Cadie and Emma are joined today by Cece Keen! In this episode, Cadie learns the NSFP chant, Emma discusses motivation, and Cece educates us all about CHSS resources, plus a discussion on burnout!
EMMA:
Hello! Welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS Students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome! We're so glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard. CADIE: I'm Cadie Junker. BOTH: And we're your hosts. CADIE: In this episode, we're discussing a variety of resources inside and outside of CHSS. Of course, we could not do this alone. So today, we are joined by Cece Keen. Cece, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing today? CECE: I'm good. How are you guys? CADIE: I'm doing great. We're so glad that you're here. CECE: Yes, thanks for having me. EMMA: So we're going to kick things off. CECE: Okay. EMMA: Just a very basic question. Cece, what's your class and major? CECE: Yeah, so I was originally the class of 2027, but I am now the class of 2026, and will be graduating in May. EMMA: Ooh, congratulations. CECE: Thank you, guys, yeah! And the second question was, what was my major, right? CADIE & EMMA: Mmm-hmm CECE: Yeah, so my major is psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology. CADIE: Why'd you choose GMU? And more specifically, what drew you to study psychology here? CECE: Yeah, so that's a great question, actually. So when I was a upcoming junior in high school, I came to a conference here. I used to be interested in journalism. CADIE: WJMC? CECE: Yes. EMMA: Oh, my gosh. CADIE: Oh, my gosh. Yes! CECE: Yes! So, I met Elena, and I met all of the supporting staff for that. And I enjoyed it very much. And this was 2021, I want to say. So, none of the newer buildings were here. So it wasn't the scenery that drew me in, but it was really the staff. We had an opportunity to speak to the president and also the vice president of the university as well, which really drew me in. They were really nice. They were willing to answer questions. And really, they just made me feel seen, honestly, as a high school student. And so this became the top choice I had, and it was my top choice until I was a senior in high school. I actually found out I was accepted during an exam in high school. CADIE: Oh my gosh! CECE: Yes. And I told my teacher, I go, “Hey, I just got the decision for the college that I wanted to get into. Is there any way I can check this?” She said, “Yeah, go, go, go.” And so I go into the kitchen. There was a kitchen in this classroom. And I shut the door. And I literally start screaming, jumping up and down that I got into the school. I was celebrating GMU like it was Berkeley, Harvard. No, it was literally the best thing ever. And when it comes to me studying psychology, I was interested in journalism for a very long time. But it wasn't until my senior year of high school I realized that that's not something, well, what I wanted to do with my journalism degree is something that I could have done with a psychology degree. And so what I did was, I've always been told I'm really good at giving advice and just making people feel seen and heard when they're coming to me about their problems or the things that they're going through. And I realized that that's something that I really enjoy doing. And so I've decided to study psychology and then hopefully go the social work route to be licensed as a therapist in a few years. And then become a therapist and help people. I feel like if I'm good at it, like socially, I can be really, really good at it professionally as well. CADIE: Yeah, that sounds great. The reason why I reacted that way for WJMC, that's who also reached out to me. And that's why I'm here at Mason. CECE: Yes! CADIE: So it is a very efficient recruitment program, actually. CECE: Yes, very much. CADIE: It's such an enjoyable conference. EMMA: Yeah, the only affiliation I have with, it's WASJ, right? CECE: WJMC. EMMA: WJMC. Did I say the Wall Street Journal? ALL: *laughter* CADIE: No, it's the Washington Journalism and Media Conference. CECE: Yes, get it right, Emma. EMMA: My bad. Yeah, my only affiliation with that is when I worked at the Corner Pocket, they had their little welcome ceremony there. CECE: Yes, that's exactly what happened the first year I did it. And then, of course, they switched up some things. It really opened up a door to opportunities for me because I got to meet Donna Bash. I think she's a really popular news reporter. She came. We went to the, I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's a very popular place in DC where a lot of news reporters were there. We met Brian Lamb, who was the former CEO of, what, CNN, I believe, or something like that. Yeah, it was a really cool experience. So I really enjoyed it. CADIE: I went the year after you. I was in the 2022 conference. And I know we went to, like, Planet Word as a museum. CECE: Yes, we went there too. CADIE: And then we went to, oh my gosh, I think it was, like, the National Press Office or something like that. CECE: Yes, that's what it is, the National Press Club! CADIE: Yeah, National Press Club. That's what it is. CECE: Yeah, and it opened up the door to a lot of opportunities. I served on the Youth Advisory Board, so I was able to go into the planning committee for the next year's conference. So it was actually a really cool experience, and I really enjoyed it. So yeah. CADIE: That's great. EMMA: Well, I can't remember the acronym. WXYZ. Listen up, because this is a very effective promoting and recruiting opportunity. CECE: They're great. EMMA: Cece, coming back to what drew you to GMU. It's incredible to hear your story about your excitement in coming to GMU. And I will just say for listeners that I've worked with Cece in one of the capacities that she's going to talk about this episode. And going into that, it sounds like you've really made the most of your experience here at George Mason. And I'd love to hear from you, or, well, we'd love to hear from you, of in what resources and offices are you affiliated with? CECE: Yes, so that is a great question. There is a lot. I was, I used to be affiliated with the admissions office where I worked as a Mason ambassador. And now I am affiliated with the office of NSFP, which is New Student and Family Programs. Emma knows! I am also affiliated with the office of University Housing and Residence