEO offers $500,000 in scholarships for study abroad.
  • Pre-pandemic, more than 1,750 students studied abroad during the academic year.
  • The United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and South Korea are among the most popular destinations.
  • Global Gateway has become a signature program for GEO and Mason, currently enrolling more than 200 students for the new academic year.
  • Some students participate in multiple programs and even graduate early.

Follow GEO and the Global Gateway

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May 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Stephanie Zeher: Staff Senator and Office Manager/Executive Assistant in the School of Integrative Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Stephanie Zeher, Office Manager/Executive Assistant, School of Integrative Studies. Photo by Creative Services

ROLES: I wear many hats in the School of Integrative Studies (SIS) and love each one. SIS enables students to design an individualized course of study or choose from many concentrations. I help faculty with the promotion and tenure process, run our website and social media accounts, execute all the hiring contracts for full-time faculty and adjunct faculty, and serve on our scholarship committee, among other things!

One of my favorite parts of my job is planning our SIS Degree Celebration Ceremony, annually held in the Center for the Arts. The past two years have been a much different experience but I truly believe the university has done its best to make it as special as possible for the students. The logistics of planning a graduation event range from student awards, live and streamed music, program creation, day-of timelines, scripts, and so much more! I love seeing it all come together and the joy in the students’ faces when they cross the stage.

I’ve been working a 32-hour-a-week schedule since 2015, which contributes to a wonderful work-life balance.

MASON JOURNEY: This September will mark my 15th year at Mason. My first job was in the Office of the Registrar at the ripe age of 21. I spent seven years in the degree compliance section, still some of my fondest memories at Mason. I also took advantage of the staff tuition waiver and completed a graduate certificate in higher education administration. I then spent two years in the College of Education and Human Development as the advising and outreach coordinator within the Academic Affairs Office. I went back to the Registrar’s Office for another two years as the consortium coordinator before taking my current role in the School of Integrative Studies four years ago.

You might say I’ve been around the block! My hope is that the variety of my work experiences lends itself to being a successful Staff Senator. This is my second time serving on the Staff Senate. The first was from 2011 to 2013.

BEST THING ABOUT WORKING AT MASON: The people! I’m always blown away at the amazing things faculty are researching and accomplishing in their fields. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest staff around! I’m so grateful for the friendships I’ve developed over the years. I love making new staff connections across campus. The students at Mason are so inspiring, especially during this past year. They are so resilient and carry so much more on their shoulders than I did when I was their age.

WHY I SERVE ON THE SENATE: I am one of the biggest cheerleaders Mason can have! I’m always singing the praises of the amazing environment this campus provides to all its constituents. On the flip side, if I feel as though a process or policy can be done better or is lacking a staff point of view, then I’m also the first to use my voice. I tend to get pretty passionate about issues as well. A few things I’m currently working on are implementing a flexible plastic recycling program (Trex’s “Bags to Benches”), encouraging the university to divest from fossil fuels, increasing child care options on campus for students, making senior leadership aware of the new software platform fatigue that staff are feeling, and bringing my 15 years of experience to the newly formed Faculty and Staff Experience (formerly called the Quality Work Life) Committee.

UNIQUE FACT: I’ve made 464 wreaths since the summer of 2019! I’ve sold 393 and given away 71. I do all the holidays and mostly use burlap and florals in my designs. I am so grateful to have a craft and hobby that has kept me entertained, especially with all the time we spent indoors in 2020. But don’t be surprised if you catch me on the soccer field watching my two boys (ages 5 and 7) play while also building a wreath.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: I have every intention of retiring from Mason. Something that I’d really like to do before I retire is to attend a study abroad trip with Social Action and Integrative Learning (SAIL), housed within the School of Integrative Studies.

