Honors College

First-generation student seizes her opportunity

ckearney — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 15:58:46 +0000

First-generation student seizes her opportunity ckearney Mon, 10/31/2022 - 11:58

When Jasmeen Linares thinks about attending George Mason University, her first thought is always, “I’m very lucky to have this opportunity.”

Jasmeen Linares. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

Linares, a first-generation student, said her father worked construction before going to school as a boy in his native Argentina. Her mother helped her family in Bolivia sell food and homemade goods during the day before attending school at night.

“Her school was very far from her house, so at night she would walk home,” Linares said. “She would tell me she was scared, but she wanted to learn. She was passionate about that.”

That passion is securely instilled in Linares, a freshman computer science major from Annandale, Virginia, who is a member of Mason’s Honors College and a University Scholar, meaning her tuition is covered.

“I think it’s the right choice,” Linares said of attending Mason, despite an offer from another state university. “Mason is pretty diverse and that’s welcoming to me.”

Linares’ introduction to Mason began when she enrolled in Mason’s Early Identification Program (EIP). The program, which provides access to educational resources for middle and high school students who will be first in their families to attend college or university, has graduated more than 2,100 students since its inception in 1987.

Mason has become a destination for first-generation students, with 24% of undergraduates identifying as such.

For Khaseem Davis, EIP’s director, Linares’ path aligns perfectly with Mason’s core values of diversity, inclusivity and grit. And while talent is equally distributed among people, opportunity isn’t, with a Mason education being a great equalizer.

“Jasmeen is a bright student,” Davis said. “From our interactions, it was apparent that she was very self-aware and highly inquisitive. As an EIP student, Jasmeen’s standard was excellence, and I believe her desire to excel will contribute to her success at Mason and beyond.”

Linares, whose brother is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, began coding while in high school. And while she said it is interesting, she also finds it soothing in the same way as drawing.

The two skills had a synergy for Linares, who said she often incorporates something she draws into an app she is coding.

“I feel the creativity in both,” Linares said, “and being creative eases my mind.”

Linares does have a lot on her mind.

Her Honors College research project is examining how food advertisements on television contribute to high obesity rates among Latino children. One study she and her research group are using as a reference found that ads aimed at Spanish-speaking children showcased more fast food and non-nutritional foods than those on programs for English-speaking children.

Linares said she feels pressure to succeed as a first-generation student. But there is also plenty of encouragement from her parents.

“They’re proud of the direction my brother and me want to go,” Linares said. “They’re always trying to encourage us and say, ‘You have this opportunity. Take it and do what you want.’ ”

Topics

Students

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Honors College

College of Engineering and Computing

Service to others has long been a part of Muhammad Farhan Babar’s life

jhollis2 — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 17:27:25 +0000

Service to others has long been a part of Muhammad Farhan Babar’s life jhollis2 Wed, 09/08/2021 - 13:27

Muhammad Farhan Babar speaks at the EIP graduation ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

It’s less a hobby as much as it is just something that is an integral part of who Muhammad Farhan Babar is deep down.

Volunteering his time to help others has helped shape the George Mason University freshman and Honors College member into the selfless young man he’s become.

And Farhan, as he’s known to those closest to him, says he’d have it no other way.

“Volunteering has always been a big thing for me,” said the 18-year-old Early Identification Program (EIP) graduate and aspiring computer science major from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia. “It’s just something I do and it’s really shaped my personality. It’s changed me a lot. It’s shaped how I think, who I am and how I view life.”

Those who know Babar are hardly surprised. Khaseem Davis, the director of EIP, recalled Babar as a great student who had immediately made a positive impression on him.

Photo provided

“He was always pleasant, respectful and super inquisitive,” Davis said. “I’ve learned you can tell the quality of a student by the types of questions they ask. Farhan didn’t waste words, was always direct and asked questions of substance. I am happy he chose Mason, and I only see him excelling in his studies.”

Babar, who grew up in nearby Prince William County, is one of four boys and had originally dreamed of being a doctor. He credited one of his brothers for getting him started volunteering at a local medical center during his junior year of high school. His duties there often included signing patients in at the front desk, visiting patients in their rooms to see if they needed anything, and fixing beds, among other chores.

Babar has a history giving of himself to help others. He was just a freshman in high school when he first began tutoring middle school students in math, including his younger brother.

“It’s incredibly satisfying when you see them start to get it,” he said.

Babar hopes to do more of the same as he gets his bearings and becomes more acclimated to his new surrounding on Mason’s Fairfax Campus. His volunteer experiences have prepared him well, giving him more patience and a broader world view.

“I believe that everybody should have that opportunity,” he said.