Life. I work there as an RA. And I want to say I am also affiliated with the office of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as well. I am saying this now because I want to keep a joke from a previous episode. So I'm making this disclaimer now is that we've been recording our episodes out of order. So because I made a reference in an earlier episode. I don't know why I'm taking this time. But I made a reference earlier that like listeners, you will find that as you go along and listen to the episodes, there's a lot of references to Patriot Leader, NSFP, Global Gateway. CECE: And you have to do the thing! You have to do the thing. EMMA: Yes. CECE: Do the thing! Do the thing! You have the power to do it! Do it! EMMA: The chant? CECE: Yes! EMMA: Great. Just to make sure. EMMA: NS-. EMMA & CECE: FP! EMMA: Okay. Sorry. Anyways, so-. CADIE: Guys, I've never done NSFP. I've never done NSFP. EMMA: Let's-, wait, let's take this time to teach you how to do the chant. For some background, the NSFP chant, it's what everyone in NSFP, but really like the Patriot Leaders and the student coordinators do it. It's kind of how we just get everyone's attention. It's also just a really just fun, like unifying moment. And so how it goes is that one person, usually like a pro staff or a student coordinator would say NS, and then everyone else would say? CECE: FP. EMMA: And then there's a clap. CECE: Yeah. A little clap. EMMA: Yeah. CADIE: Okay. EMMA: Are you ready, Cadie? CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: Try it. Okay. NS-. CECE & CADIE: FP! CADIE That reminds me of my high school chant. We're getting so off topic this episode. EMMA: Tangent town! We love it here! CADIE: Yes. So I went to a high school called Eldorado High School. And what we would always do, our chant would start out the same way. Somebody in the crowd would always call E-L, and then the crowd would chant back E-L-D-O. And then we would all go E-L-D-O, R-A-D, Eldo, Eldo, Eldorado. CECE: Were you a band kid? CADIE: I was not. But I was friends with a lot of band kids. CECE: Okay. Because I was a band kid and we had a chant similar, but it was like our school mascot or something. EMMA: So the reason I think we've gone on this tangent initially was, listeners, you will find a lot of references to the various things that Cadie and I are affiliated with. And you'll find that our guests are affiliated with those things both intentionally and sometimes unintentionally as you listen along. Just a neat little inside look. Well, great. You're affiliated with so many things, Cece. CADIE: Can you give us a rundown of some of the resources that you'd like to highlight specifically? CECE: Within those or? CADIE: Yeah. Within those offices, even with outside of the offices, just whatever you think that you would like to talk about today. CECE: Yeah. So, I listed, what, four or five offices, I want to say. I will say that if you're into just talking to people, and if Mason is really something that you enjoy and you want other people to kind of take part of that enjoyment, I would highly suggest becoming a Mason ambassador or a Patriot Leader next year. I think the sign-ups are closed at the moment. However, I do think that you should take those typical job or positions into consideration. It gives you a chance to give tours to on-campus students and families, or incoming students and families, and just share your own personal Mason experience with them. I know it's a job that I did for about two years, both of them. I was a Mason ambassador for two years or a year and a half, and then I was a Patriot Leader for two years and still ongoing. And those are two jobs that I actually really, really enjoyed. Another job or just position on campus, leadership position on campus, I'd like to shout out is the RA position, which is through the Office of Housing and Residence Life. This role is basically you living in the dorms, first-year, upperclassmen, wherever you're placed. I mean, you serve as a leader to the students that are living there. This gives you the opportunity to just lead them, give them resources, kind of like I'm giving you guys at the moment. You get to do programming. You get to decorate bulletin boards, decorate the halls, throw events. It's a really, really fun opportunity and gig, in my opinion. I've enjoyed it very much, and it's opened the door to a lot of opportunities and a lot of future jobs that I will be taking a look at soon. And then the last one would probably be the CHSS mentor job or role that I'm currently in as well. So this gives me the opportunity to participate in CHSS events. I know we did a tie-dyeing event, our Back on the Block Party earlier this semester. And so we were able to come out, get students' shirts tie-dyed and also just play games and offer snacks and pizza and things like that. I had a really great time there. And then I also do some other programs as well, work with administrators within the office as well, one-to-one on certain projects and things like that. So if you're into management or admin or just like planning, I do feel like thatall of these roles are pretty much good for you. So, yeah. EMMA: Mm-hmm. How did you first get involved in these resources? CECE: I was a very involved student in high school, and I kind of, life kind of hit me in the face when I got to college because I tried to do all of these things at one time, and it just was not working. And so I kind of just took some other things off the plate, my plate, and realized that I have three more years here. I have plenty of time. And so I just took a moment to really focus on the one thing, and that was being a Mason ambassador my first year. And I did that the entire time, and it offered, and it opened the door to me becoming an RA because at the time, Mason ambassadors still did housing tours. And so I got very acquainted with the housing staff and the pro staff members, and every chance I got, I expressed, because I loved my RA. My RA was great. And so I was like, “I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this.” And so every time I gave a housing tour, I would always tell one of the housing administrative people, like, “Hey, I'm interested. I want this job. What do I do?” And they're like, “The application's open here.” And I went and I applied the first day it opened because I was that passionate about