 

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April 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Stacy D’Angelo: Staff Senator and Marketing Coordinator, Office of Communications and Marketing

Stacy D'Angelo, Staff SenateROLES: My role is to assist in the coordination, execution, and reporting on university-level marketing efforts, which often involves new tasks and responsibilities. For example, last summer I helped the Office of Continuing and Professional Education work toward its marketing goals. This past fall, I was the interim social media manager. (David Loughner is our new and amazing social media manager.) These opportunities strengthened my relationships with units throughout Mason while enhancing my goal to boost university-wide collaboration. One of my favorite duties is leading the monthly marketing group meeting. This provides an opportunity for university marketers to stay informed about the processes, tools, and changes that directly affect our success. The meeting is open to any staff member, so reach out if you’re interested.

COVID-19 TRANSITION: My transition was similar to many other parents out there. Overnight, my husband and I found ourselves working from home with our 3-year-old son. Our days were longer—beginning at dawn and often ending well into the night. As difficult as it was, I’m so thankful for all the extra memories we were able to make. My son returned to the Mason Child Development Center in September, where they have all been so incredible over the last year, and our schedules have returned (somewhat) to normal. Be sure to take time to thank the teachers and child care workers in your life. They are amazing!

BEST THING ABOUT WORKING AT MASON: I have never worked where the work/life balance is as valued as it is here. Coming to Mason has been eye-opening to what can be possible when an employer values this aspect of its employees’ health.

UNIQUE FACT: I’m from Mars! (Pennsylvania)

SUSTAINABILITY: Happy Earth Month! I feel very strongly about doing my part to make sure our earth is beautiful for future generations. One of the reasons I joined the Staff Senate was to work sustainability into the conversation. With the recent development of the ad-hoc committee Environmental Justice and Sustainability, we are beginning to identify the issues to address and potential initiatives to involve the staff in contributing to the university’s commitment to a healthy planet. This Earth Month, I ask you to think about what little changes you can make in your daily lives to make a difference. “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” – Anne-Marie Bonneau, author and environmentalist.

 

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Profile of a Senator March 2021

Meet Natalie Davis: Staff Senator and Research Initiatives Specialist, Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact (ORIEI)

Natalie Davis, her son Leo, and husband Stephen.

Roles: Primarily, I support the Vice President for Research, though I also provide support to our various offices and departments throughout. Overall, I help keep our day-to-day operations and initiatives running smoothly; as with most of us, this encompasses a number of duties and responsibilities. I love what I do, and I am consistently grateful to work with so many fabulous people! I enjoy seeing what the faculty and staff accomplish in research, and I’m glad to be part of this office and the larger Mason community.

Mason journey: I received my bachelor’s degree from Mason in Integrative Studies and held an internship my senior year with the Office of Admissions. This led me to realize how much I loved working in higher education. My first professional role at Mason was at INTO Mason, which was such an incredible experience. I have held two positions since then – one as Executive Assistant to the Provost, and now my current role, both of which have been tremendously rewarding. Overall, my time at Mason amounts to roughly 8.5 years, and I’m looking forward to many more!

COVID-19 transition: When COVID-19 first hit, I was serving in my previous role. I was assisting the Provost and our immediate team in any way possible, which especially included scheduling many meetings to prepare for what was to come and shifting and adjusting a lot of what we had on the calendar. It also included a lot of organizing and coordinating with my colleagues to ensure we had what we needed to transition to telework and responding to constituent concerns. At this same time, we were also preparing for the transition between our former provost and our current provost. It was a busy time, but manageable with so many excellent colleagues!

Staff support for research: I want to especially highlight all the wonderful staff and faculty who are part of research at Mason. Mason is one of the youngest universities (if not the youngest) selected by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as one of the top research universities in the country. While many of us working at Mason hear this often, it is a genuinely amazing achievement. Mason reported just over $220M in research for fiscal year 2020, a record high for the university. I want to give a shout-out to our staff throughout ORIEI, the units, and the university overall who do so much to support research at Mason. While we absolutely cannot perform research without our faculty, many staff also greatly contribute to making our research possible and supporting these endeavors. Especially in the era of COVID, there was so much our staff did to help support our faculty and ongoing research, and many processes that had to adapt quite quickly to keep things running smoothly. I’m really proud to work with such amazing people!

