College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Summer internship lets George �鶹��Ƶ student help kids discover the joys of STEM

Katarina Benson — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 17:47:16 +0000

Summer internship lets George �鶹��Ƶ student help kids discover the joys of STEM Katarina Benson Thu, 07/31/2025 - 13:47

For Ryanne Mardini, the humanities and STEM go hand in hand. The criminology, law and society major's summer internship with WorldStrides has taken her across the United States, inspiring young scholars to explore the world of STEM through hands-on learning opportunities.

Mardini credits her humanities coursework for laying the necessary groundwork for her success as an advisor and ultimately strengthening her relationship with her students. Learn more about her unforgettable experience where she discusses her path to interning with WorldStrides, her advice to her fellow students, STEM's relationship to the humanities, and more!

Where is your summer internship, and what is your title?

I am an advisor and scholar support for “Pathways to STEM,” an Envision program by WorldStrides. I travel all around the U.S.

What are your main responsibilities on the job?

I have the rewarding role of guiding and encouraging young scholars as they explore the exciting world of STEM through hands-on learning. I support students throughout their adventure by helping them engage in activities such as dissecting calf hearts to learn about anatomy, building robots to explore engineering and coding, and designing rollercoaster rides to understand physics and motion. My goal is to inspire curiosity, build confidence, and ensure each scholar feels supported and empowered as they discover the possibilities within science, technology, engineering, and math.

Can you tell us more about where you traveled for your internship?

I had the opportunity to travel to American University in Washington D.C.; Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania; University of Dallas in Dallas, Texas; Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; and finally, Rice University in Houston, Texas. I worked with a different group of scholars every week. They never failed to surprise me with their large minds and enthusiasm to learn!

How have your George �鶹��Ƶ courses contributed to your success in your current internship?

I've taken a variety of courses that have strengthened both my scientific knowledge and communication skills. On the STEM side, I completed classes like nutrition, communication, and a variety of math courses, which provided a solid foundation for understanding scientific concepts and data. On the humanities side, I’ve taken communication and psychology, which really enhanced my ability to think critically and explain complex ideas in accessible ways—skills that are essential when supporting students during STEM activities.

How does your humanities major interconnect with the STEM aspects of your internship?

The humanities aspect plays a huge role in making STEM more relatable and human-centered. Through studying subjects like communication and psychology, I’ve learned how to approach STEM not just as a technical field, but as something that deeply impacts people and communities. This perspective helped me connect with the kids during the program—understanding how to communicate with empathy, encourage curiosity, and create a supportive learning environment.

How did you find your internship?

I found my internship through Handshake, a website for college students to find internships and job listings.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned as an intern?

Be patient. Not everything is going to go as planned, so pivot!

What advice would you give students about getting the most out of their internship?

Ask questions and do not be afraid of putting yourself out there!

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

internships

Students

George �鶹��Ƶ partners with DoD agency to bring closure to the families of lost U.S. service members

Shayla Brown — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:39:16 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ partners with DoD agency to bring closure to the families of lost U.S. service members  Shayla Brown Mon, 07/28/2025 - 13:39

There are currently more than 80,000 unaccounted-for service members from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, and other conflicts. �鶹��Ƶ’s ongoing collaboration with the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is exploring new ways of locating the missing remains of those American service members and bringing closure to their families. 

This partnership, which began December 2020, is finding success, and deeper meaning, as it extends beyond the classroom to the grieving families of prisoners of war (POWs) and missing soldiers, and it showcases George �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to being a veteran-serving institution.   

John C. Winters, MA History ’13, is a DPAA postdoctoral research fellow at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) whose research includes war, diplomacy, and the 19th and 20th centuries. 

John C. Winters. Photo provided.

“I’ve previously worked on cemetery projects, and my responsibilities were to essentially help not only map the cemetery as it stood, but to identify places where people were not cataloged properly, or were forgotten over time,” said Winters, who has been a fellow at the center since January 2025.  

Winters is also working with the Henry Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine with the goal of supporting and expanding a wide range of DPAA operations, from initial case development to field mission planning. 