it. And the next thing I know, I'm in there, I'm in the interview, and then the next thing I know, I've been accepted, and here I am. So yes, I would definitely say that's how I got involved at first. And then kind of doing those two things kind of opened the door to everything else. When I got accepted into the RA position, I also became a Patriot Leader at the same time, kind of the same scenario and situation. I loved my Patriot Leader, which is an orientation leader, if you guys haven't picked up on that yet. But my Patriot Leader was amazing. I loved him. He was very understanding. He made me feel seen and heard. And I was like, I want to be that for other students as well. And so I also applied for that at the same time I applied to become an RA. And I found out at the exact same time that I was accepted into the roles. Yeah. So it was really, really great. CADIE: Oh my gosh. CECE: Yeah. And so now I've been doing both jobs for two years, and I couldn't be happier. EMMA: What inspired you to work with these resources? CECE: I honestly would say because they were very supportive to me. And I kind of feel that working with these resources or working in these offices were my way of paying them back for their kindness to me and making me feel seen and heard. And these offices also gave me an opportunity to kind of look into my future, like because of these offices, they're pretty much who I'm going to be working for in the future, like through grad school, they're going to be getting me through grad school. So it's like, yeah, like these offices granted me opportunities and even opened the door for more opportunities beyond that. So this is my way of saying thank you to them and just showing my appreciation for what they've done for me. And taking advantage of the opportunities so that I can influence other students so they can fill those spots when I'm gone or when other students are gone as well. EMMA: I'd love to make a note about what you said a little bit ago about how you want to take on so much your first year and then you realize you had so much more time. And then I appreciate how you kind of laid out your career path here at Mason. And I hope that's relieving to our listeners that you can really take it one step at a time because I'm someone who likes to take on a lot of things at a time because I'm certainly someone who does not like to let opportunities go. And it's good to be reminded that you don't have to do everything at once. One thing will lead to another. Just trust the process. CECE: Yeah, definitely. Because during that time, like when I tried to do everything at one time, I got burnt out very, very quickly as a freshman. Like I kept trying to overload myself with classes and then trying to find a job and then doing all of these extracurriculars. And it's OK to not do it all at once. In high school, I did everything under the sun, but I also had my mom there to tell me, “Hey, Cece, you have to go here.” And she was also the one taking me to these places. But when you get to college, you're very independent and your mom's not here to take you to these places or to remind you that you have this due and that due and your professors aren't going to track you down. So I really had to take a moment, take a step back and really look at what I have going on and understand that, hey, I can't do it all right now. Once I get this under control, once I'm more matured within my schooling journey or within my degree journey, then I can add more things to my plate. But until then, I can't do it right now. That was probably the best decision I made in terms of school and my academic journey, because if not, I still would be burnt out. And I'm not. So, yeah. CADIE: And I also feel like there's so much anxiety within different career fields within CHSS because I think one of the most common pieces of advice that we get is don't let any opportunity pass you by. Like always say yes. Always take what opportunities you can because you never know what that opportunity might lead to. And on one hand, that might sound like good advice on paper, right? Take the opportunity. See if you can get a job. See if you can do this. You never know what it might lead to in a positive sense. But also, it might just lead to you getting burnt out. Yeah. And I think it's really powerful to say, like, it is OK to not be involved in everything all at once. You can “put it off”, and I'm using air quotes when I say that, for a year or two. It's OK. You've got time. EMMA: Thank you. CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: We're able to follow these threads because of you just being here and offering your insight. CECE: Thank you. Thank you. CADIE: Going back, what sort of work do you do for each of these resources? I know that we've talked a lot about NSFP and also being an RA. I'm also curious about your CHSS Pop and Talk that you had mentioned. So what does that work look like? CECE: So for the CHSS Pop and Talk specifically, basically, me and Gabby, my colleague, she's also a grad within the CHSS department as well, we sit at a table. It's basically sitting until we're approached. And we have some advertisements out. We have some flyers out. We have snacks. And we also have a question jar, just asking them kind of like a little trivia thing to keep them engaged. So this is just us. They pick a question out of the jar, and it's like, how many majors are within the CHSS department? Or how many minors are in the CHSS department? Kind of just getting their brains working a little bit just to see how much they know about our department. And if they don't know it, that's fine. We'll just educate them on what we have to offer, basically, when we're approached. Other than that, we're just sitting there. We're talking. We'll probably grab some students that are walking by like, “Hey, have you heard of the CHSS Pop and Talk? Would you like to have a conversation with us? Would you like to spend a few minutes here?” You know, just things like that. I will say that a lot of students that we're approached by are not CHSS students. CADIE: Interesting. CECE: A lot of, yeah, a lot of these students are not within CHSS at all. They're actually, most of them are IT students or either within the College of Engineering and Computing. They're also always considering adding this as a minor, which, you know, and I, this is the thing