Jerome Boettcher

Center for Community Mental Health partnership provides behavioral health training

Katarina Benson — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 21:33:19 +0000

Center for Community Mental Health partnership provides behavioral health training Katarina Benson Wed, 10/15/2025 - 17:33

Since 2010, the Center for Community Mental Health’s (CCMH) mission has been twofold: train �鶹��Ƶ students to become behavioral health care professionals, and provide evidence-based, accessible, and affordable mental health care to members of the Northern Virginia community.

The center’s latest partnership checks both boxes.

From left: Claude Moore Opportunities CEO Bill Hazel, George �鶹��Ƶ Center for Community Mental Health director Robyn Mehlenbeck, ConnerStrong Foundation president and founder Tom Worosz, and George �鶹��Ƶ PhD student Lucy McClellan. Photo by Jerome Boettcher/CHSS

The center, in conjunction with nonprofits Claude Moore Opportunities and the ConnerStrong Foundation, hosted a four-day training in September led by Sources of Strength, a nationally renowned, evidence-based suicide prevention program, for nearly 30 trainees, including more than 20 George �鶹��Ƶ students. The goal is for the Sources of Strength curriculum to be implemented in local schools across Virginia, to improve mental health among youth populations.

“This was an incredible opportunity to bring together impactful partners to meet both aspects of our mission,” CCMH director Robyn Mehlenbeck said, “to be an integral part of expanding the youth mental health workforce here in Virginia while also providing our George �鶹��Ƶ undergrads some really unique opportunities to both be trained and then credentialed to give them career paths.”

In addition to the Sources of Strength training, 12 Youth Mental Health Corps members through Serve Virginia, and seven Youth Mental Health AmeriCorps members—all George �鶹��Ƶ or Rappahannock Community College students—are participating in a two-semester course at George �鶹��Ƶ titled Special Topics: Supporting the Youth Mental Health Workforce. By taking the course, all 19 students will meet requirements for state certification.

George �鶹��Ƶ students receive Sources of Strength training at the Center for Community Mental Health. Photo by Jerome Boettcher/CHSS

Five of the AmeriCorps students and the 12 Youth Mental Health Corps students will seek certification as a Qualified Mental Health Professional-Trainee through George �鶹��Ƶ. Two Youth Mental Health AmeriCorps members will receive certification as a Behavioral Health Technician Assistant through Rappahannock Community College. Both certifications are through the Virginia State Board of Counseling and provide more job options for these students.

“It is an exciting opportunity through multiple lenses,” said Lucy McClellan, a George �鶹��Ƶ clinical psychology PhD candidate who is teaching the course. “There is an ongoing youth mental health crisis. Engaging these motivated and passionate students will be a step toward addressing that. It can be challenging to find mental health service experience as an undergraduate so this experience is really integral.”

Bill Hazel serves as the CEO of Claude Moore Opportunities, which, in collaboration with Danville Community College and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, sponsored the seven AmeriCorps members. Hazel was previously the Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources and senior advisor for innovation and community engagement at George �鶹��Ƶ.

Since leaving his role as the Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources in 2014, Hazel jokes he has been on his atonement tour to address all the areas he “couldn’t or didn’t fix” while in his post. He said lack of “meaningful support” through behavioral health care remains a growing issue, especially for younger generations.

“What is important about this group is they are a potential workforce to deliver the service,” Hazel said. “When you get to be a certain age, maybe you lose touch with the younger generation. These trainees are as near to peers as you can get to dealing with teens. Our hope is that this training will be personally beneficial, as they look at their own situations and their own goals in life and that it will provide them career opportunities they will enjoy.”

George �鶹��Ƶ students and AmeriCorps members before Sources of Strength training at the Center for Community Mental Health. Photo by Jerome Boettcher/CHSS

Tom Worosz, president and founder of the ConnerStrong Foundation, has sponsored Sources of Strength training and implementation in approximately 20 schools in Virginia. Worosz founded the ConnerStrong Foundation in 2017 after his son, Conner, died by suicide at 17. The foundation’s mission is to bring awareness to mental health issues and suicide prevention and to change the discussion about mental health, especially for teenagers and young adults. The foundation has partnered with the CCMH for the last five years.