“The advantage of conducting research at the Center for History and New Media is that the people there are experts in using intricate digital mapping tools. It's really wonderful to see that faculty, as well as graduate students, are so comfortable using these tools to make their research accessible,” said Winters. 

Digital mapping is a critical tool for the agency’s mission as it helps researchers visualize where someone was lost and supports investigation and excavation proposals.   

George �鶹��Ƶ has access to ArcGIS Pro, the mapping program that Winters is currently using to track missing or unidentified soldiers.  

“ArcGIS is a really dynamic program. There are a lot of facets to it including a base-level digital cemetery mapping, and the ability to create informational and visually engaging maps. They're accurate and concise, and they deliver all the information at a glance,” said Winters, who earned his PhD in history from the City University of New York in 2020. 

Jesse Stephen, chief of innovation at Defense POW/MIA accounting agency, said their mission has two goals: to search for, locate, recover, and identify missing-in-action personnel, and to communicate. 

Jesse Stephen. Photo provided.

“These projects are multidimensional and address active casework. They also tell the story of a conflict and of our missing individuals,” said Stephen. “That involves going back into archives and looking for information about a particular case or campaign. It's organizing, reviewing, and analyzing that information we find, and then putting all these different pieces together to build a case.”  

Over the course of the partnership, DPAA has learned more about more than 3,000 unaccounted-for losses. George �鶹��Ƶ Fellows have reviewed more than 1,000 deceased personnel files of people who served alongside the unaccounted-for. 

Throughout the process, DPAA staff, Service Casualty Offices, and family members meet and review the specifics of a loss. Documentation, including maps, is shared with family members, who can see where the last-known sighting of their loved one happened. 

The partnership also employs George �鶹��Ƶ students as interns and to date has given nine interns real-world experience in managing data, giving presentations, and project management. Beyond service to students, research partner fellows are encouraged to give presentations at museums and other venues on the mission and how unaccounted-for are found.  

“These were people who gave their lives while fighting to protect democracy, so I see the important work I’m doing at George �鶹��Ƶ as a public service and it’s relevant to a very large body of veterans in the Northern Virginia area,” said Winters. 

Currently, more than 150 Virginian service members are unaccounted for. 

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

U.S. Department of Defense

Meet the alum who probably made your George �鶹��Ƶ shirt

Katarina Benson — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 18:50:38 +0000

Meet the alum who probably made your George �鶹��Ƶ shirt Katarina Benson Fri, 07/18/2025 - 14:50

If you were given �鶹��Ƶ branded gear of any sort since 2006—from hoodies and tees to Hawaiian shirts and bucket hats—chances are good that Mike Ickowitz, BA Communication ’03, had something to do with creating it.

The 2003 alum was destined to market his alma mater. That destiny began early, when he was a freshman and recruited to work in the Admissions Office as a tour guide.

His fate as a Patriot salesman was cemented when, challenged to show his ability to generate school spirit during sports events, he donned a fuzzy green costume to become the lovable mascot known as Gunston (later replaced by the familiar Patriot).

Now Ickowitz is a custom merchandise merchant with a 3,000-square-foot manufacturing complex in his native Knoxville, Tennessee, and a client list with universities, businesses, and governments around the world. He is founder, with his wife, Tanya, of Patdome Promotions.

Mike and Tanya Ickowitz with Patdome George �鶹��Ƶ gear. Photo provided

The couple met in the Admissions Office while working to introduce prospective students to George �鶹��Ƶ. Ickowitz’s Patriot roots run deep. Even the name of the company is a nod to George �鶹��Ƶ: It’s a comic abbreviation of the former name of EagleBank Arena—the Patriot Center, where Ickowitz worked as a student.

“I worked in the parking lot,” he said. “It’s the greatest position from a student’s perspective. I worked before and after events, and in between I saw just about every show.”

Patdome Promotions began as a side hustle for the couple. In 2006, when George �鶹��Ƶ was making a run at the [NCAA men’s basketball] Final Four, the only place in the world to get a [NCAA] shirt was the bookstore, he said. “And they were sold out because of the demand.”