that I really like about Mason is that no matter what your major is, you can add any minor you pretty much want to. So like you can be an engineering major and be a psychology minor. You can be a music major and be an education minor. Like it's really, really cool. I mean, that's what I really like. And them knowing about these possibilities or these chances, they approach us and they talk to us about, you know, what we have to offer. You know, a lot of people, especially in a lot of my psychology classes, a lot of them got a degree before in business and they're back now getting a degree in psychology. And I find that to be really, really cool. Some people, sometimes they don't want to do it at one time and they kind of just want to get one out of the way and then come back and do another. But I just find it really cool that they're able to do that. In other terms of being a CHSS mentor, we just kind of mentor students that need it. Honestly, any student that comes up to the table and they have like a personal question or if they just have questions in general about our lives specifically within CHSS, then we'll also answer those as well. It's just being a mentor to students, any CHSS student. EMMA: It's very neat to hear about how non-CHSS students are so drawn to this opportunity to learn more about the college. We have a question about that, or on that line of thought later on, but we're going to follow up on that because that's really neat to hear. CECE: It is very interesting. EMMA: So how can these resources, whether it's RA, Pop and Talk, CHSS Ambassador, what have you, these resources that you're involved in, how can they help students? CECE: Honestly, they can help them just in terms of gaining the experience, not any specific experience or maybe leadership experience, right? Because in all of these roles, you're being a leader, right? And so in each of the trainings for these roles or just the experience of working in these roles, you learn and develop as a leader basically. And this allows you to be a leader in pretty much every other aspect of your life. There is not a year that I've gone by inGeorge Mason that I haven't been a leader in some aspects. And I really appreciate that. I love leading people. I love helping people. And I love helping them grow and develop to be leaders as well. Seeing our generation grow up, seeing the freshmen grow up and become leaders and doing the things that I once did as well, it's very exciting to see and it's very heartwarming because it's like I remember you when you came in as a freshman and you were back and forth on a lot of things and now you know exactly what you want and you're doing and you're taking the necessary steps to get there. So honestly, just gaining leadership, leadership experience is what they gain from these. And maybe social skills as well. Public speaking is a really big one because it's a lot of, it's a really big part of pretty much all of these jobs, especially being a Patriot Leader. That's basically what the entire job is in itself. It's yelling and giving tours and telling them where to go. So it's pretty much the entire job. So probably public speaking, social skills, and then leadership skills. CADIE: Which students could really utilize these resources? CECE: Any students. Any student in any department. I will say for the CHSS Ambassadors position, specifically CHSS students, it'll help them develop and just being educated on what our college is, how many majors and minors that we have to offer, different resources within our college that we have to offer, not just to psychology students, comm students, but to all CHSS students as well. Yeah, just pretty much any student, honestly, for the other resources. NSFP is made and created for all students, any incoming, any current students, anybody can benefit from these resources. CADIE: And ain't that a beautiful thing to hear? CECE: Yes. EMMA: Yes. How can students get involved with these resources? Either by using them or working with them or in them? CECE: Yeah, both actually. Yeah. So if you're wanting to become an RA, I suggest talking to your RA. I know sometimes things get busy, but your RA, there's an RA on duty every night somewhere in your community. Don't be afraid to stop by and ask your RA. Applications are still open. They're still accepting. Actually, I think they closed yesterday. Did they close yesterday? CADIE: Well, by the time this episode airs. Maybe our applications will be open for the spring. Who knows? CECE: Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. We don't know. But yeah, just like if you see your RA, whether you're an upperclassman, freshman, whatever, and you're interested in this role, talk to your RA about it. Talk to your CDs. They're always in your buildings. Get involved. Help your RA set up an event. Ask them questions. That is what we are here for. In terms of NSFP or becoming a Patriot Leader, those applications have also closed. But also, if you see a student that you recognize from your orientation, or if you see an ongoing orientation session going on on campus, whether it's in the winter or the summer, feel free. I mean, some Patriot Leaders are on break sometimes. So if you see one just chilling, vibing by the elevator, don't be afraid to go up and ask them, “Hey, what is this job? And tell, what do you like about it? And how can I get involved?” And in terms of becoming a CHSS Ambassador, get involved and get connected with your CHSS professors, as well as just the CHSS office in general. I will say that the CHSS department is always throwing an event. We're having one tomorrow, actually, where we get to decorate cookies as well. And it's kind of like a networking event. Yeah. So just getting involved, going to those events. They're always posted on Mason 360. So there's always an opportunity to gain information there. And that is pretty much it, I'd like to say. CADIE: Beautiful! EMMA: Very thorough. CADIE: You say that is pretty much it, after giving a very comprehensive, well thought out, knowledgeable answer. No, that all sounds great. I think a beauty in a lot of the resources that we have here at Mason is that you can both use them, but also become involved in them as well. Our next question for you. CECE: Okay. CADIE: Out of all the resources you're a part of, which one do you feel is the most underutilized by students? CECE: Oh, that is a great question. I'd say getting involved with CHSS mentors in the CHSS program. I will say that we always try to outreach students. We send emails and things like that. But we really want students to actually come and stay and really see what we're all about. But yes, CHSS is a really great college. Us as an office and us as CHSS Ambassadors, we always try to get students' attention. We always try to be there for them and things like that. But getting involved with that is going to be very beneficial because that's what I did. I'm going to be honest, as a freshman, I literally ignored these events. I did not go to one because I didn't become a CHSS Ambassador until my second semester of my sophomore year. So literally, I'm coming up on a year right now. I would skip these events. I wouldn't go. And then my sophomore year, I stopped by one, and I was like, “Wow, who are you guys?” And like, “Oh, we're CHSS Ambassadors. We work for the office. We do events. We do student outreach and things.” And then they had a networking event where they had CHSS alumni here. So there were a lot of professionals here who do what I wanted to do. And so I was like, let me go to this event. Let me get connected. Let me get some LinkedIn connections. And let me learn about what clinical psychology is and what the job actually entails. And so I go and I see Erin and Eleana. And I'm like, I know them. And so I go up to them. I'm like, “What is this event? I didn't know you guys were hosting.” “Yeah, we have our CHSS Ambassadors.” And I go, “CHSS Ambassadors? What's that?” And then they explain it to me. And I was like, “Wow, I think I would be really interested in that.” They're like, “Really? We didn't know that you would be interested.” Yes, absolutely. 100%. And so they go ,and they're like, “OK, we'll send you an email.” And I get an email about all of the information. And next thing I know, I'm signed up and I'm working in an event. And my first event, I got to speak in front of the students. And a few months ago, I actually hosted a panel for the CHSS Ambassador, well, for CHSS, I think it was a fall visit day or just a networking event for high schoolers to come and see what our university was about. And I hosted a panel where I got to ask people questions. And then we got to answer questions from the audience as well. So in the CHSS Ambassador realm in the world, I've kind of come up as well as a leader. So I've been able to lead a lot more of events and speak at these events and things like that. So it's been great. EMMA: I want to ask you, in all of these resources, what is your favorite memory? CECE: Oh, wow. EMMA: Which I know might be hard. CECE: Wow, I didn't know you were going to ask that. Probably becoming a Patriot Leader. Only because I met you. And then also, I got to make an impact on someone else's life. And I feel like that's one of my passions is being an impact to someone else and helping someone else. And literally, we're the first faces they see when they come to the university, the first students that they meet that already go here. So you're already making an impact just by being present and just by being there. And especially with the roles that we were assigned with in the morning, check-in and your directional support. And so literally, you're literally the first face they see when they step on this campus. So you're already making an impact there. But also just through that, I've made a lot of friends. And again, it's opened the door to a lot more opportunities to work for other offices on campus, as well as just be a voice on campus. And allow for people to know your name. Do you know how good it feels to walk by? “Oh my gosh, you were my Patriot Leader. Or you were a Patriot Leader. I saw you dancing on the stage.” And I'm like, “Yeah, that was me. You should do it too.” But yeah, probably becoming a Patriot Leader was probably my favorite. EMMA: Yeah. I mean, there's so many things I've been a part of here at Mason in the limited time since I've transferred. But I mean, I think, I mean, a Patriot Leader is definitely the one that has, I feel, opened up the most doors for me. It's amazing. I mean, it's the office that I've stuck around the longest with and have advanced in. And so, no, it's, be a Patriot Leader, guys. Change your life. CECE: It changes your life. CADIE: And speaking of changing lives, what connections have you made through your many resources? CECE: I've actually found a way to get my grad degree paid for, actually, through... CADIE: Oh my god. CECE: Yes, through that. Yes. So once I actually apply to the program that I'm going for, and actually, like, once I apply to the job that could possibly pay for me to go to school, then I'll be set. But it's through the housing job. So they have graduate CD positions, graduate Community Director position, which is what I'm going for. And basically, you're a graduate RA, but not really. So we have Community Directors who supervise the RAs. And then you have a graduate Community Director, which helps the community director do the same thing, basically. And then they'll pay for my degree up to a certain amount of credits per semester. And then I'll go from there. And I'll work here or be in that department until I finish my grad degree. And then we will go on from there. So super exciting. And yes. And then also, again, from my admissions job that I worked freshman year, it allowed me to become a Patriot Leader as well as an RA. So literally, the jobs I'm holding now is pretty much because of my admissions job my freshman year, which really wasn't a job. It was a volunteer opportunity. Like, I really wanted to do it. And so it led to me kind of to where I am right now. CADIE: That's a great way to finish out Act 1. EMMA: Yeah. Listeners, stick around. We're going to head to the bulletin board now. You are going to hear from our correspondent for this episode-. CADIE: Erin. Erin's going to be our correspondent for this episode. EMMA: It's Erin. Woo. CADIE: We love Erin. CECE: Yeah. EMMA: You're going to hear from our correspondent, Erin, as well as some shout outs and CHSS announcements. We'll see you in Act 2. CADIE: Don't skip this! This isn't an ad break! This is the bulletin board. In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in CHSS hear from correspondents, and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible. Today, we're