graduate students

Wai Ling Fong graduated this year with a PhD from the Higher Education Program in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. During her time at Mason, Wai Ling conducted research on the long-term influence of an online faculty development program that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting a case study to compare data from 2021 and 2024, Wai Ling gained a better understanding of how online training shapes teaching practices as well as the greater need for wellness programs within higher education. In addition to her research, Wai Ling also made the most of her time as a graduate student at George Mason. She was an active participant in Communication Academy and the Communications Clinic at the Writing Center, going on to create a writing circle to assist with moving through her dissertation process.

The Office of the Provost is excited to announce the launch of Mason’s new Graduate Division, which will be one of the major units of Academic Affairs within the Office of the Provost.

Isidore Nsengiyumva, only four years old at the time, was in the fields with his father and older brother in Burundi, when suddenly they heard the sound of motors and guns. Troops involved in the country’s civil war attacked their village, and rapidly, their lives were changed.

“We hid in a bush, and when the noise of the guns and fighting subsided, we went back and found our home burned,” Nsengiyumva said. “That’s when my dad decided it was no longer safe.”