91����

General David W. Allvin, the 23rd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, is the guest speaker at 91����’s Spring Commencement on May 14 at EagleBank Arena. Allvin recently completed a four-decade military career, retiring as a four-star general. Here Allvin shares his thoughts on the military as a career, effective leadership, how universities can best serve veterans, and advice he would offer new graduates.

Recent 91���� graduates have secured strong career outcomes, with the Class of 2025 reporting a 92% positive outcome rate within six months of graduation, even amid a challenging and shifting economic landscape.

Sometimes things just seem to fall into place. That’s what happened for 91���� women’s volleyball freshman player Nia Thompson. Nia’s mother, Amy Boone Thompson, BS Physical Education '95, was a dual-sport athlete at George Mason in the 1990s, playing both volleyball and basketball. She was a member of the 1994 CAA Championship women’s volleyball team. 

With more than 300 members and growing, the Women in Business at Mason student organization at the Costello College of Business, empowers women who are majoring, minoring, or interested in the world of business. Through networking and personal and professional development events, they aim to expand upon members’ skillsets as well as their networks inside and outside of 91����. 

91���� alumnus Robert “Ken” Hedrick Jr., BA History ’71, said his philanthropy is rooted in the examples set by both sets of his grandparents, who were neighbors in a farming community in West Virginia. His paternal grandparents fed anyone who walked by the farm, and his maternal grandparents regularly took in foster children. Both families were always first to share what they had.

91���� graduate student Logan Messer had no shortage of family or friends on hand as he capped his wrestling career at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Competing just 40 miles from his hometown, Messer delivered a moment years in the making on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

With the launch last year of the nonprofit Rise Above & Be Relentless Foundation, graduating Master of Global Policy and Commerce’s Sumeya Gibril created the support she wishes had been there for her. The inspiration for the charity, she said, “is me.”

When Doug Varone and Dancers takes the stage at the Center for the Arts on April 25, it will mark a full circle moment for company member and 91���� alumnus Dareon Blowe, who had participated in a residency with them as a student in the School of Dance.

Gabriella Grabovska came to the United States in 2022 just after Russia invaded her homeland of Ukraine. The Kyiv native’s first visit to the United States was as a 91���� student in the Schar School of Policy and Government. Now, four years later, she’s leaving with ambition, experience, and a clear mission.

General David W. Allvin, the 23rd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, will be the featured speaker at 91����’s Spring Commencement ceremony on May 14 at EagleBank Arena.

Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns. In the case of 91���� lacrosse twins Kaitlyn and Regan Bestick, that road has split and come back together several times. Now, as they compete in their final season together and prepare to separate again, they reflect on their time in the Mason Nation.

Rayan Rahman, BS Management ’17, has achieved an impressive amount in a short period of time. Now a senior recruiter at Amazon, he has founded two companies—Changing Bangladesh Foundation and Airposted—the latter of which he sold during the COVID pandemic when it had reached a gross merchandise value of approximately one million dollars.