hearing from Erin McSherry, who is the Assistant Dean for student success at CHSS's Academic Affairs. If you could please share with us your name, your position, and your email. ERIN: Absolutely. My name is Erin McSherry. I am the Assistant Dean for student success in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. And my email address is emcsherr at gmu.edu. I can also actually be reached at our advising email, which is chssadv at gmu.edu. CADIE: And for anybody who doesn't know, where is CHSS located? ERIN: Oh. So we're mostly located in Horizon Hall. Our departments are in Horizon Hall. Our academic affairs office is in Horizon, up on the sixth floor. We are in suite 6300. The Dean's Dean's office is in suite 6100. But our departments are located either in Horizon or other buildings across campus. So some of our bigger units may not actually be in Horizon, but you can find undergrad academic affairs up on the sixth floor of Horizon Hall. CADIE: Perfect. Can you summarize what CHSS does as far as events, resources, things that you provide students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences? ERIN: So in our college, in CHSS, we have many, many different resources and opportunities for undergraduate students. And when I try to frame what my job responsibilities are, I like to center it on thinking about where are our opportunities throughout a student's journey at Mason to be able to embed different opportunities and different levelsof support. So those include a couple big student groups. So we have a group called the CHSS Ambassadors. This is a group of undergrads who work with our office on everything from prospective student events to current student events.They are the voice of CHSS for us when we know our audience wants to hear the voice of CHSS instead of a staff member like myself. So the CHSS Ambassadors is an open group that any CHSS major can join. There is a little application they fill out and then once they are accepted they just become part of a group that we connect with regularly. We provide training and they participate with us on a variety of events. Another group of students that work in CHSS are our peer mentors for a program called the PASS program. This is the Path to Academic Student Success program. It is open to all CHSS undergrads who might want to participate in a semester-long program to boost their academics, connect with a peer mentor, a lot of different ways that they can sort of focus in on, “How do I get better academically?” And these peer mentors are students who maybe have gone through PASS themselves or are just students who like connecting with others on like a support level. So the PASS peer mentors and the program itself is another opportunity that students can do. Connected to PASS is something called the Pop and Talks which may be familiar to the audience. These are opportunities to chat with a peer mentor every Thursday from 2:30 to 4:30 in the Horizon Atrium. So Pop and Talk is a place to just come and connect around anything that happens to be going on in a student's journey or during that semester. Other resources that we have and a lot of these are sort of, you know, tied to students' academics. So there are things like a Learning Assistant program. The CHSS Learning Assistant program is one of our newer initiatives. Right now we have three different courses in the college. They tend to be bigger entry-level courses where we have students who are majoring in that subject area who act as an LA. So not a TA, but a Learning Assistant. So we actively invite applications to be a Learning Assistant. So majors in history, majors in criminology, majors in psychology, this is an opportunity for them to get in the classroom to learn teaching and again to support their fellow students. That's one that's very closely tied to academics. We have big events that we do. We have small events that we do. Some of the bigger events include our welcome reception, Back on the Block, every August, typically the first week after the semester starts. That's just a nice big welcome event for new students, continuing students. Typicallywe're tie-dying shirts, we're having pizza, we're having popcorn, a cool opportunity to connect. Another big event that we'll do once a semester is called CHSS Link Up. So the Link Ups are a really great career and networking focused opportunity where we bring alumni back to campus. So we have alumni from different industries, different fields, all CHSS majors, all George Mason graduates who come back for an evening of talking with current students about their journey, what it was about their CHSS degree that they're really utilizing right now, and to kind of give an edge into, “How do I break into a certain field?” It's just a really good chance to form a professional connection and spend an evening thinking about, “What do I want to do after graduation?” Another opportunity that we'll have is called the CHSS Leadership Lunches. So every spring for our graduating students we have a lunch where we invite all students graduating in the spring and the summer to come and have lunch with us and meet with members of the CHSS leadership to talk about how their experience was, to share their lessons learned. It's just a nice celebration in advance of graduation to come and talk with folks in the Dean's office. So other events, programs that we do in CHSS have developed sort of organically over the last couple of years as we understand what do undergrads need and at different parts of the semester, what really is helpful during midterms, what really do students maybe want to attend at the end of the semester. And so we've sort of focused in on events that center on just a chance to de-stress, a chance to think about well-being and something as simple as come have some donuts and would you like to paint a picture? Would you like to do a little bit of crafting? Would you like to just kind of manipulate some play-doh for a little while? So we will have midterm de-stress events. We have end of the semester de-stress as well or a little picnic outside. So this is just recognition of just come by, hang out, see, you know, grab a snack, take a break. We know things are busy. We know students don't have a lot of time. So we set up these events that are easy to drop by, easy to just come in, pick up something that is our way