With the ConnorStrong Foundation, Mehlenbeck and George �鶹��Ƶ clinical psychology students hold monthly virtual workshops for parents of school-aged children from K-12 that are available throughout the school year. The workshops address a variety of topics, including domestic violence, social media, artificial intelligence, and graduation.

“Through finding like-minded people in our community—[CCMH] director Robyn Mehlenbeck, her team, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences dean Ann Ardis, Dr. Hazel and his staff over at Claude Moore Opportunities—and others who want to change the way we address mental health, we cover all age groups, but especially getting to our kids early and often has been a blessing,” Worosz said.

Learn more about the Grand Challenge Initiative

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

workforce

Claude Moore

partnerships

Center for Community Mental Health

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Students

�鶹��Ƶ alum helps suspend disbelief in Cirque du Soleil production

Katarina Benson — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:42:46 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ alum helps suspend disbelief in Cirque du Soleil production  Katarina Benson Fri, 09/26/2025 - 07:42

With the 20th anniversary of the �鶹��Ƶ men’s basketball team’s unprecedented run to the 2006 Final Four approaching, Gracie Valdez, BA Art History ’07, finds herself nostalgic. 

Not just as a George �鶹��Ƶ grad, but as someone who was on the court, traveling with the team, and performing as a member of the �鶹��Ƶettes dance team. 

Valdez is the artistic director for Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA. Photo provided

“We were all a really tight-knit team,” Valdez said. “We were making a name for ourselves. It was the basketball team, cheer [squad], and us, and we were working together. It was so special. It was magic.” 

Two decades later, Valdez is part of another team that suspends disbelief. She currently serves as the artistic director for Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA, which travels around the world and is playing through October 18 under the “Big Top” tent outside Tysons Galleria.  

Coming from a stop in Montreal, the show’s six-week run in Virginia serves as a homecoming for Valdez, whose family moved to Vienna when she was in fourth grade. Using stunning visuals, acrobatic stunts, and 10,000 liters of water (recycled after each show) in a mesmerizing waterfall sequence, LUZIA puts a spotlight on the culture and mythology of Mexico. 

“LUZIA is a love letter to Mexico,” Valdez said. “It is a very unique way of celebrating the surrealism, the art, some of the mythology in Mexican culture… I have Mexican heritage, and it has been a deep source of pride being able to share this beautiful work around the world. Then bringing it home, bringing it to Northern Virginia is extra special.” 

Valdez has been with Cirque du Soleil for more than 16 years, including the last nine with LUZIA. Her job consists of managing more than 45 artists, which include acrobats and cast members, along with the stage managers, coaches, and performance medicine therapists. She oversees the production show and prepares in case artists get injured or sick, ensuring the audience doesn’t see a drop in quality. 

“She is keeping the intention of the creation team,” said Cirque du Soleil publicist Charlie Wagner, who has worked with Valdez since 2019. “They really have freedom, but Gracie is great at giving them guidance. They are free to explore themselves and she is helping them to become better artists.” 

Valdez grew up participating in dance and performing arts but said she wasn’t aware this was a potential career path. Previously she co-directed the Washington, D.C.-based modern dance company Mayzsoul and coached competitive high school dance teams in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.  

At Mayzsoul, she was mentored by founder and fellow George �鶹��Ƶ alum Melanie Lalande, BFA Dance ’01. When Lalande took a job at Cirque du Soleil in 2008 as an artistic director, she persuaded Valdez to join her in a temporary post. She worked her way up the ladder as stage manager and assistant artistic director at a couple different shows for Cirque du Soleil while also picking up freelance opportunities in Australia, where she now lives. 

“The running joke on the team was always that Gracie was going to end up working for Cirque du Soleil,” former �鶹��Ƶettes coach Michelle Debban said. “She was one of the most flexible dancers on the team, and she’d often try to contort herself in crazy positions to see what she was capable of. I am not surprised in the least that she is where she is today.

“Dancers are generally so much more than just dancers—they usually know the ins and outs of running a show, whether it means costume choices or show order or making sure everyone is where they need to be.”

Valdez said the skills she developed as a student-athlete—discipline, work ethic, time management, and collaboration—resonate even more in her current leadership role. 

