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When the call-up to El Salvador's Senior National Team finally came through, Mia Arevalo-Delcid didn't need a moment to let it sink in. She already knew exactly what it meant. "That's the big leagues right there," said the George Mason women's soccer standout. "It's all eyes in the country on you. It's going to be amazing.”

91���� alum Brendan Gottlieb, BA Film and Video Studies ’15, has been working at Disney as an animator since 2016. In 2025, he worked on two Academy Award-nominated films: he was an animator on the feature Zootopia 2, nominated for Best Animated Feature, and the animation supervisor for Forevergreen, nominated for Best Animated Short Film.

George Mason alumna Ashley Fortner, BS Integrative Studies ’17, is the caretaker of the new baby elephant Linh Mai at the National Zoo.

91���� alumna Rhea Seehorn, BA Art (Studio) ’94, has been garnering major accolades for her role of Carol Sturka in the hit Apple TV series Pluribus. Now she has been nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for her performance. This is her third Emmy nomination.

Mahmut Cengiz, PhD Public Policy ’10, of George Mason's Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, is a seasoned expert in terrorism, organized crime, and illicit economies. His work focuses on the dynamics of terrorism, smuggling, and criminal networks and contributes significantly to understanding and combating these global challenges. His latest book, Typologies of Terrorist Organizations: Conceptual Lenses and Counterterrorism Measures (Carolina Academic Press, September 2025), was cowritten with Mitchel Roth and Huseyin Cinoglu.

Near the Italian town of Bormio, visitors can ride a mountain cable car to take in a breathtaking panorama from a café perched near the peak. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agent Mohamed Hassan, BA Religious Studies ’20, who was a field liaison officer during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, recounts taking a break from supporting Team USA to sip a cappuccino alongside Olympians: “Everyone was really interested in what everyone's there to do…. Everyone's motivating one another.”

Michael J. A. Davis, BA Integrative Studies ’09, roasts coffee using the time-honored pan-roasting tradition of beans tumbling in a pan as the smoke rises like incense. What once fueled his long workdays eventually became his antidote to corporate burnout. In fall of 2024, he brought that transformation back to 91���� in a bag labeled “Brave & Bold.”

For most people, planning for an emergency might only come to mind every now and then. But some 91���� employees spend each day preparing for emergencies and planning how to protect the Mason Nation in a crisis. As director of emergency management and fire safety in the Office of Risk, Safety, and Resilience, Gregg Black, MPA’13, helps the university plan for the unexpected.

The athlete and competitor in her fuel George Mason’s Jaylin Lott’s love for volleyball, but it’s the inner serenity that singing brings her that she treasures away from the court.

Amanda Haymond Still is director of Undergraduate Student Research Initiatives and Internships, College of Science.