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Campus News

Students (14101)

Honors College

Early Identification Program (EIP)

This freshman isn’t playing it safe

ckearney — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 14:59:05 +0000

This freshman isn’t playing it safe ckearney Mon, 08/30/2021 - 10:59

Accounting major Hazel Cartagena came to Mason through the Early Identification Program. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Hazel Cartagena, an incoming freshman at George Mason University, has already taken to heart a piece of advice she received from the university.

Well, not from the university specifically, but from some of the faculty she met through Mason’s Early Identification Program (EIP).

“They were really supportive and giving advice to not be scared and to take risks,” Cartagena said, “especially with classes.”

So Cartagena decided to follow her love of math and changed her major to accounting.

“I still don’t know much about accounting, so it’s going to be kind of new,” she said. “But I want to try it. I’ve always been into numbers.”

As a first-generation student, Cartagena’s story is pure Mason.

After coming to the United States from El Salvador to join her mother late in 2010, she enrolled in the EIP program; was an academic star at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia; earned a University Scholarship, which pays for four years of tuition; and is in Mason’s Honors College.

It all seems like a whirlwind, Cartagena said. And while she relishes the opportunity, she admitted to a bit of pressure because of the high expectations from her family.

“It’s an opportunity to move forward and better yourself,” she said. “I’m sure I can get through it and do good.”

Jhessyka Vargas Ferrufino believes that as well.

As assistant director for college readiness in the EIP program, Vargas Ferrufino worked with Cartagena during her senior year at Freedom High and praised Cartagena’s ability to juggle online learning, work, and family responsibilities.

“Her senior year has shown that she has the strength to make difficult decisions for the betterment of her education and her family,” said Vargas Ferrufino, BSW ’15; MSW ’18, who also came to study and work at Mason through EIP. “I’m excited to see what she will do at Mason.”

Cartagena said she has a good start thanks to EIP, which introduced her to mentors and faculty members she believes will be part of her network even after she graduates.

Just as important, though, were introductions to other first-generation students and students of different backgrounds who would join her at what is already is the most diverse public research university in Virginia.

She called it a built-in community.

“I remember seeing a lot of people from different places, different countries, and, at least for me, that helps me,” Cartagena said. “It encourages me. All these people from all these places are trying to do their best and put in that effort to have something better for themselves. For me, it is really inspiring.”

Topics

Students

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Honors College

High school graduates head to Mason with scholarships, thanks to Early Identification Program

ckearney — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 16:25:14 +0000

High school graduates head to Mason with scholarships, thanks to Early Identification Program ckearney Tue, 06/29/2021 - 12:25

Brenda Leverson, Early Identification Program participant and incoming Mason freshman, bumps elbows with Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Scott Brabrand at the 2021 EIP Senior Graduation and Recognition Ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Brenda Leverson, a first-generation college student born in Honduras, is attending George Mason University this fall on a full tuition scholarship through Mason’s Early Identification Program. A graduate of Annandale High School in Northern Virginia, Leverson will enroll in the Honors College and intends to study business administration and accounting.

“I am really happy and proud of myself for working this hard and achieving my goals,” said Leverson, who has worked part-time since she was 15 to help support her family.

Leverson is one of 32 graduating seniors in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) who participated in the Early Identification Program (EIP), and one of eight FCPS students to accept partial or full scholarships to Mason. In total, 108 Northern Virginia graduating seniors participated in EIP. Of that amount, 48 have chosen to go to Mason. Twenty-eight of those students have been awarded partial or full scholarships.

EIP participant Muhammad Farhan Babar spoke at the Senior Graduation and Recognition Ceremony in May. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“This is a special group of students,” said Khaseem Davis, EIP director. “They are academically strong, socially aware and have a good understanding of themselves. They know they have to work and sacrifice to get through hardships, and I’m so proud of them.”

EIP is an extensive outreach effort to first-generation, college-bound students in the Northern Virginia area. Established in 1987, the program is designed to help students hone their academic skills and increase their confidence, while providing access to educational resources. EIP works in seven local public school systems, including Arlington County, Falls Church City, Prince William County and Alexandria City. The multi-year program provides mentoring, enrichment classes and study sessions, as well as college preparation assistance and scholarships.

This year, FCPS leads in the number of EIP students receiving scholarships.

“As a district, we are grateful for the EIP partnership with George Mason University,” said Eileen Ruzicka, FCPS’s EIP Liaison. “It has increased access and support for FCPS middle and high school students who are from populations that are historically underrepresented on college campuses, especially those who face challenges caused by poverty, racism and lack of access to resources.”

EIP participant Stacy Maravi poses with her father at the Senior Graduation and Recognition Ceremony. Photo provided

A graduate of Fairfax High School, Stacy Maravi will also be attending Mason as part of the Honors College and plans to study bioengineering. Maravi, a University Scholar, said that EIP helped her focus and better understand the college process.