“That was a saving grace for me in my university career but also really taught me amazing discipline that I cherish,” she said. “We worked really hard as a group, as a team. We competed nationally for four years and were really successful. I think that was the highlight of my university career.” 

Valdez acknowledges the practicality of her humanities degree. With her double major, she took several painting technique courses and explored Islamic and Latin American art history. The latter piqued her interest as one of her final papers examined how the relationship of Mexican painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo fueled their artwork.  

“Taking that information I learned through those courses and here I am celebrating this Mexican culture, Mexican art,” she said. “I think it was pretty serendipitous in how my education all melded into where I am now.” 

The �鶹��Ƶ Alumni Association is planning a George �鶹��Ƶ Night with Cirque du Soleil on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. George �鶹��Ƶ alumni are invited to stay after the show for an exclusive meet and greet with select performers from LUZIA.

Connect with the Alumni Association

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Student Athlete

Student researchers show their work at OSCAR Celebration of Research and Impact

Colleen Rich — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:44:28 +0000

Student researchers show their work at OSCAR Celebration of Research and Impact Colleen Rich Mon, 09/15/2025 - 14:44

Foreign languages major Yamileth Hernandez-Becerra and community health major Melody Campos received a Best Poster award for their research, “Community Roots, Linguistic Equity: The Power of Outreach in Dual Language Immersion,” during the Summer 2025 Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) Celebration of Student Research and Impact in August.

Yamileth Hernandez-Becerra with the award-winning poster she created with Melody Campos. Photo provided

Their research was conducted as part of a George �鶹��Ƶ Summer Team Impact Project (STIP) that was led by Ellen Serafini and Jihye Moon, associate professors in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS).

The symposium, held at Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center, offered undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to showcase their research to �鶹��Ƶ community.

For the STIP program, faculty make a proposal to the Office of Undergraduate Education in the Provost’s Office. Projects are then selected for funding. Serafini and Moon’s summer project focused on language, educational access, and social equity in local bilingual schools.

The team observed teachers at dual language immersion programs at two Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) elementary schools—Laurel Ridge Elementary School (Spanish) and Colin Powell Elementary School (Korean)—and interviewed teachers, school administrators, parents, FCPS board members, and state administrators.

George �鶹��Ƶ students Sarah Choudary and Sukyoung Yoon presented their Summer Impact project research on language immersion programs at the OSCAR Celebration. Photo provided

“This is a student-led project,” Moon said. “The students started from scratch coming up with the research questions and designing the research. They identified who the major stakeholders were in this program and interviewed them.”

Graduate teaching assistant Teo Rogers Mendizabal, who is working on a degree in Cultural Studies, worked on the project with eight undergraduates: Campos, Hernandez-Becerra, English and foreign languages major Sarah Choudhary, global affairs Sukyoung Yoon, foreign languages major Chloe Davis, global affairs and foreign languages major Avery Rhoden, mathematics and foreign languages major Giselle Concepcion, and foreign languages major Roslyn Brown.

“It has been an eye-opening experience for me to learn about these programs.… I’ve learned a lot,” said Hernandez-Becerra, who attended nearby Robinson High School. “It feels great to give back to my community and see what I can do to help them.”

In addition to the STIP research, a handful of CHSS students also presented at the symposium as part of research conducted through the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) from OSCAR.

English major Amaiyah-monet Parker presented on “Multi-generational Experiences of Structural Racism and the Denial of Innocence in the Lives of Black Girls in Philadelphia.”
Psychology majors Mehmood Shajih and Minasi H. Kaluappuwa presented research titled “Parents’ Beliefs �鶹��Ƶ Child Development and Child Executive Functioning.”
Psychology major Keyanna Jackson presented a study on “Researching Self Actualization: How Queer POC Integrate their Intersectional Identities.”
Aileen Fezzie, a psychology and criminology, law, and society double major, researched “Differential Susceptibility to Social Influence Across Cultural Orientations.
Integrative studies major Alessaundra Shallal conducted an oral history study titled “Living Between Labels: An Oral History on Race, Religion, and Recognition Among MENA Students at GMU (1960 to 2025)."

