Greg Johnson

Co-founded in 2018 by Trevor Montano, BS Accounting ’00, and Derek Horstmeyer, a professor of finance at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, the Montano Student Investment Fund (SMIF) is an all-equity investment fund administered by finance students at the Costello College of Business.

Shabinaaz Mahdi, BS Accounting ’12, discovered a passion for accounting at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University. While in school, she was introduced to Baker Tilly, a leading advisory tax and assurance firm, where she has risen through the ranks to become partner.

Donald G. Costello wanted to provide opportunities for students with an entrepreneurial mindset. The co-founder, owner, and president of Century Stair Company, the largest stair manufacturer on the East Coast, through his estate, has given a $50 million planned gift to rename George Mason University’s Donald G. Costello College of Business.

The scholarship luncheon, held each fall by the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University, brings together scholarship donors with the student recipients of those scholarships. On Tuesday, November 7, the latest group of donors and awardees gathered to build connections and share inspiration.

With a wide array of options, accounting students at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University are able to choose the types of experiential learning that will best prepare them for their future careers.

The business school’s SOAR Initiative is a critical building block in George Mason University’s efforts to advance social mobility, or an individual’s ability to improve their socioeconomic status.

The RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship) Program as a cohort of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's SOAR Initiative. SOAR provides a holistic model for startups and empowers individuals who do not currently have adequate access to entrepreneurship training opportunities. RISE focuses its support on aspiring entrepreneurs from refugee and immigrant backgrounds.

Mason alum Alaleh Jenkins, acting assistant secretary for the United States Navy, shared her keys for success in a fireside chat with School of Business Dean Ajay Vinzé.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Alaleh Jenkins, BS Accounting ’97, immigrated to the United States as a teenager without speaking any English. As a student at George Mason University, she enrolled in basic English classes and quickly became fluent in English while also excelling in her other courses. Focused on academics as well as adjusting to and succeeding in a new country, she took advantage of Mason’s job fairs, landing a job at a major CPA firm after graduation.  “I got a lot of tough love at my first job and I will be forever grateful to my employer for pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Jenkins says.

Despite living and working in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Michael VanPatten, MBA ’90, never lost touch with Mason. Immediately receptive to post-graduation calls from the alumni relations team, he was eager to connect with alumni and assist students in attaining an MBA. The positive experience he had at Mason, with instructors who had working knowledge in the areas they were teaching, encouraged his continued engagement.