“Without EIP, I wouldn’t have gotten where I am,” said Maravi.

Muhammad Farhan Babar, a graduate of FCPS’ Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, received a full tuition scholarship and will also be attending as part of the Honors College. Babar said he chose Mason for its engineering program, affordability and its diverse and welcoming community. Babar, who was born in Pakistan, credits EIP for helping him with resources when he needed them and providing him with mentors.

“Through EIP, I’ve experienced the community at Mason, and I enjoyed what I experienced,” said Babar. “The community is great.”

Topics

Students

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Scholarships

Honors College

First generation students in the Honors College reflect on partnership with EIP

rstaffo2 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:43:00 +0000

First generation students in the Honors College reflect on partnership with EIP rstaffo2 Wed, 09/23/2020 - 16:43

The Honors College and Early Identification Program work together to foster inclusive excellence at Mason.

The Honors College seeks to instill life-long learning, curiosity, and critical-thinking in motivated students across all disciplines. The Early Identification Program (EIP) is designed to close the access gap in higher education by providing college access resources and readiness support to prospective first-generation college students. By working together, we encourage success by offering holistic support for students' academic and personal achievement.

Over the years, the Honors College and EIP have worked together to develop the successful College Application Coaches program, to increase the representation of EIP students in the Honors College, and to help EIP students successfully compete for University Scholars scholarships. Last year, EIP and the Honors College received a $100,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to support their efforts to provide EIP students access to excellence beyond high school. This grant funded the I-Achieve Scholarships that were awarded to incoming EIP students Kristen Alleyne and Elene Lipartiani and funded the creation of a Pre-Honors Seminar for 10th Grade Students during 2020 Summer Academy.

Pre-Honors Seminar in Summer Academy

Each Summer, EIP hosts the three week-long Summer Academy, which is intended to provide students with additional academic support over the summer.

Hannan Isse, an EIP alumna and Honors College student, reflected back on her experience, observing that Summer Academy helped her feel "less anxious and more ready to take on that year" each year she was in high school.

In addition to preparing for the upcoming year during Summer Academy, this year's tenth grade students got extra inspiration from the Pre-Honors Seminar. The Pre-Honors seminar gave these students the opportunity to learn directly from faculty from the Honors College and University Libaries, to experience what is exciting and fun about the small challenge-driven seminar courses they will enccounter in college, and to interact directly with Honors College students like Isse who served as near-peer mentors in each class.

In addition to educational support, Summer Academy imparts a sense of confidence in its students and cultivates a sense that they belong in the Mason community. “The whole goal of Summer Academy is, one, to kind of get you to see what a college campus is like and, two, to help you in your first quarter of school,” shares Bianca Otero, another EIP alumna who is now in the Honors College and helped to support the Pre-Honors Seminar as a near-peer mentor. When she went to Summer Academy, there was an emphasis on finding a community. “They would encourage us to say ‘I belong’, meaning that even if you're first-gen and female, you still belong in universities.”

Honors College students like Isse and Otero were able to get academic credit for helping with the Pre-Honors seminar: they took Dr. Melanie Fedri's HNRS 361 Multidisciplinary Practicum: Teaching Climate Change course. They had the opportunity to "learn by teaching": these near-peer mentors helped to provide lessons on multidisciplinary approaches to climate change, participated in student success interventions for the EIP students in their classes, and led question and answer periods with EIP students about college academic and social life.

The Pre-Honors seminar was made possible with a generous grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, along with material support from the University Libraries, EIP, and the Honors College.

College Application Coaching: EIP and Honors College Alumna Jenisha Chudal reflects on mentoring EIP students

The Pre-Honors seminar is just one of several opportunities for Honors College students to work with EIP. In HNRS 261: Community Connection Practicum: College Application Coaches, Honors College mentors work with high school mentees who are developing their college applications. The students are given space to establish meaningful relationships while developing knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. As Khaseem Davis, Director of the Early Identification Program, explains, many of the College Application Coaches “are high achieving students, who would have received admission to many competitive schools, so they understand what needs to go into a well-written essay." He points out that having Honors College students who are close in age to the EIP mentees with whom they work helps those mentees see themselves as future Honros College students.

When EIP alumna Jenisha Chudal, a senior majoring in Global and Community Health, participated in College Application Coaches during Spring 2019, she was reminded how she came to be a part of the Honors College. “I know when I was in EIP, there was someone who was [a] part of the Honors College, and that's how I first found out about it.” While working with EIP students over the course of a semester, Chudal acted as an inspiration and source of comfort for others. “I think us being there encouraged them." She thinks EIP students who met their College Application Coaches on campus benefitted most, "because they got to see [the] things that we were doing [in college] and maybe even imagine, ‘Hey, I can be in that position as well.’”

