Students

At 15 years old, Goonatilake is poised to become the youngest graduate in George Mason University history with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). This computer science prodigy from Leesburg, Virginia, is doing things at his own speed and far outpacing societal norms.

When Daksha Magesh came to George Mason University as a freshman in 2021, she already had an impressive resumé. The Honors College student was working for federal prosecutor Manka Dhingra of the 45th District from her hometown of Seattle, Washington. Magesh says that’s where her interest in law comes from.

Graduating computer science major Dhyeya “Dee” Padhya worked in the University Career Services office during his time at George Mason and was featured on the cover of this year’s Career Readiness Guide.

Graduating psychology student Caroline Little said she grew up at George Mason University. “I have grown from a child to an adult at George Mason in ways I could have never thought possible. I came here a teenager, and left here a married mother of two,” said Little. Little, who will travel from Alabama to address her fellow graduates as the 2024 Winter Commencement Student Speaker, will welcome her second child, Isabella, this winter. 

Third-year Mason LIFE student Madison Schittig contributes her unique visual point of view as a photography intern with George Mason's Office of University Branding.

This October, George Mason statistics major Abby Finch took her ambitions to the next level by participating in Major League Baseball's Diversity Pipeline Scout Development Program in Glendale, Arizona.

Four students in George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts will have original animations displayed on screens in six Metro stations as part of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Art in Transit Program, beginning the first week of December 2024. These animations will be on rotation in the stations for a full year.

Cody Salenga has been making music since he was a teenager. So when it came time to look for a summer internship, Salenga knew he wanted something in the music industry.

Darius Jack came to George Mason University with a passion for systems engineering and for flying. He’s been able to maintain his flight hours while earning a bachelor of science in systems engineering this May and an accelerated master's in systems engineering, his second degree from George Mason, in December.

Funda Çakmak came to the United States as an au pair for a year. That was 13 years ago. Now the single mother of three is pursuing a Schar School undergraduate degree to make a difference in public service.