of saying we're thinking about you, we care about you. Just come for a minute and then move on with your day. So those are some of my favorite events to do honestly because they're fun for us to put together and I like to see when students do hang out for a little while, make connections with each other or you can just see it's working.They're kind of relaxing. They're sitting on a picnic blanket. It's a good opportunity for that type of thing. Other opportunities for a CHSS student. I'll talk a little bit about, so we have every spring, a lot of our events are centered in the spring, the CHSS Undergraduate Research Symposium. This is another big one. This is a great academically connected, career helpful, grad school prep helpful type of event. So this spring, 2026, April 23rd, we already have the date, it's Thursday, in the atrium of Horizon Hall. We'll clear out all of the chairs, all of the space and it is an event where students can come and showcase their research and we know that in pretty much every major students are doing a research project and these projects fit well with doing a poster. So the entire event is poster presentations, can be video recorded presentations throughout the atrium where faculty come, staff come, fellow students come and students have a chance to showcase the work that they've done in a course or on a project with a faculty member. It's another just really great event to highlight hard work and upper level courses, a chance to talk about your skills, develop that expertise and talking about what you've learned, what you've gained and we will feed you as well. CADIE: Perfect, yeah. So I know you already shared your email but if students want to reach out with you, make an appointment with you to talk about whatever it may be, how can they do that? ERIN: So any student who's interested in learning more about getting involved in any of our events and programs is welcome to reach out to our office's general advising account. It is that chssadv@ gmu.edu that reaches me, that reaches our entire student success team in undergraduate academic affairs and if it's a question we can answer, we will. If it's not, we will make that referral to to another individual. CADIE: Perfect and thanks so much for that information Erin. Now on to some resources for you guys. Welcome to the Mason Innovation Exchange, also known as the MIX, George Mason University's marketplace media lab and entrepreneurship incubator. Located in Horizon Hall rooms 1408, 1410, and 2100, the MIX gives you access to cutting edge tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, textiles, and electronics. We also offer pathways into advanced opportunities through our micro-credential courses in blimp prototyping, drone prototyping, robotics, and the NSFI core program for the student entrepreneurs. The MIX is always collaborating with student RSOs, academic departments, and courses and events for the Mason community. Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m to 8 p.m, the MIX hosts rotating workshops to help you kickstart your creative ideas. Learn more at themix.gmu.edu or find us on Mason 360 under Mason Innovation Exchange. Explore your potential with the MIX. If you're a CHSS student who wants to pop in and chat with a CHSS Ambassador, check out CHSS's Pop and Talk, a weekly event held Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30 in the Horizon Hall atrium. Whether you want to explore the CHSScommunity, grab a snack or just say hi, Pop and Talk is here for you. EMMA: Welcome back listeners! We are now here in Act 2 where we're going to do some deeper reflection. So just to start things off, Cece, what do you think, in your time and experience in the various resources that George Mason offers, what do you think George Mason does particularly well when it comes to offering accessible resources to a wide range of students? CECE: Being considerate of everyone, we're already a very diverse and inclusive university and that kind of just adds to that, that's really reflected in all of their resources. I will say that this university allows it, like fixes it to where anybody can be anything, and when I mean it doesn't matter what your race is, ethnicity, sexuality, any of those things, they will allow you, you have an equal opportunity to everyone else. Not saying that there's not an equal opportunity anywhere else, but it's just like there is an equal opportunity here. There's no discrimination, there's no one above anybody else. If you want it, you go for it, right? And you're treated just like everyone else, which is what I love the most. So very, very, very good when it comes to diversity and inclusivity in those things. EMMA: Yeah! CADIE: Emma had mentioned earlier that we were going to have a question about non-CHSS students and Pop and Talk and CHSS resources and we have come to the time. CECE: Yes, let's go. CADIE: So our question to you, Cece, is in what ways do CHSS Ambassadors benefit students outside of CHSS, perhaps through events, support, or community building? CECE: Through sharing our personal experience, I will say, because a lot of the work that I do as a CHSS Ambassador is that. Like I stated earlier, that we have a lot of students that approach us at Pop and Talk who aren't CHSS students as well. I will say that the events that I work also as a CHSS Ambassador, so we do work a lot of admissions events. Sowe have our own station during those. And so we do have a lot of high school where some have declared their major, some haven't. And then there's also some events to where the high schoolers don't even know if they're coming to Mason yet. So we do have a lot of students with a lot of different thought processes in terms of what they want to do in college. So a lot of them want a psychology degree or a comms degree or any major within the CHSS department. And then some of them kind of want to go somewhere else, right? So a lot of it is just sharing my personal experience and I'm trying to make sure it's as real as possible because I don't want to lie to them, right? I share my good and I share my unpleasant experiences, but I also allow them to know like just how passionate I am about the program and the major that I'm studying with the department. So yeah, we just share as much of our personal experience as we possibly can. And we also just enlighten them on our program and