Best thing about working at Mason: There are so many possible answers to this question! I suppose if I had to choose one thing only, it would be the people (as so many before me have agreed!). Mason is what it is because of the wonderful staff, faculty, and students. I loved my time as a student, and I have greatly enjoyed every role I have served in professionally, and it’s all credit to the amazing people who are part of the Mason community and the environment we have all helped shape. I especially love that I have learned so much from those around me, and the diversity that Mason has.

Why I serve on Staff Senate: Should I say again that I just really love Mason? But because of that, while there are so many positives to working here and my experiences have overall been really great, I know that there are also things we can improve! I’ve always been passionate about making a difference where I can, and I believe serving on Staff Senate is a great place to do just that. I especially love finding ways to appreciate and recognize our staff, and to help advocate for an even better Mason. It’s really just an honor to be part of making a positive impact for our community!

Role model: A fun fact is that one of the people I most admire in all of history is William Wilberforce. The work he did for social justice (which tremendously includes ending the slave trade in England, but also many other things) astounds me. There is so much that we can contribute to our own communities and those around us if we only try. Wilberforce may have spearheaded many movements and initiatives, but he had many standing alongside him. In whatever role it may be, we all have a chance to contribute to creating a better world.

At the end of the day: I am a full-time working mother (to my spunky 2-year-old son), a wife, and a Christian. I’m incredibly passionate about peacebuilding, and I hope to bring some of these principles into the work I do at Mason and on Staff Senate. I look forward to serving our staff and helping make Mason even better than it already is. I am grateful for the education, flexibility, kind colleagues, learning opportunities, and career path that Mason has provided me and I look forward to “giving back” through my work here.

 

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February 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Natasha Boddie: Staff Senator and Administrative Specialist, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM)

Natasha Boddie, Administrative Specialist, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM)

Roles: Like many at Mason, my duties often go beyond my job title working at CAPMM. I ensure smooth daily operations for the center. Applying for the position of administrative assistant for CAPMM has aided in my continued professional development. The position has allowed me to capitalize on my current strengths and abilities as an administrator while learning the ways of the medical field in terms of cancer research through interfacing with patients, graduate students and through collaborations within Mason, the community and internationally. It presents me with challenges outside of my comfort zone, all of which I gladly welcome.

Mason journey: I started my Mason journey as a graduate student in 2006. My professional journey started in 2011, a few months after losing my own mother to cancer, when I started in a part-time role as a production coordinator at the Center for the Arts. Over the last 10 years I have held various positions within the university, all of which have been a unique experience contributing to my journey.

COVID-19 transition: During the early stages of the pandemic, my role consisted of assisting in transitioning my bosses to online learning via Blackboard and WebEx. Essentially playing ITS on TV. Summer was also a time of adaptation for CAPMM. My team redirected their cancer research to COVID antibody testing through saliva tests last spring, a study which would lead to the development of a saliva COVID test which would later be received by the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization.

The saliva test would track both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Over the last six months, I have been heavily involved in the hiring process in support of President Washington’s campus-wide surveillance testing as well as scheduling patients to participate in the antibody study on the SciTech campus. A co-worker described my role in the hiring process as “the eye of a hurricane.” It felt like just that.

COVID team effort: All tests are currently run in our CAP (College of American Pathologists)/CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) labs. The CAPMM team is working around the clock to provide accurate results to roughly 1,000-2,000 tests/day estimating about 5,000-10,000/week for the Safe Return to Campus initiative. Go team go! Our goal is to reduce the turnaround time to two days or less.

Science will continue to prevail moving us back to a norm. When this does happen, my team will be at the front lines to continue to write their own Mason history. Vaccine antibody studies are on the horizon. As the team answers the question, “Did the vaccine work for me?” you better believe I will be there, too. Stay tuned.

Best thing about working at Mason: I don’t believe there is one right answer. Flexibility. Diversity. Community. Those are a few words that come to mind. In my current season of life, the best thing might be working in an environment with such a talented group of individuals who consider you as an equal to the team, a bunch of doctors (scientists) who prefer a first-name basis, and bosses who are charismatic and family-oriented. I could go on and on.

I can’t forget those within the College of Science who have provided me with tremendous guidance and support throughout my professional experience at CAPMM. These are the people who create a sense of community on the professional level. For that, I thank every one of them and all those I have crossed paths with at Mason.

