Jerome Boettcher

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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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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�鶹��Ƶ alumna gets her close-up with the president

Colleen Rich — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 22:36:58 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ alumna gets her close-up with the president Colleen Rich Thu, 01/21/2021 - 17:36

�鶹��Ƶ alumna Ariana Freeman (far left) worked in the Capitol Rotunda during the 59th presidential inauguration as a broadcast associate for CBS Evening News. Photo provided

When 4:45 a.m. came and went and her Uber hadn’t shown up, Ariana Freeman shook off her heels, strapped on a pair of boots and hoofed it 30 minutes to the U.S. Capitol.

Nothing was going to stop the �鶹��Ƶ alumna from covering her first presidential inauguration. Freeman spent the day inside the Capitol Rotunda reporting as a broadcast associate for CBS Evening News.

“It was absolutely amazing and I’m just so thankful I got to go,” Freeman said. “I was taking it all in.”

Ariana Freeman

On Wednesday, her job consisted of working with the pool camera from NBC to inform her senior producer of key happenings behind the scene. When she saw President Joe Biden coming down the hallway, she alerted her producer to get ready to roll the rotunda camera in five seconds.

“You see the gifts presentation but, hey, you might have missed [Vice President] Kamala Harris just winked at Sen. Amy Klobuchar,” Freeman said. “Giving that color, those details that the viewers and correspondents don’t see, pretty much that was my job—to catch them coming in, coming out, make sure our cameras were rolling.”

Two years ago, Freeman couldn’t have imagined herself working in politics, let alone covering the 59th presidential inauguration. The former collegiate women’s basketball player always thought she’d end up working in sports, possibly as a sideline reporter.

Her master’s degree, after all, was in sport and recreation studies with a concentration in sport management. She freelanced with the Washington Football Team’s Charitable Foundation in addition to serving as a features reporter for ESPN+ broadcasts of George �鶹��Ƶ men’s and women’s basketball games.

But as she finished graduate school in 2019, she ran into a former basketball coach at her alma mater, St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. He suggested she reach out to a friend of his, Jan Crawford, who served as a political and legal correspondent for CBS News. Hesitant at first to venture into politics, she agreed to shadow at CBS News for a day.

“The moment I walked into CBS News… I think I just loved the energy I felt,” she said.

By the end of the day, the Washington bureau chief offered her a position as a news associate, essentially an internship position. Two full-time promotions and two years later, she’s covered press conferences at the White House, was inside the Senate chamber for the 2020 impeachment trial of President Trump and reported on breaking news such as the deadly shooting in a Virginia Beach municipal building. Freeman currently works daily with CBS Evening News host Norah O’Donnell to ensure her script and broadcast is accurate.

“I’m so new into news that I’m still learning,” Freeman said. “It is definitely way different than sports, but it is just so rewarding. Politics just promote that change I want to see.”

Freeman, who received her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Colorado, credits her professors at �鶹��Ƶ for emphasizing the power of networking. She also said the sport management program stressed elements that transcended sports, such as finding “little nuggets and a different way to tell a story.”

“Some people just have that drive,” said Sport and Recreation Studies Associate Professor Pierre Rodgers, who was Freeman’s advisor. “Ariana always had a plan to do what she was going to do. She was going to be great no matter where she went.”

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�鶹��Ƶ alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:26:32 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL Colleen Rich Wed, 01/13/2021 - 16:26

Callie Brownson. Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.

�鶹��Ƶ alumna Callie Brownson and her boss, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, often joke that there is no job description for her role as the team’s chief of staff.

“It’s an anything and everything role,” said Brownson, who received her bachelor’s degree with a concentration in sport management from the College of Education and Human Development in 2016. “Basically, how we operate as a team runs through me. I kind of enjoy the challenge that no day is the same.”

While her job as chief of staff—the first female to hold the position in the NFL—usually pertains to logistics, operation, and organizing practice plans, Brownson has been a “utility player” for the Browns during an unprecedented season that continues Sunday in a playoff matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Most recently, she has put on a headset and fulfilled her true passion—coaching.

During three games this season, Brownson has filled in as a position coach for a Browns’ coaching staff dealing with positive COVID tests. On Jan. 9, she coached the tight ends during the Browns’ upset of Pittsburgh in a wild card playoff game, the franchise’s first postseason victory in 26 years.

The Alexandria native also coached the tight ends on Nov. 29 in a victory over Jacksonville, becoming the first woman to coach a position in an NFL regular-season game. The sideline jacket she wore that day and an autographed game ball sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, she joined Washington Football Team coaching intern Jennifer King and game official Sarah Thomas in the first NFL game with a female official and female coaches on both teams.

“It’s really special what’s happening in the league,” said Brownson, who is in her first year with the Browns after serving as a full-time intern with the Buffalo Bills last season. “I think it’s a really cool time for women to see all these possibilities and all these barriers breaking.”

�鶹��Ƶ sport management instructor Charley Casserly, a longtime NFL executive who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Football Team, recalled Brownson’s ambition and drive.

While pursuing her degree at �鶹��Ƶ, Brownson was also playing football for the D.C. Divas—Washington’s professional female football team—and coaching softball and football at her alma mater, Mount Vernon High School.

“When they are already working on their life’s goals when they are still in college, those are the ones that are most successful,” Casserly said. “It was just a question of where she was going to be successful.”

Brownson said Casserly’s advice to “take advantage of every opportunity to get in front of people” has always stuck with her, whether she was at Mount Vernon, working a scouting internship with the New York Jets or on Buddy Teevens’ staff at Dartmouth as the first female full-time Division I football coach.

Brownson said the smaller size of �鶹��Ƶ’s sport management program and having multiple classes with faculty such as Professor Robert Baker and Associate Professor Craig Esherick helped sharpen her skills, narrow her career direction and develop a plan to reach those goals.

“Ending up at that program was such a stepping stone,” she said. “The involvement and push: ‘What is your plan? How are you going to do it?’ That is extremely rewarding. It’s really special.”