“I’m so honored to have received this funding and this platform to share something that I believe deserves more visibility,” Shallal said. “The fact George �鶹��Ƶ offers this is incredibly telling of its values.”

Check out more research from OSCAR

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Students

Research

Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR)

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Summer Impact

Honors College

Potomac Health Foundation grant will support expanded community mental health services in Prince William County

Colleen Rich — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 17:14:21 +0000

Potomac Health Foundation grant will support expanded community mental health services in Prince William County Colleen Rich Mon, 09/08/2025 - 13:14

As executive director of the Human Services Alliance of Greater Prince William, Martina Jackson Green said many of the needs the nonprofit organization addressed coming out of the pandemic were immediate.

Robyn Mehlenbeck (right) is director of the Center for Community Mental Health. Photo provided

The association provided funding to community organizations and individuals who helped Prince William County residents with paying their rent or resolving food insecurities. While mental health services received some aid, Jackson Green said it has become a priority that residents have access to affordable options.

�鶹��Ƶ’s Center for Community Mental Health (CCMH) aims to fill that need. Recently, the CCMH received a grant from the Potomac Health Foundation that will directly support its Stepped Mental Health Care Program.

“Funding for the center is important because there are so many people in the community who need quality care at a rate they can afford,” Jackson Green said. “This center provides accessible care that meets community members where they are. Language, cost, and transportation are often barriers to service. This program has accounted for those barriers. I think the center meets the needs of our community in a lot of ways.”

The three-stepped program from CCMH offers evidenced-based mental health care and provides a free, confidential emotional support line seven days a week with clinicians fluent in Spanish and English. The second step provides skills-based therapy for adults, with a three-session telehealth intervention, which is free for Prince William County residents (along with veterans and George �鶹��Ƶ students, faculty, staff or contractors). Finally, longer-term therapy is available upon referral to children, teenagers, and adults on a sliding pay scale.

In addition to funding services for Prince William County residents, the Potomac Health Foundation grant will also support community outreach, including making presentations, connecting with community leaders, and developing a community advisory board.

“We understand mental health is a huge need in the community,” said Imani Amponsah, senior program officer for the Potomac Health Foundation. “We loved that it was in Spanish and English so that it was bilingual, which we think is very important for our community. Prince William County is home to such a diverse population—it serves a very important need in our community.”

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, more than 21% of all households in Prince William County reported Spanish as their primary language.

George �鶹��Ƶ psychology professor Robyn Mehlenbeck, who has served as the director of CCMH since 2010, said the emotional support line and the telehealth option is important for many of the center’s Spanish-speaking clients who are hesitant to leave their homes for safety reasons.

On the other side of the phone line and in therapeutic sessions are George �鶹��Ƶ undergraduate and graduate students providing services under the supervision of licensed faculty who are practicing, teaching, or conducting nationally funded research.

Mehlenbeck believes the special hands-on experience students receive by being immersed in the community, especially working with groups such as veterans, will hopefully spur them to pay it forward in the future.

“We have so many people who are so passionate about wanting to get experiences; it is just a win-win,” Mehlenbeck said. “They get real-life experience. So many of our George �鶹��Ƶ students want to give back to the community and we have a developmental trajectory. I think it is incredibly rewarding because I feel very strongly the more we train folks in communities, the more they are likely to give back later on.”

Clinical psychology PhD candidate Patricia Mejia already appears to be on that track. Meijia, who also received her master’s degree from George �鶹��Ƶ, has spent the past three years working at the center in a variety of roles. She is currently the supervisor for the Spanish emotional support line, has served as a student clinician for adults and children in therapeutic sessions, provided psychological assessments, and conducted qualitative interviews for her research.

Mejia says the center has opened her eyes to possibly pursue a career similar to Mehlenbeck’s where she is teaching in higher education while also overseeing a center devoted to community mental health. “Given that I want to wear numerous hats, the clinic really does provide a great training opportunity either for those who know what they want to do and want to get training, or it is a good space for finding yourself,” Mejia said. “Truly, it is a very enriching experience and, importantly, we are able to work with really great community [members] and see the impact we are making on a day-to-day basis.”