Why I serve on Staff Senate: To provide a voice for those who aren’t as vocal as I am when confronted with challenges classified staff experience. Believe me when I say, “been there, experienced that.” Throughout my life I have always been that person to fight for the little guy. I am truly appreciative to have been nominated to serve on Staff Senate to advocate for classified staff. I look forward to continuing to serve in this role.

At the end of the day: I am a full-time working mother of two, wife, entrepreneur, certified personal trainer (Total Boddie Fitness) and weight management specialist. Helping others is what I enjoy doing, although your strengths can also be your weakness. Sometimes I forget to take care of me which is equally as important. However, I couldn’t successfully wear all these hats if it weren’t for the flexibility that Mason has to offer.

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January 2021 Profile of a Senator

Meet Ana Lopez: Staff Senator and Administrative Assistant, Volgenau School of Engineering Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations

Ana Lopez, Administrative Assistant, Volgenau School of Engineering Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations

Role: I provide support to the director of Advancement as well as to the VSE Advisory Board and Alumni Development Board. I coordinate events and meetings, manage the office budget and provide stewardship to our donors. One of the most rewarding aspects is the awarding of scholarships to students. This past semester we awarded around $100,000 in scholarships.

What’s new: Recently, I assisted with the Mechanical Engineering Alumni Match Challenge to raise funds for the Mechanical Engineering Student Capstone Projects Fund and to establish a scholarship. I also work to increase the number of alumni who give and share the message that it matters not how much they give but the impact they can have by showing annual support.

For Homecoming, Student Involvement and Alumni Relations will host virtual events from Feb. 5-14. They’re designed with alumni, students, faculty and staff in mind.

Mason journey: I started at Mason in May 2016 as the administrative assistant in the Office of the Dean in VSE. A year later, a position became available in the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations. The journey has been quite rewarding knowing that our office is making a difference in the lives of our students and engaging alumni. It’s a tremendous source of pride for Volgenau that Mason is the leading producer of tech talent in Virginia.

COVID-19 transition: At the start of the pandemic, I helped pivot our department to remote work and ensured everyone had the resources to successfully telework. We created a student emergency fund that alumni, faculty and staff have generously supported to help many engineering students through this difficult time. To further engage our alumni, we hosted virtual happy hours and games. We also hosted our signature event, “Whiskey, Widgets and Wonks” virtually. This is typically a reception that includes a whiskey tasting from KO Distiller, which is owned by a VSE alumnus, and lots of robots and engineering projects that are interactive, informative and fun. For this year, we had the whiskey delivered to the participants’ homes and shared videos and presentations from our faculty.

Best thing about working at Mason: The people – staff, faculty and students. I have had the great fortune of meeting a lot of wonderful and interesting people and I treasure all these connections. In particular, the students have a special place in my heart. They are driven, smart and want to make a positive change in their communities.

Why serve on the Staff Senate: Over the last few years, I have developed a deep appreciation of the work my fellow staff members do. They are often the unsung heroes of Mason. I feel that in these times of crisis, there will be important and hard decisions that the leadership will be making that will affect the classified staff. Therefore, I felt it is important for me to represent and advocate for my fellow staff members. Classified staff is the foundation upon which the university stands and I am proud to be their representative and advocate.

At the end of the day: I am proud to work at Mason and to represent our amazing staff. Mason is doing a wonderful service in the community by providing wonderful opportunities for its students. I look forward to making a positive difference in the lives of my colleagues.

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December 2020 Profile of a Senator

Meet Lesley Irminger: Staff Senator and Events Coordinator, University Events

Lesley Irminger, Events Coordinator, University Events, with her daughter, Sophie

Role: The Office of University Events oversees events on campus including commencement, groundbreakings, and the annual holiday party. I assist departments across our campuses in making their events a reality! I help them determine what their event needs are and how to achieve their goals. Sometimes this is by consulting and other times by managing their event. I am also the contracts coordinator for University Events. In this role, I work with community members who want to hold events on campus. These events range from small meetings to large-scale political events and are central to the university’s role as the cultural and educational anchor of our region.

