Commitment to the Graduate Program Award Communication

Hi, my name is Doran. I study climate change, national security, and strat comm. I like thinking about trust and what it means to trust. But that all is a bit of an aside. I’m so deeply honored to receive the Commitment to the Graduate Program Award. And here’s a little bit of why. I started my PhD at Mason in fall 2021. We were still wearing masks, getting regular COVID tests, and I was doing my best to avoid exposure to people. In many respects this meant I got a slow start being part of the community here. I didn’t spend more time than was necessary on campus, went to events on Zoom if I could. And I did that for my first year and a half in the program. And honestly, I was not super happy.

I’d been a bit of a recluse at my past program as well and I had the realization that I didn’t want that to be the case at Mason. I didn’t want to leave here with a piece of paper but no real connection. Since that time, I’ve thrown myself into this program. Attending events, serving on CGSA, representing the department at conferences. I’ve learned so much and gotten to develop such incredible connections with people, students, faculty, and staff. I owe so much to everyone here and I’m so thankful to have been able to dedicate myself to this program and these people. And perhaps it is trite, but I really do believe George Mason COMM is "All Together Different".