Students

A strong sense of duty is what led Michael Manges to George Mason University, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship is helping him realize his dream.

George Mason University’s Honors College launched a program this year to help cultivate an anti-racist community by creating a space in which students can discuss issues of racial and social justice. The program, called “Honoring Our Community,” involves encouraging honest conversations among groups of four or five students working with a facilitator. Students who volunteer for the program meet once a month during the academic year.

Fakhira Halloun holds two contradictory identities: She is Palestinian and an Israeli citizen.
It wasn’t until she began facilitating peace dialogues between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem in 2000, that she realized Palestinian citizens of Israel could be the missing link in bridging ties between the two groups.

Kristen Alleyne and Elene Lipartiani, incoming freshmen at George Mason University, have been honored with I-Achieve scholarships for academic excellence. The awards are being given for the first time this year, as part of a grant Mason received from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation last fall.