Mason journey: I came to Mason in 2008 as a graduate student in the Arts Management Program. I started working with the Center for the Arts as a development assistant and assistant to the executive director. In 2010, I joined the College of Visual and Performing Arts full-time as their scheduling coordinator. In this role I also helped launch Series25, now 25Live, for the university by coordinating its use for the Center for the Arts and CVPA.

In 2016, I joined University Events in my current role.

COVID-19 transition: Our office had to 100 percent change how we do things when COVID-19 hit. Everything we did prior revolved around the personal connection of events and meeting in person. We shifted our team to fully remote and we have worked with our partners across campus like ITS, Enterprise Collaboration, GMU-TV, and others to assist our colleagues in transitioning to remote events. This has not always been easy, and we had challenges at the beginning, but I am proud to say that we have found ways to compromise and collaborate on some really great events. Examples are our virtual commencement and our annual holiday party. The events connect us as a campus community and help shape the Mason culture. In many ways, these events took on an even greater unifying role this year with so many of us working or studying remotely for most of 2020.

Best thing about working at Mason: I love Mason because of our motto in recent years, “Innovation is Tradition.” Mason fosters both individuality and diversity. Because of this, each member of our Mason Nation has a voice and the opportunity to grow outside of their work position. All our individual strengths lie within not only our communal goal, but our diversity. I find our diversity and our dedication to it to be one of the greatest strengths of Mason and one thing that sets us above the rest. Mason is also a family and we work as one family for the betterment of our Mason community.

As an artist/arts activist, in my mind “our football team” is our arts. We have two wonderful performing arts centers and a university-wide mission to support, promote, and cultivate the arts.

Why I serve on Staff Senate: I feel it is important for all staff to not only have an individual voice on campus, but a collective voice which is our Staff Senate. I want to be part of a group that fosters community, involvement, and appreciation in our staff and our university. I strongly believe Mason’s staff is the “heart” of Mason. My hope is by serving I can help those who often feel they do not have a voice, or who have yet to find that sense of community, find their voice and understand that staff is valued just as much as our students and faculty.

Unique fact: I grew up in East Tennessee, Oak Ridge, and moved to Auburn, Alabama upon graduating high school to pursue a degree in marine biology. While there I marched in the Auburn University Flag Corps and started taking theatre classes. I have always had a passion for the arts, but after three years of venturing into the arts I decided to make it a career. I moved back to East Tennessee and took a few years to “catch up” and earned my BA in theatre from the University of Tennessee. Come college football season you will often hear a dual “War Eagle and Go Vols” come out of my mouth!

At the end of the day: I am a mother (to 13-month-old Sophie), a wife, a daughter, and an arts advocate. I am proud of all the struggles in life and am thankful each day for its blessings. Despite everything 2020 brought, I found time to appreciate the blessing of being able to be a stronger and more present mother to Sophie. I want to be an example to her and those around me. My favorite quote is by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

 

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November 2020 Profile of a Senator

Meet Matthew Berlejung, Staff Senator and Videoconference Engineer, Enterprise Collaboration, Information Technology Services

Matthew Berlejung, Videoconference Engineer, Enterprise Collaboration, Information Technology Services

Role: As a videoconference engineer, I help plan, deploy, and support web conferencing solutions in classrooms, conference rooms, and in the cloud. My office (Enterprise Collaboration/ITS) is currently working with a massive pilot using Microsoft Teams telephony. This integrates plain old telephone service into the collaboration tool Microsoft Teams. Pilot users can answer their office phone from anywhere in the world with internet connectivity. Additionally, ITS released Zoom and continues to implement new services to aid in the secure collaboration for healthcare and security-minded customers. Lastly, I am helping to retire Webex at Mason. I am proud to say, the Staff Senate is doing a great job at making the switch to the newest supported platforms MS Teams and Zoom!