Like most EIP students, Chudal was selected for the program in seventh grade and found it provided critical support during her sophomore and junior years of high school. “If it wasn't [for] EIP, I wouldn't have known where to look [for information on applying to college.]”

For low-income students, involvement in EIP removes the economic barrier that makes many college-readiness programs inaccessible: “They're selflessly helping you because you don't have to pay for anything,” says Chudal. “The fact that they told me [about] the college application process before my junior year of high school — I think that was really helpful."

Now graduated, Chudal is looking ahead in her higher education journey. She plans to work for a few years — helping others — before enrolling in a master’s program.

AMP Site Mentorship: Honors College student Jasmine James supports EIP's programs

One of the lessons at the heart of EIP is that the mentorship can change lives.

Like Chudal, Jasmine James served as a College Application Coach, helping students begin their college application process and provding near-peer mentorship to students who do not have people who attended college in their households. James grew up outside of the area and wasn't an EIP alumna herself, but she has had an ongoing role working for EIP during her time at Mason.

Outside of her capacity as as one of the Honors College's College Application Coaches, James also has been helping at EIP’s Academic Mentoring Program sites. The Academic Mentoring Program provides students with extra academic and social support at a weekly after-school meeting, during which they check in with success coordinators like James, have structured study time, and can receive help with their homework.

For James, serving in this capacity has been immensely rewarding. She shared one of her experiences that illustrates the impact that near-peer mentoring can have. She was working with a student who was “in eighth grade, and every week all she talked about was how she wanted to drop out.” After two years of tutoring, James feels the student has made “a complete 180,” now feels driven to get all A’s and now arrives at the Academic Mentoring Program sessions each week wth a sense of purpose and focus.

University Scholars: Bringing some of the most motivated EIP alumni to Mason

In recent years, the University Scholars program in Mason's Honors College has attracted several motivated EIP alumni to Mason.

EIP alumna and University Scholar Hanan Isse says that she values the relationships she made in the process most. In EIP, she says, “you're with these people for five years [...] I had one friend I was with through middle school and then [we] went to different high schools, but we're still best friends because of the EIP program.”

Like Chudal, Isse feels the program motivated her to begin preparing for college during her junior year. “In the beginning, I remember they showed us statistics of people who didn't go to college and people who did go to college, and that was really impactful.”

She also says EIP brought clarity to the whole college application process: “As a first-gen college student, it's a whole new battlefield for you, so having people to walk you through and explain the details to make sure you're on the right path" is particularly helpful.

As a near-peer mentor in the Pre-Honors Seminar and as a College Application Coach, Isse focused on helping her students believe in themselves, since this helped her feel motivated when she was in the program.

Working as a College Application Coach was especially powerful for Isse as a college freshman: “Because I’m freshly out of high school, I remember exactly what they're going through,” says Isse. In the role of College Application Coach, Isse also gained a fresh perspective on the power of mentorship. “It reminded me of when Erica," a mentor Isse had when she was a high school student in EIP, "was trying to do the same exact thing for me. It was kind of just deja vu."

Isse credits EIP with supporting her achievements so far. “The reason why I chose the Honors College was because of Khaseem Davis, the Director of EIP." Davis had pointed out that “It's a whole new pool of opportunities, scholarships, and chances to conduct research.”

After earning her Bachelor’s in Accounting and Information Systems and Operations Management, Isse dreams of aiding others by earning a master’s degree and joining the Peace Corps.

EIP Support: Challenging students to achieve at the highest level

Honors College students helped Bianca Otero with her academics.

She remembers how a mentor from the Honors College, Jessie, helped her with physics: “Without her, I wouldn't have been able to do it, there's just no way.” Throughout her time at Mason, Jessie has continued to support Otero with advice about which classes to take.

Otero says the instruction provided by EIP is the program’s most valuable asset. “Being first-gen, it's really hard sometimes when your parents don't really understand the education system.” As a College Application Coach in Spring 2020 and as a near-peer mentor in Pre-Honors Seminar in Summer 2020, she found opportunities to help EIP students develop the "college knowledge" needed to understand how higher education works.

“You have to just kind of work with the student from wherever they are at in the process,” she says. Importantly, Otero was able to relate with the fear and anxiety her students felt during the process. She utilized that understanding to make a difference. “[While] helping students out, you kind of just see your [past] self in it for a second. You're like, 'Yeah, this used to be me,’” Otero remembers.

Otero is attending the Honors College with support of an EIP scholarship. She's exploring different majors, including government and education: “I was always thinking of getting my master's in school counseling to hopefully help kids in the same way I'm helping them with EIP — [that’s] my aspiration.”

Topics

Honors College

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Karen Reedy