Mason's December Employee of the Month Brielle Manovich with President Anne Holton. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services.
For Brielle Manovich, graduate program coordinator in George Mason University’s Department of Criminology, Law and Society, students always come first.
“I suppose the big picture description would be to take care of anything that comes my way so our graduate students can focus on their degree progress and be as successful as possible,” she said of her job.
“She really is a jack of all trades,” said Allison Redlich, director of graduate programs in Criminology, Law and Society (CLS). “She’s one of those employees you know you can give a task and that it will be done correctly and efficiently.”
For her efforts, Manovich is December Employee of the Month.
Manovich began in the CLS department in February 2018, where she is responsible for myriad tasks, including recruiting students, event organization, tracking program budgets and academic advising.
She is also pursuing her master’s at Mason in higher education and student development.
“I do not do my job alone,” Manovich said. “There are so many who support me on a daily basis. It is because of our dedicated faculty and staff in our department that I have been able to keep moving forward.”
Students recognize her value as well. One even nominated Manovich for an HR and Payroll Reward and Recognition Award, which she won.
“I really love my job and, more importantly, the people I work with: the faculty, staff and students,” Manovich said. “I could not ask for a better work environment, and I am so proud to be part of such an incredible team and work with such amazing colleagues.”
How she got here:
My brother graduated from Mason in 2012, and I was familiar with the university because of his time here. After a few years in the nonprofit sector, I realized I quite enjoyed working with college students. So, my interest in making a career change into higher education led to the discovery of my job posting.
Best day on the job:
One of the best days so far was the day I found out I was admitted into [Mason’s] Higher Education MA program. My job is to support graduate students, and I value the advanced education all of my students are seeking. Because I enjoy supporting these students and working within student affairs, I knew I wanted to pursue graduate school to learn more information and skills that can help me move forward in my career.
What she likes best about working at Mason:
I love the atmosphere of being on a college campus and all that entails. I finished my undergraduate degree online so for a long time, I felt like I was missing the collegiality of spending four years on a college campus. Working at Mason allows me to experience college in new ways, as a professional but also as a graduate student.
What she does when not working:
Most of my free time is spent traveling or visiting local wineries. I am also in the Navy Reserves, so I do a fair bit of traveling and work for that part of my life.