Student and Alumni Accomplishments

Joe Russell, a junior government & international politics major, was awarded the Truman Scholarship. Joe, an Honors College student, was one of 62 awardees out of 768 applicants to be awarded the prestigious scholarship. Read more.

Saskia Popescu, a biodefense PhD student, was recently selected for the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship offered by the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins. Read more.

Mark R. Royce, PhD, Political Science, published The Political Theology of European Integration: Comparing the Influence of Religious Histories on European Policies with Palgrave Macmillan.

Biodefense MS student Brooke Higgins and adjunct professor Charles Blair published an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Read more. Brooke also wrote an op-ed on the risk of nuclear terrorism in South Asia. Read more.

Nicole Lewis, an '06 graduate of the master's in public policy program and Founder and CEO of Generation Hope, was honored in the 10th annual Minority Business Leader Awards. Read more. Nicole was named a CNN Hero in 2014. Recently, she was recognized by the Washingtonian in the “40 Under 40” compilation of twenty- and thirty-somethings who are already shaping local politics, business, the arts, and other industries. Read more.

Elise Rowe, a second-year biodefense PhD candidate, and intern for the Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the Office of Policy and Planning, presented her project, titled 'Fostering an International Culture of Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Responsible Conduct in the Life Sciences' to ASPR staff. Read more.

Osita Chidoka, an '05 graduate of the master's in transportation policy, operations, and logistics (TPOL), was honored with the Distinguished Fellow Award by the Professional Excellence Foundation of Nigeria (PEFON). Chidoka served as the Minister of Aviation in the last regime in Nigeria and was also the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, where he transformed the agency to an award-wining organization. Read more.

Public policy doctoral candidate Erik Goepner received third prize in Mason’s first Three Minute Thesis competition with his presentation, Hurt People Hurt People: Trauma, the State, and Civil War.

Ashley Raphael, MPA student, was awarded as a 2017 Founders' Fellow by the American Society for Public Administration and also received the 2017 Julianne Mahler Award. Read more. Additionally, she presented "Leveling Up: A Comparison of Economic Development through Bilateral Aid" at the American Society for Public Administration Annual Conference.