Shayla Brown

Since graduating from George Mason University, alum Alex Plank, BA Film and Video Studies ’10, has worked professionally on films and television series as an associate producer and actor. Plank is also an autism activist who works toward more authentic neurodiverse representation in media.

Lake Rusch’s passion for acting was ignited in seventh grade when they first joined George Mason University’s Acting for Young People (AFYP) showcase program. They continued to attend the program throughout high school.

A group of George Mason University mechanical engineering students are building a motorized Vitruvian man for a Center for the Arts (CFA) performance of "Flying to the Stars," a choral concert dedicated to the beginnings of flight from the time of Leonardo da Vinci to the exploration of space. 

Mason alum Jada Salter has created a feature-length documentary about her grandfather, award-winning composer and songwriter William (Bill) Salter. The film is called "Just the Two of Us" after his Grammy Award-winning hit song.

George Mason University School of Dance professor Lawrence Jackson and students attended the International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance in January 2024.

As a film student at George Mason University, Roberto Ferreira De Araujo wanted to celebrate diversity and highlight the full spectrum of experiences represented by the LGBTQ+ community. During his first semester at Mason in fall 2022, Ferreira De Araujo and two of his classmates created the Here and Queer Film Festival as a final project for a class.

Andrew Opitz first came to George Mason University as a freshman over a decade ago. After taking a hiatus from school, he graduated from the Film and Video Studies (FAVS) Program in May 2023. Opitz’s film, Jazz, which he directed for his senior capstone, was a semi-finalist in the Student Academy Awards Alternative/Experimental category.

HNRS 360 The Silkroad and the Railroad is the kind of course that could only happen at Mason. With artists-in-residence Silkroad Ensemble as partners, 25 Honors College students from 17 majors are exploring cultures and histories, music and narratives, impacts and legacies of the Transcontinental Railroad.

George Mason University rising senior Alexandra “Ali” Coburn is an arts management major who loves working on and off the stage, interning this summer at Capital City Symphony.

Kyle Finnegan’s short documentary film “MSG: Mysterious Savory Grains” was partially funded by Mason’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project (YACP) and was recently screened at the Johnson Center Cinema.