Topics

Campus News

Community Impact

Mental Health

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Graduate student’s research examines how identity impacts world affairs

Katarina Benson — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:33:14 +0000

Graduate student’s research examines how identity impacts world affairs Katarina Benson Tue, 08/05/2025 - 14:33

Ilya Kim brought a unique perspective to his studies at �鶹��Ƶ. He grew up as ethnic minority in Russia, living in the country until his family moved to South Korea in 2008 when he was 8.

That experience has informed his studies, first as a global affairs major who spent three years at �鶹��Ƶ Korea, where he also served as �鶹��Ƶ Korea’s student council president and worked as a resident advisor and University Life office intern.

When he arrived at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Fairfax Campus he already knew he wanted to pursue a master’s degree in sociology. He reached out to Shannon Davis, who spent three years as �鶹��Ƶ Korea’s associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in addition to 15 years with George �鶹��Ƶ’s Sociology Department.

Kim in his graduation regalia. Photo provided

She in turn was able to point Kim to John Dale, associate professor of sociology and director of Movement Engaged, the social movement research hub of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ (CHSS) Center for Social Science Research (CSSR).

“[Dale] was really the guy who got me to where I am in my graduate studies,” Kim said.

Indeed, it didn’t take long for Dale to be equally impressed by Kim, who he first met in his CONF 399 Sociology of Human Rights course in fall 2022.

“It quickly became apparent to me and his classmates that he was the brightest kid in the class,” Dale said. “I gave him an A-plus, and I never give an A-plus.”

As a master’s student, Kim has built on his undergraduate work with Movement Engaged, learning under Dale and working alongside PhD students.

“That exposure to high-level learning and people who are about to defend their thesis made me work harder because I wanted to be at their level to contribute to the discussion,” Kim said.

He continued his community involvement at the Fairfax Campus, serving as a community assistant for the university’s Office of Housing and Residential Life. In 2022, Kim received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers.

Kim is on track to finish his master’s degree from George �鶹��Ƶ in the fall of 2026 and continues to expand on his research for his capstone project: “Sakhalin Island: Nexus of Transnational Movements.”

Dale has called Kim’s research a fascinating case study of globalization and transnational politics that could turn into a PhD dissertation.

The project examines the small Russian island of Sakhalin, which is more than 4,000 miles east of Moscow and sits in the Pacific Ocean just north of Japan. The island is inhabited by half a million people, including Russians, Indigenous peoples, Koreans, and even Americans. Kim has a close connection to the island, as his grandparents used to live there and distant relatives still reside there.

“It is very hard to find someone with the background Ilya has in Russia who can write well, do that translation and research in Russia,” Dale said. “Especially [someone] who also would be seeing it from the perspective of an ethnic minority position inside Russia, and so have more of a critical history of the formation of their constitution, which is what brought new insight to the possibilities for reform.”

“It is almost a little wildlife reserve of many of these identities there, and somehow they are all co-existing,” Kim said of Sakhalin. “But there are also tensions. I argue that people on that specific island are interesting to study because of how unique their identity and perspective is. If we can understand what Russia is and what type of identity it projects, then it kind of gives us a blueprint of how we can work with those groups—not just on paper, but in reality.”

Kim’s work received the 2025 College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Challenge Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional students who have demonstrated academic excellence, a commitment to education as a powerful tool for change, and commitment to leadership and community engagement. It is among the most competitive and prestigious scholarships that the college offers and is open to all CHSS students.

“Ilya is a shining example of how George �鶹��Ƶ students can make a global impact,” CHSS Dean Ann Ardis said. “In addition to his research and collaborations with Movement Engaged, he has shown his commitment to improving the student experience on campus for �鶹��Ƶ Korea and international students making the transition to Fairfax.”

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Science

�鶹��Ƶ Korea

Scholarships

Students

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.”

Connect with Disability Services

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Graduation

Students

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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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

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CEHD alumnus finds success on the waves

Colleen Rich — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:14:28 +0000

CEHD alumnus finds success on the waves Colleen Rich Mon, 04/14/2025 - 16:14

Since he first stepped onto campus more than 35 years ago, David Horna believes �鶹��Ƶ helped put him on a path to success.