In fact, after knocking off No. 1 seed UConn in overtime in the Elite Eight game, the line to the bookstore was a mile long, he said. “It snaked out the back of the Johnson Center, around the pond, and around Patriot Circle for a shirt that was sold out.”

So Ickowitz created GMUGear, a dot com that became the university’s first e-commerce site. “If you didn’t live in Northern Virginia and wanted a shirt, GMUGear was just about the only place to get one,” he said.

While the Ickowitzes were reasonably profit motivated, he priced the merchandise “so that the average fan could get George �鶹��Ƶ memorabilia at an accessible price,” he said, adding that he always intended to spread the George �鶹��Ƶ brand focused on the fan while building a business. It’s a philosophy, he said, that still drives the business nearly 20 years later.

Ickowitz finds deeper meaning in his work than selling giveaway swag.

“I want our product to be on your shelf,” he said. “I want people to ask you about it. I want you to love it so much that you have it 20 years later. It’s the tangible part of the �鶹��Ƶ spirit.”

He’s particularly proud of the reach of Patdome into the �鶹��Ƶ Nation. “From the drawstring bag that a student receives on a tour to the graduation stole they wear four years later, and lots of branded giveaways in between, Patdome is a proud silent partner of George �鶹��Ƶ, working with incredibly talented professionals on campus who maintain the �鶹��Ƶ spirit from admission to graduation and beyond.”

Ickowitz is an example of a student who made the most of his college career. A brief television appearance as Gunston led to an offer to substitute during public appearances for the departing actor who was G-Wiz for the NBA Washington Wizards and Slapshot for the NHL Washington Capitals. “And I was the full-time mascot for the [WNBA] Washington Mystics in their first season,” he added. “All because I was Gunston.”

Now the Ickowitzes are a two-generation George �鶹��Ƶ family. The couple’s daughter, Rachel, is a University Scholar in the Honors College and a rising junior. She was recently named the 2025 Outstanding Sociology Undergraduate Student at George �鶹��Ƶ.

“We’re very proud of her,” her father said.

Mike Ickowitz and Patdome Promotions will present an educational seminar for university staff on branded products Thursday, July 31, at the Johnson Center Bistro; session one runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; session two runs from 1-2:30 p.m. Admission is free, but registration is required at this site.

�鶹��Ƶ Alumni

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George �鶹��Ƶ Honors College

This George �鶹��Ƶ psychology researcher is clocking in to make workplaces safer for all

Sarah Holland — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:09:11 +0000

This George �鶹��Ƶ psychology researcher is clocking in to make workplaces safer for all Sarah Holland Thu, 06/26/2025 - 16:09

Researchers have estimated that the average American will spend approximately one-third of their life at work. With more than 90,000 hours of our lives spent in our places of employment, we want those spaces to be as safe and welcoming as possible.

Photo provided

Yijue Liang, assistant professor of industrial/organizational psychology at �鶹��Ƶ, has made occupational health the focus of her work. Now, she’s working to develop a better understanding of workplace sexual harassment and how companies can protect their employees.

Liang started her career in finance, but an interest in workplace dynamics led her to shift to psychology. “I was interested in gender topics, exploring how women can thrive in the workplace and how we can make the workplace more friendly and safer for women,” she said. Specifically, the #MeToo movement inspired her to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

“After the #MeToo movement, we realized that this issue is more prevalent than many of us thought,” Liang said. “And we haven’t seen much improvement.” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data show sexual harassment claims remain high and have yet to trend downwards; as Liang notes, that only includes what is considered severe enough to be reported to the EEOC and is therefore limiting.

But by expanding the relevant research on workplace sexual harassment, Liang hopes to see those numbers start to decrease.

Liang found that most of the previous research has focused on the victims or targets of sexual harassment in the workplace, leaving a gap in understanding the bystanders’ role. “There isn’t enough research about what people can do to help the victim, whether a direct bystander who witnesses the event, or a secondary bystander who hears about the event.”