Mason Journey: I started at Mason as an undergraduate student, earning my B.S. in Marketing. Within the first week of school, I was seeking a position as a Patriot Leader (formerly Orientation Leader) and a part-time position with ITS Classroom Support. After graduation, I was hired as a non-student wage in Arlington and later hired as classified staff in Fairfax. I took advantage of the free courses and earned my master’s degree in Telecommunications (and a graduate certificate in Telecommunications Forensics and Security). I have worked in the classrooms (Fairfax and Arlington Classroom Support), on the phones (ITS Support Center) and in the cloud (Enterprise Collaboration). When I am not social distancing, you can find me in my office in Innovation Hall.

COVID-19 Transition: I was assisting with the transition to remote work before most people knew what was about to hit us. Working closely with the Environmental Health and Safety Office, we provisioned 16,000 Mason employees for instant messaging and collaboration platform access. The telepocalypse has been exceptionally smooth – despite Earth’s inflammatory response to our human presence.

Best thing about working at Mason: I love working with people who are smarter than me and who are younger than me. They keep me learning, and they keep me young, respectively. The people at Mason who give 110% are my heroes.

Why I serve on Staff Senate: There have been many recent changes at Mason. We welcomed Gregory Washington as the new president, have seen sweeping senior leadership changes, and moved to a hybrid online work/education environment. When we return to normal, experts suspect many jobs will be changed dramatically. During this transition (and in the next), the Staff Senate will be very important in advocating for any new changes needed at Mason.

Favorite comfort food: Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich but I can settle for lunch at Ike’s.

At the end of the day: I am a proud father of two daughters (7 and 2 years old) and the luckiest husband in all of the Mid-Atlantic (and beyond)! I am proud that my career at Mason has landed me so many opportunities to continuously interact with such a diverse and talented population.

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Profile of a Senator October 2020

Meet Staff Senator Terry Hurley, Laboratory Safety Officer, Environmental Health and Safety

Terry Hurley, Environmental Health and Safety, George Mason University

Role: I joined Mason Nation in July 2017 as a laboratory safety specialist in the Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHS). EHS is one of the divisions of Safety, Emergency, and Enterprise Risk Management (SEERM). I became a laboratory safety officer in January 2019.

EHS provides support to not just the instructional and research laboratories on Mason campuses but also Facilities, Housing, and Auxiliary Services. Some of my responsibilities include conducting trainings, emergency spill response, testing of emergency equipment, inspections of laboratory spaces, hazardous materials management, and university compliance with federal, state, and local hazardous waste regulations.

COVID-19 response: During the pandemic, EHS and SEERM have risen to the challenge and remained fluid in our current and new responsibilities. We transitioned to online trainings, collected and distributed PPE and sanitizing supplies, established social distancing protocols in all Mason spaces, and assisted in on-site testing, all while providing our usual support to the university.

Mason journey: I became aware of Mason in 2006 during the men’s basketball team’s Cinderella run to the Final Four. In 2008, I became the general manager of Noodles & Company in Old Town Fairfax. During my time there, I had many employees who were students at Mason—some of the best employees I ever had. They were professional, on-time, and had strong customer service skills.

We would do fundraising nights for Mason, and the turnout and support that Mason Nation showed was outstanding and recognized nationally throughout Noodles & Company. I changed career paths between then and now, and when the opportunity to join Mason presented itself, I jumped on it immediately.

Why serve on Staff Senate: I want to advocate for Mason staff. With a large group of employees with many roles and responsibilities, it becomes easy to only focus on those we work with daily. Even as a newly elected senator, I already see that I only knew a little about the functions of the university. Having met the majority of my fellow senators online, I am looking forward to networking and learning more about the inner workings of the university while being a voice for staff.

Best thing about working at Mason: I feel like I am working with people who all have the same goal—making George Mason the best it can be as it becomes a leader among other universities. I feel like all students, faculty and staff take a lot of pride in where they work. This is a feeling that I have not seen or felt in many other workplaces. I also enjoy the quality of life, even with the added responsibilities that I have during COVID-19. I do not feel that I am only defined by my work.

At the end of the day: We are in unprecedented times that can sometimes be scary and frustrating. Yet I am really impressed with how Mason Nation has responded to the COVID challenge. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Patriot.