Dave Horna. Photo provided

Or, more appropriately, a wave of success.

A 1994 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the College of Education and Human Development, Horna can be found these days in sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida, teaching surfing lessons. Big Wave Dave, as he is known to patrons and students at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, credits his current occupation to his experience at George �鶹��Ƶ.

“Being a surf instructor is one of the best gigs you can get in surfing,” Horna said in a phone interview between surf lessons. “What put me at the top of the list was having a George �鶹��Ƶ BSEd. You can see the thread of George �鶹��Ƶ in not just the education I got, but how it opened doors [for me].”

Horna grew up in nearby Clifton, Virginia, and spent many of his summers competing in boogie board contests in Virginia Beach and Ocean City, Maryland. So, finding him in the ocean these days is not surprising.

Inspired by his mother, who was a third-grade teacher at several schools in Fairfax and Prince William counties, Horna attended George �鶹��Ƶ as a commuter student and fondly recalls building friendships while working out at the fitness center on campus. His curriculum and professors at George �鶹��Ƶ also left a lasting impression on him.

While still a student, he served as a guest expert at WJFK Radio (106.7 FM) in Washington, D.C., where he was on a modern exercise panel with an Air Force colonel and a George Washington University professor who chaired a research center. This segment sparked Horna to pitch to his health sciences professors on the idea of fulfilling his internship requirement at the radio station, where he worked on former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy’s show.

“George �鶹��Ƶ was creative enough and open minded enough to give me an opportunity,” he said. “They said, ‘Why don’t you pitch us? Tell us why and how this fits in with health sciences.’ I said, ‘I’m going to create a health segment for the show.’”

His dip into media led him to his first job with then-start-up E&E (Environment and Energy) News. The publication, which covered policy, government, environment and energy, and business development, began with just six reporters before reaching a newsroom of 65 across the world when it was acquired by Politico in 2020.

Horna started as an account executive, and by 2009, he had become a partner in the firm and was at a crossroads in his career. He was proud of the company he had helped build but was ready for a new challenge.

Dave Horna catching a wave. Photo provided

“I wanted to do something for me, for my soul,” he said. “I wanted to surf big waves.”

Horna moved to Puerto Rico and spent the next six years surfing, training, and practicing yoga while also working as a sales consultant and freelance writer for several publications. During that time, he spent six months in Hawaii, surfing the legendary North Shore in Oahu. He also made surfing excursions to Ireland, France, and California.

For nearly a decade, Horna has lived in Cocoa Beach, just five miles south of Cape Canaveral Space Station. Through his consultant work with SOFX, a media and networking company focused on the special operations community, he met CEO Sam Havelock Jr., a retired Navy SEAL. Havelock, who was also a surf instructor, suggested to Horna that he look into teaching.

Since 2022, Horna has taught private lessons five days a week, in addition to helping at surf camps and working in Ron Jon’s Surf Shop on the weekends. He has had students as young as 5 and as old as 70.

One of his proudest moments was helping a 16-year-old who had just one arm due to a birth defect. By the end of the two-hour lesson, the teenager was up on the board and riding waves. “He was so stoked. I was so stoked. You can’t write me a paycheck big enough to see that guy’s smile,” Horna said. “Surfing makes people’s lives better. It’s healthy, it’s therapeutic. I get to be the person who helps somebody find that.”

Horna believes George �鶹��Ƶ opened the door to his surf instructing job, too. When he interviewed for the position, his supervisor was intrigued by his degree in health sciences. Through his education Horna knows, for example, the role that dorsiflexion—the backward bending and contracting of the foot or hand—plays in the placement of the toes in the “ready position” on the surfboard.

“It is one of the most crucial things because when they are in that position, they’ll glide into the waves,” Horna said. “You want to have everybody ready because everything happens so fast out there. It’s my job to get them ready.”

And he proudly displays his alma mater when in the water, often wearing a gray George �鶹��Ƶ shirt during lessons. “I want people to know that they’re getting instruction from a �鶹��Ƶ graduate,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in that. The school did a lot for me.”