Building on the research she completed for her dissertation, she developed a scale of different bystander behaviors—confronting the harasser, distracting the harasser, supporting the target, reporting the incident to an authority, and discussing the incident with a coworker—including identifying combinations of those behaviors. From there, Liang, along with YoungAh Park at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, developed three latent profiles based on the combinations of behaviors: no or limited intervention, low-risk intervention, and active intervention.

According to this paper, all forms of intervention are received positively by victims, which she hopes will encourage more people to engage in low-risk or active intervention.

Organizations should also work toward a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment, Liang said. She suggests looking at policies and procedures to make sure the situation is treated seriously, with protection for the reporters and the victims and meaningful consequences for the harasser.

“We want to see more encouragement of active intervention, while emphasizing that even low-risk intervention can make a difference,” she said. “Hopefully, we can reduce or break the myth about intervention not being welcomed by the target or victims.”

Liang has another ongoing project to assess how harassers respond to different forms of intervention in order to map which interventions could be most effective in different use cases.

Liang is expanding her research beyond the office as well, with an ongoing project on gig workers and their experiences with customer sexual harassment. Preliminary research shows gig employees—such as rideshare and delivery drivers, dog walkers, care assistants, independent contractors, etc.—are particularly vulnerable to harassment, due to their proximity to customers, a lack of bystanders, and lack of collective representation or support.

“If people have negative experiences at work, that can lead to negative work behaviors,” Liang explained. “Having a healthy, supportive, and safe workplace for everyone is critical for higher employee performance.

“We spend so many hours at work each week, and our workplace experiences have a great impact on our well-being. We need to do what we can to make these places safe and supportive for all.”

Learn more about the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Program

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Research

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Psychology

workplace research

Kotcher named interim director of the Center for Climate Change Communication

Katarina Benson — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:12:23 +0000

Kotcher named interim director of the Center for Climate Change Communication Katarina Benson Thu, 06/12/2025 - 16:12

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Department of Communication at �鶹��Ƶ is pleased to announce the appointment of John Kotcher as the interim director of the Center for Climate Change Communication. Kotcher succeeds Edward Maibach, the center’s founding director and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, who is retiring after 18 years of leadership.

Kotcher, who earned a PhD in communication from George �鶹��Ƶ in 2016, has played a central role in the center’s research and impact for more than a decade. He currently serves as a research associate professor at the center, where he leads a dynamic team of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students dedicated to advancing public engagement and climate change communication.

Dr. Kotcher. Photo provided

Kotcher is a nationally recognized scholar and a co-principal investigator of the influential Climate Change in the American Mind project, a collaboration with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication that tracks U.S. public opinion on climate change and climate policy.

Over the course of his career, he has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on more than $1.2 million in research funding and has written more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. His work has appeared in leading journals including The Lancet Planetary Health, Nature Climate Change, and The BMJ, and has been featured in major news outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic.

“I’m honored to step into this role and continue the center’s important mission at such a critical time,” said Kotcher. “Dr. Maibach has shaped the field of climate communication, and I’m grateful for his mentorship and the opportunity to support our team’s ongoing work to inform and empower the public and conduct action-oriented research.”

Maibach is widely considered one of the most influential figures in the field of climate communication. During his tenure, he co-founded major national initiatives including the Climate Change in the American Mind project, the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and the Climate Matters program supporting broadcast meteorologists as local climate educators. In 2021, news agency Thompson Reuters identified him as one of the world’s 10 most influential scientists working on climate change.

“John brings a deep understanding of the science of climate communication that drives our work,” said Maibach. “He’s a thoughtful leader and a brilliant scholar. I’m so pleased that our center will be moving forward under his guidance.”

"The Center for Climate Change Communication has helped create an entirely new field of study and has served the nation in important ways since its creation in 2007," said Ann Ardis, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Science. "We are extremely proud of its work and delighted that its new director is a �鶹��Ƶ alum."

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

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Cowen named to inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy List

Colleen Rich — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:51:41 +0000

Cowen named to inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy List Colleen Rich Fri, 06/06/2025 - 10:51

�鶹��Ƶ economics professor and alumnus Tyler Cowen, BS Economics ’83, has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in philanthropy.

