Hall-Long (left) and Metzler. Photos provided.
Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and pioneering Judge Petula Metzler, both George Mason University alumnae, will be the featured speakers at winter graduation ceremonies Dec. 21 at EagleBank Arena.
Hall-Long will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony and Metzler at the 2 p.m. ceremony.
Hall-Long earned her PhD in nursing from George Mason in 1993 and for nearly 20 years has been a member of the University of Delaware Nursing Faculty. She served 15 years in the Delaware state legislature and in 2016 topped five candidates in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor and later won the office by 19 percentage points.
Metzler, who graduated from Mason in 1994 with an English degree, is the first African American judge to serve in the Prince William County (Va.) General District Court. She began a six-year term July 1, 2016. The Army veteran served as a guardian ad litem for children for the Supreme Court of Virginia and as a conciliator in Prince William Circuit Court.
Mason’s 10 a.m. graduation ceremony is for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Science, the Schar School of Policy and Government, the Antonin Scalia Law School and the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
The 2 p.m. ceremony is for graduates in the School of Business, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Education and Human Development, the Volgenau School of Engineering and the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Tickets are not required to attend the ceremonies. Visit the graduation website for more details.