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Groundswell partners with �鶹��Ƶ LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services

Colleen Rich — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 19:46:30 +0000

Groundswell partners with �鶹��Ƶ LIFE providing scholarships, internships, and career services Colleen Rich Thu, 09/12/2024 - 15:46

As with most internships, information technology consultant Groundswell aims to provide an experience that gives �鶹��Ƶ students a chance to learn about the company, delve into new areas and discover more about the industry.

Photo provided

Over the 2023-24 school year, �鶹��Ƶ LIFE student Mohammad Nadeem did just that through his internship with McLean-based Groundswell, learning about data analytics, software development, and physical hardware.

“We wanted to ensure that we maximized his opportunities to grow as an individual,” said Tim Kelly, vice president for operational excellence for the People Services team at Groundswell. “We wanted meaningful work for him. We wanted him to try different things.”

Like destroying a laptop.

Nadeem strapped on safety goggles, wielded a hammer, and broke open laptops. Kelly said Nadeem was educated on the intricacies of removing critical components for recycling and security purposes. Over time Nadeem discovered patterns, learned how to make repairs and extract components in different devices.

“He absolutely loved it,” �鶹��Ƶ LIFE Employment and Adult Services Coordinator Chris Williams said. “He was exposed to different things, and it offered professional building. He really enjoyed the atmosphere. Just working with others and just being treated as part of the team was valuable for him.”

“I made some friends over there,” said Nadeem of his time at Groundswell. “I would like to go back and work there. The boss is very nice.”

Nadeem will graduate next spring from the College of Education and Human Development’s (CEHD) �鶹��Ƶ LIFE program, a four-year post-secondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment. �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students regularly complete internships, working in a wide range of settings, including at software companies, George �鶹��Ƶ rec centers, Fairfax County Public Schools, and animal care facilities.

Williams said Nadeem’s experience with Groundswell boosted his confidence and independence. He drove independently from his parents’ home in Alexandria to McLean twice a week for the internship. �鶹��Ƶ LIFE also provided support staff in to be on-site at Groundswell with Nadeem, but Kelly said as the internship progressed, “it became far less, less of them guiding him.”

“It has a huge impact. The internship experiences are critical,” Williams said. “The students are learning the importance of going to work on time. Knowing they have duties and responsibilities assigned to them that they have to complete. Working with others. Receiving feedback from their employers. Students are also learning what they like, what they don’t like.

“They were thrilled to have Mohammad. They enjoyed that they pushed him. They really appreciated that whatever they assigned Mohammad he gave 100% effort and he tried his best.”

One of those assignments, Kelly said, contributed to Groundswell winning a major environmental award. Nadeem performed analysis over several weeks to calculate the environmental impact Groundswell employees had made due to a company-wide emphasis on telecommuting.

Through the Groundswell TTRIP (Transit and Telework Resources, Impactful Practices) Program, Nadeem found that Groundswell employees in 2023 saved 49,918 gallons of gas and 24,312 trips to the office, among other notable data points.

“He became an integral part of our team,” Kelly said. “I was really proud of him. To see his confidence, see his joy, seeing him understanding the impact of the work for the company and really add value and do meaningful work.”

Kelly has been so impressed with the partnership with �鶹��Ƶ LIFE that Groundswell recently announced the creation of scholarships for �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students.

In addition, Groundswell wants to continue helping �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students in their career development. This past April, Kelly and several Groundswell employees visited CEHD and facilitated an “Introduction to Work 101” workshop.

A photographer took headshots of each of the 16 �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students who attended. Kelly and his team helped the students set up LinkedIn accounts, creating their bios and providing dos and don’ts for social media. Williams and Kelly both hope to make the workshop a semiannual career development event for �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students.

Williams said it was truly a really great day. “To be able to hear from a professional workplace outside of the �鶹��Ƶ community was really impactful and resonated with the students.”

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Behrmanns add to legacy with creation of undergraduate scholarship for special education program

Colleen Rich — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:52:21 +0000

Behrmanns add to legacy with creation of undergraduate scholarship for special education program Colleen Rich Fri, 07/26/2024 - 10:52

Year in and year out, �鶹��Ƶ’s special education graduate program ranks as one of the best in the nation.

June and Mike Behrmann. Photo provided

In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of online master’s degree programs, George �鶹��Ƶ’s special education program ranked eighth in the country. In 2023, the special education graduate program ranked 17th in the country among public institutions and 19th overall.