Cowen is being recognized for his leadership of Emergent Ventures, a fellowship and grant program, housed at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Mercatus Center, that backs entrepreneurial thinkers and doers with extraordinary potential. Since its launch, Emergent Ventures has funded more than 1,000 individuals around the world who are advancing work across a wide array of fields, including science, policy, and journalism.

“I’ve focused on trying to mobilize talent that otherwise is not discovered or inspired,” Cowen told TIME, explaining that he screens most of the applications himself.

Emergent Ventures’ successes include funding one of the first COVID-19 saliva tests via its Fast Grants program and a prison reform startup that used data analysis to identify more than 150,000 safe candidates for early release.

“Tyler's vision for Emergent Ventures is to do philanthropy differently,” said Economics Department chair Daniel Houser. “He created a highly effective and influential approach to broad-based giving that includes rapid decisions and taking an occasional risk. Tyler supports leading established scholars and also helps to develop prodigies at earlier stages of their career, sometimes as early as high school.”

Cowen, who has led Emergent Ventures since 2018, is the director of the Mercatus Center and a faculty member of the Economics Department’s The Center for Study of Public Choice. A nationally renowned economist, he is a columnist for The Free Press and contributes daily to the Marginal Revolution blog.

Responding to the honor, Cowen wrote on the blog, “It is the Emergent Ventures winners who deserve the real credit, thanks to them!”

The inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list recognizes 100 individuals who are reimagining the ways giving can drive meaningful change. Philanthropists from 28 countries made the list, including Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg, and Oprah Winfrey. Cowen was recognized in the innovators category along with Catherine, Princess of Wales; skateboarder Tony Hawk; and actor Michael Sheen.

The full list is available at here. Read more about Cowen’s work with Emergent Ventures here.

Tyler Cowen joined University President Gregory Washington on the Access to Excellence podcast to discuss Emergent Ventures. Listen to the episode.

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Alumni

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Mercatus Center

George �鶹��Ƶ researchers look at low-cost solutions to increase solved cases and boost public trust in police

Katarina Benson — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 19:04:38 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ researchers look at low-cost solutions to increase solved cases and boost public trust in police Katarina Benson Thu, 06/05/2025 - 15:04

It’s a sought-after “sweet spot,” where effective police response to combatting nonviolent crimes earns public approval and builds community goodwill—all within tight budget constraints.

Cynthia Lum. Photo by Office of University Branding

Reaching that intersection is no easy task. That’s why �鶹��Ƶ researchers Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper are testing solutions to help local police departments balance limited resources while strengthening public trust.

Lum, director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) within the Department of Criminology, Law and Society in George �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Koper, a nationally recognized expert on firearms policy and policing and CEBCP’s Principal Fellow, are leading a new initiative supported by an $839,000 grant from Arnold Ventures. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit supports evidence-based policy, research, and advocacy to address systemic challenges where traditional approaches have fallen short, funding initiatives that aim to drive long-term, bipartisan reform.

The project emphasizes practical scalable steps police departments can take, especially when it comes to serious property crime cases, such as burglaries and auto thefts, which sometimes get low priority due to lack of investigative leads, high caseloads, and limited police resources.

“We are testing whether low-cost actions will help victim satisfaction and will possibly help police solve more crimes,” said Lum, a former Baltimore police officer. “If this works, then I think many police agencies across the country, especially those who don’t have a lot of resources, but who want to try to do something, will have an accessible approach that can lead to real improvements.”

Most crimes in the United States go unsolved. Violent crimes have higher rates of clearance, with homicide cases ranking highest at 58%. Nonviolent crimes—which are much greater in number—are solved at much lower rates, frustrating many victims and eroding trust in law enforcement.

Christopher Koper. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

To address that, the agencies participating in the George �鶹��Ƶ three-year pilot will send officers to personally follow-up on stalled, low-priority cases that would not normally receive extensive investigation. If this uncovers potential new leads, it may increase the likelihood of solving these cases. Further, by demonstrating continued engagement, it is hoped that the follow-ups will improve victim satisfaction with police services and boost community views of the police. Lum and Koper will be measuring both outcomes.

“At the minimum, it gets officers back into the community, visibly showing their commitment to solving crimes and positively engaging with people,” Lum said, adding that this project will provide graduate students on the research team opportunity to learn how to carry out program evaluations and field experiments.

Lum and Koper are currently partnering with two police departments, one in Northern Virginia and the other in Maryland. While setting up logistics, such as data sharing and officer training, they are both optimistic about the possibilities.

“We’re trying to move the needle with a modest, low-cost change to investigative procedures,” Koper said. “That additional follow-up by an officer could make a difference.”

Should their research prove effective, they plan to disseminate the model and findings to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

“I think of it as helping police agencies balance the realities they face,” Koper said. “They want to solve more cases and earn a higher level of public confidence and trust. But they also face limits on how intensively they can investigate all cases.”

Study Criminology, Law and Society at George �鶹��Ƶ

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George �鶹��Ƶ undergrad overcomes health challenges to walk across the stage and accept her degree

Katarina Benson — Thu, 22 May 2025 14:25:23 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ undergrad overcomes health challenges to walk across the stage and accept her degree Katarina Benson Thu, 05/22/2025 - 10:25

Sporting green and gold Air Jordan sneakers, �鶹��Ƶ student Samantha Lewis rose from her wheelchair and put one foot in front of the other. 

Less than four months after complications from medical treatments left her without feeling in her legs, Lewis walked across the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the 2025 College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Degree Celebration on May 16. 

“It is a surreal moment,” said Lewis, who is from Ashburn, Virginia. “The ability to be able to walk across the stage when in January I was lying in a hospital bed with no feeling in my legs and I had no idea if I’d ever be able to walk again.” 

Heavy on Lewis’ mind at that moment was her late father, Matthew, who 36 years and three days prior also graduated inside EagleBank Arena with a bachelor’s degree in decision science from George �鶹��Ƶ in 1989. 

“He was my best friend,” said Lewis, who was 16 when her father died of skin cancer. “I know my dad is watching over me, and I know he is very proud of me. I wanted to go to �鶹��Ƶ because that’s where he went.” 

Psychology grad Samantha Lewis with the cap she created for graduation. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Last fall, Lewis was diagnosed with and underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, which occurs due to the compression of blood vessels or nerves, causing shoulder and neck pain.

Following treatment in late January, she suddenly lost feeling in her legs. Lewis had suffered functional neurological disorder, a condition that can cause paralysis and kept her in the hospital for more than 10 days. 

After several falls at home, she was admitted to the hospital again for five days followed by two weeks of acute rehabilitation. Lewis finished up an 18-credit hour courseload to stay on track to graduate in three years while receiving physical therapy twice a week along with visiting a neuropsychologist and therapist several times a month. 

“What I learned in my major, particularly in cognitive psychology, helped me navigate those changes,” she said. “Understanding things like resilience, coping mechanisms, cognitive distortions, and the power of mindset gave me practical tools to work through some of my darkest moments.” 

Lewis’ fascination with human behavior drew her to psychology as she desired to learn more about “how and why we, think, feel, and act the way we do.” Instructor Sam Neff, who taught PSYC 317 Cognitive Psychology, recalls Lewis always sitting in the front row and their conversations before class as he set up his presentations. 

“She is intelligent, inquisitive, and was always looking to apply the concepts we talked about to her personal life,” Neff said. “On numerous occasions she had mentioned that the course was giving her information that was causing her to have ‘light-bulb’ moments about herself and the way that her cognitive processes worked.” 

Lewis made the CHSS Dean’s List her last four semesters despite a heavy courseload, which included 26 credit hours over 10 weeks in summer of 2024 while she was also working at George �鶹��Ƶ Recreation as a fitness program assistant.  

Samantha Lewis with her family. Photo provided

Prior to the 2024-25 school year, she shifted all her courses online. She credits George �鶹��Ƶ’s Disability Services for helping and communicating with professors when she needed more time to complete coursework. 

“That kind of advocacy was really important,” she said.  

When her name was called, Lewis—with mother Kristine, stepmother Megan, and three grandparents in the audience—proudly walked across the platform, receiving a huge embrace from CHSS Dean Ann Ardis and a thunderous standing ovation from the thousands inside EagleBank Arena. 