Pamela Baker, the Special Education Division Director, points to one man for laying the foundation for a program that consistently produces quality teachers—Michael Behrmann.

“He is kind of a legend here,” Baker said. “He built the special education program.”

Seven years after retiring from a nearly 40-year career in the special education program that included serving as division director prior to Baker's tenure in that role, Behrmann, now professor emeritus of special education, continues to add to his legacy.

Behrmann, along with his wife, June, has generously created an undergraduate scholarship for George �鶹��Ƶ students in the special education program. The undergraduate special education program, which was created in 2019 along with bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and early childhood education for diverse learners, aims to tighten the nationwide teacher shortage gap.

Students who plan to teach may focus their program on a specific area in the special education field by adding a licensure concentration—K-12 adaptive curriculum, K-12 general curriculum licensure or PK-12 blindness and visual impairments licensure—or pursue a nonlicensure concentration.

“Children with special needs are our most vulnerable students. We need more teachers working with this population of students,” Behrmann said. “Undergraduate programs are one way that can be really addressed and start to bite into that shortage of qualified teachers.”

Behrmann arrived at �鶹��Ƶ in 1979 as the coordinator of the special education graduate program, which had just three faculty members and a small handful of graduate students.

Over the next four decades, the program grew as Behrmann secured more than $90 million in external grants and contracts, $30 million in revenue-based projects, and $4.5 million in gifts for special education to the university. In the mid 1980s, he also designed and implemented a master’s and a doctoral program in assistive/special education technology.

The special education program now enrolls more than 1,000 students annually and employs more than 150, which includes faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers.

“I consider the faculty who are at George �鶹��Ƶ now as my legacy,” Behrmann said. “Master’s and doctoral students who are now faculty members. They are such great researchers and trainers. Pam and that whole crew of special educators are just tremendous.”

Behrmann wants the scholarship to support special education undergraduate students who are working with the �鶹��Ƶ LIFE Program, a four-year postsecondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment.

When Behrmann founded the �鶹��Ƶ LIFE program in 2005, his vision was twofold. He wanted to provide an educational, on-campus experience for students with disabilities. But he also wanted to offer �鶹��Ƶ graduate and doctoral students—and now undergraduate students—working in the �鶹��Ƶ LIFE program an opportunity to attain hands-on special education experience while also pursuing their degree.

The �鶹��Ƶ LIFE program, currently led by director Linn Jorgenson, enrolls around 50 students every year, with 18 freshmen admitted for the 2024-25 school year.

“At the time, it was one of only one or two programs in the whole United States,” Behrmann said. “They have spun off, with federal support, and are much more common across the country. Seeing that program continue to be supported, within the diversity of the university, really makes me proud. All the university presidents from Alan Merten to current president Gregory Washington have been great supporters of the �鶹��Ƶ LIFE Program.”

“It is a program that affirms our mission,” Baker said. “We are here to make a positive impact on the lives of people who have disabilities. These young adults are integrated into the fabric of the university. They come back as alumni. Our �鶹��Ƶ LIFE students have been in the Green Machine band. They have been cheerleaders. They are all over the campus. Mike had the vision.”

The Behrmanns met when they were both teaching in Cincinnati. June then spent more than 20 years as a writer specializing in special education issues before returning to the classroom as a special education teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools. Now they want to help ensure that George �鶹��Ƶ’s undergraduate program shapes the next generation of special education teachers.

“If we can give this [undergraduate] program the kind of marketing it needs, support more students, it has real potential to grow into a large scholarship program,” Behrmann said. “The special education program is one of the strongest programs in the university, and I’m excited to see it continue to grow.”

The Behrmanns encourage graduates of the special education programs and certificate programs to get involved personally and give back to the scholarship fund. To make a gift, click here.

“[Behrmann] is kind of a legend here,” Baker said. “He built the special education program.”

Learn more about George �鶹��Ƶ's Special Education Graduate Program

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This content appears in the Fall 2024 print edition of the �鶹��Ƶ Spirit Magazine with the title "Behrmanns add to legacy with scholarship."

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