“I heard the cheering, but I obviously was focused on making sure I didn’t fall,” Lewis said with a laugh. “I’m just overwhelmed by the support and response.” 

“It is giving me chills even now,” Kristine Lewis said. “To watch her actually walk across the stage and then see the reaction from her professors and her dean, who just embraced her with such a strong hug... and then to see the student body do it, there are no words. That was such a moment of support for her and us. I was not expecting that.” 

Lewis says she plans to take a break before considering her next steps. Her focus remains on making a full recovery as she has already gained sensation in most of her right leg.  

“It kind of scares me what I am going to do when I’m healthy,” she said. “You really can do anything when you set your mind to it. You just have to believe in yourself.”

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Economics grad leaves their mark and legacy on forensics team

Katarina Benson — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:11:27 +0000

Economics grad leaves their mark and legacy on forensics team Katarina Benson Thu, 05/15/2025 - 11:11

When Dawn Lowry, the director of �鶹��Ƶ’s forensics team, recruits prospective students to join the university’s intercollegiate speech team, she reviews videos of high school competitions.

A competitive speech coach for more than 30 years, Lowry remembers being blown away the first time she watched footage of now economics major Prem Ganesan in action.

Prem Ganesan. Photo provided

“They reminded me of a hurricane—all power, all energy,” Lowry recalls. “It was like if we can figure out how to harness that and control that energy, then they would be a real force.”

Four years later, Ganesan left their mark and legacy on a George �鶹��Ƶ program already rich in history.

Ganesan, who is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in economics, won individual national championships during their career in a record six different categories—the most by a student in the 75-year history of intercollegiate competitive speech.

They captured seven national titles in six different categories at national tournaments recognized by the American Forensic Association and the National Forensic Association: After Dinner Speaking, Communication Analysis, Duo Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation.

“They are a wonderful mix of artistry and analysis,” said Lowry, who is also an instructor in the Department of Communication. “They have a wonderful ability to find the story that hasn’t been told and show a complete diaspora of human experiences. They give performances that make people cry, but if you look at them closely, they are also technically beautiful.

While still in high school in Minnesota, Ganesan was drawn to George �鶹��Ƶ due to its economics program and the forensics team. The competitive speech program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has ranked in the top five nationally since 2007.

Ganesan has added to that reputation, helping George �鶹��Ƶ finish as national champion runners-up three of the last four years. They often delve into LGBTQ+ issues; the Indian diaspora; and issues pertaining to diversity, economic development, and racial injustice.

“There are not a lot of people who look like me,” Ganesan said. “Or who believe what I believe in, who are in this field advocating for what I want to see the world moving toward.”

As a sophomore, their championship-winning speech in the After Dinning Speaking category focused on economics’ diversity problem.

The category, “persuasive in nature,” Ganesan said, requires competitors to present a societal problem, explain why that issue persists and then offer a solution—all within 10 minutes. Ganesan utilized humor, a device they turn to often in their speeches, to address the problem and finish atop a category with more than 100 participants.

“I don’t like aiming for results; I like chasing the process of speech,” Ganesan said. “How can we take new risks? How can we push the bar on performance choices? How can we write cool lines that the audience hasn’t heard before?”

Ganesan speaking. Photo by Eduardo Macedo.

Ganesan has emerged as a leader, serving as a co-captain of the forensics team and teaching at high school speech camps during the summer both at George �鶹��Ƶ and Illinois State University, along with coaching part-time at a high school back home in Minnesota.

They were also the senior student representative on the National Council for the National Forensic Association, serving as the voice of the students and pushing for accessibility for all participants at competitions.

“[Prem] is always at the other end of the phone if you need advice,” freshman Emma Schaible said. “They are probably one of the upperclassmen that has been there the most for me and the rest of the first years (on the team).”

Added Lowry: “They are a powerful advocate in making sure everyone has the resources they need.”

After graduation, Ganesan plans to attend Illinois State—Lowry’s alma mater—to pursue a master’s degree in communication. They will also work as a graduate teaching assistant for the university’s forensics team.

Reflecting on their time at George �鶹��Ƶ, Ganesan said their interactions with students, faculty, and staff in the Department of Economics and on the forensics team sparked “countless relationships, friendships, and mentors.”

“Diversity is such a cornerstone of my college experience,” Ganesan said. “Interacting with a variety of human beings has been so transformational. I am a lifelong student, so learning from as many different people as possible and then taking their experiences and trying to adapt them into my own little pedagogy has been super cool to do. And speech has taught me how to do that. To take in, not to just communicate, but to listen to other people and learn from them.”

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Students

Senior of the Year champions kindness

Katarina Benson — Tue, 13 May 2025 18:36:17 +0000

Senior of the Year champions kindness Katarina Benson Tue, 05/13/2025 - 14:36

Senior of the Year Haley White said double majoring in business and art history was one of the best decisions she made during her time at �鶹��Ƶ. Her second best decision was joining the �鶹��Ƶ Chooses Kindness initiative.

White, who is from Lynchburg, Virginia, has been a driving force behind �鶹��Ƶ Chooses Kindness since 2023. “The idea behind the initiative really spoke to me,” she said. “I was raised to be polite, give back, and be kind, and I feel like we can always benefit from more kindness to ourselves and others. It’s not always about giving a compliment or holding a door—though those things are great, sometimes it’s about doing hard things, and �鶹��Ƶ Chooses Kindness really seemed to understand this.”

Haley White. Photo provided.

For her dedication to kindness in both her personal and professional life, White was named Senior of the Year by the �鶹��Ƶ Alumni Association. She will be recognized at the association’s annual Celebration of Distinction this fall.

During her four years at George �鶹��Ƶ, White has been very active with the Costello College of Business, where she works as a business engagement assistant. She was one of the main contributors and design lead on Costello's 47-page handbook on implementing well-being projects and co-authored an article on Costello’s introduction of kindness into their course curriculum.

“We do not know what we will do without her [when she graduates],” said Gretchen Hendricks, term instructor at Costello. “Haley has been an instrumental part of the ‘goodwill team’ within the Costello College of Business.”

In November 2024, White led 75 students, faculty, staff, and alumni volunteers and helped organize the largest Day of Service event in Costello’s history, resulting in 3,000 lbs. of food packed to support the Patriot Pantry.

“Haley embodies the best of George �鶹��Ƶ students,” said Christine Landoll, BS Accounting ’89, MS Taxation ’92, director of business engagement at Costello and White’s mentor. “She is strong academically, strong civically, strong philanthropically, and a kind and compassionate human.”

White said she fell in love with art history when she enrolled in ARTH 101 Introduction to Visual Arts to meet a �鶹��Ƶ Core requirement. First, she added art history to her coursework as a minor and then realized she needed to just add it as a second major.

Looking forward to where the road after graduation takes her, White said she hopes to travel more and “be happy with what I am doing. I have a lot more to learn, and I hope in 10 years I can look back and be proud of myself for all it took to get me there.”

And of course, kindness will be a part of that future. “I have become more intentional and more aware of what kindness looks like, and it is something that I am going to take into my future work and continue being an ‘ambassador’ for in my personal life,” she said.

Being kind to oneself is a core piece of White’s advice for incoming freshmen.

“It can be easy to beat yourself up when you get a question wrong or feel like you are behind others or not doing ‘enough,’” she said. “You don't have to be perfect every day or even do as much as you did yesterday—focus on being kind to yourself, doing the best you can each day, and even if you are afraid, reach out for help when you need it. Extending yourself kindness every day is a worthwhile practice.”

In This Story

Christine Landoll

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Summer internship lets George �鶹��Ƶ student help kids discover the joys of STEM

Where is your summer internship, and what is your title?

What are your main responsibilities on the job?

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How have your George �鶹��Ƶ courses contributed to your success in your current internship?

How does your humanities major interconnect with the STEM aspects of your internship?

How did you find your internship?

What is the most valuable lesson you learned as an intern?

What advice would you give students about getting the most out of their internship?

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