what we have to offer. Like we have what over 70 majors and what 50, something like that. We have a lot of majors and we have a lot of minors, so we have a lot to offer. Sowe do share that information with them and we do make sure that they're informed on those things, but mainly just personal experience. EMMA: And it sounds like that's been very beneficial to the students who have come your way. CECE: 100%. Yeah, we have a student that actually comes to visit us every Wednesday. He's also my former resident from the first year that I was an RA and he's an IT student. He just comes by and he sits there and he chats with us. CADIE: I love that. CECE: Yeah, he's very interested in the things that we have going on. And sometimes we don't talk about CHSS things, we just talk about how his day was and what he's studying and his major. But you know, yeah, he comes and he sits with us and he, yeah, he just vibes. Kind of, yeah. EMMA: We love that. In your roles, how do you navigate being a leader and a peer when students come to you with concerns, questions, or personal challenges? CECE: I kind of think of the advice that I received my freshman year when I would approach people who were of authority or who were leaders in my life. And I kind of, I use my personal experience there as well. I've been through quite a few things, similar challenges in terms of education and kind of figuring out exactly what I want when it comes to being a student or trying to see where I want to be in the future. But honestly, yeah, I just give them the best advice that I possibly can. And I try to be as honest as possible, but also be as encouraging as possible as well. Yeah, it's a lot. That's a very, that's a very complicated and complex question because it depends on the situation, honestly, and it depends on exactly what they're asking me to do or what they're wanting as well. Sometimes you just want someone to listen to them, right? And so sometimes I do nothing except for be there, and I sit with the,m and I support them. And then sometimes they want to know, have you ever been in a situation like this? And that's where I can share my own personal experiences. And then other times I can just give them some tips on how to be better or how to go about a certain situation too. But that's like, it just depends on the scenario. It depends on the situation at the time. And it's kind of complicated when it comes to that, but I do try to be the best that I can possibly be in those moments for them. EMMA: And that's all you can do. And it sounds like that in your time here and your time in these roles, you've definitely have established that balance and that have honed that ear for figuring out when to tune up your leadership and when to tune up your peer. CADIE: The nuances within being a leader and like a guidance person. I don't want to say guidance counselor because that's like a different thing. CECE: Yeah. CADIE: You know, there is a certain nuance and navigation that you need to have within those relationships. CECE: Yeah. EMMA: Yes. CADIE: Our next question for you from any of these positions or resources, can you share a moment that you're particularly proud of or when you knew you had made an impact on a student? CECE: Oh, okay. I guess when a student had came to me with some concerns because the RA role is a very competitive job on campus, as you know, like it's one of the higher paying jobs and a lot of perks come with it. You get free housing, you know, just a lot of perks that come with it. And a lot of students want this job. A lot of my residents, they're like, you know, “Cece I don't know if I'm going to be good enough for this. I don't know if this is good enough. Like, like, what do I do? What do I do?” This is my first year and a student of mine, I was like, “You're going to do great.” I said, “Just be yourself. That's all they want. They just want you to be yourself.” And I always tell my students and I tell anybody I talk to this that like, no matter if you know a person or not, they can always tell when you're doing something you don't normally do or when you're not being yourself, like something's off already. Like, I know that you don't normally do this, even though I don't know you, you know, you don't do this. I know you don't do this. Because when I try to do something that I don't normally do, I mess up really bad. Um, or either I stutter, or I just mess up, I mess up, I really do. And so I just say, just be the best version of you that you can possibly be. And we will go from there. And my student became an RA. And now they're an RA. Yeah, they were accepted. And now they're an RA in another community on campus. So I guess in that moment, I guess I can say that I've truly made an impact as a leader because my advice helped them get to where they wanted to go. EMMA: Yeah, thank you for sharing. CECE: Yeah! EMMA: Can you tell us how working in these resources has impacted your college experience? CECE: I will definitely say that it has helped me out financially. I will say that when I came into college finances were definitely a struggle for me. Just do like college is it's expensive. I mean, it is like, you know, you have to pay bills, you have to pay for textbooks, you have to do all of these things. Right? But with the jobs that I have through these offices, I get scholarships, and I get stipends, and they helped me financially, to be able to afford textbooks, or to afford tuition, or, you know, like I like the work that I've done, pays off through them giving me scholarships, basically. So they've definitely helped me financially. But they've also made a way in my life in terms of just helping me develop as a leader. Like I said earlier, I am a leader in pretty much every aspect of my life because of these roles, and because of the things that I've been able to do within them. So yeah, financially, in terms of in leadership, and also just friendships as well, connections, networking, things like that. CADIE: How do you think these resources can supplement or provide academic success and college experience for students? CECE: Oh, that's a great question. I will definitely say that the roles that I'm in, they do definitely hold students accountable when it comes to their academics. And a lot of jobs on campus, I'm pretty sure you guys have heard that you're a student first. Like they always say that you're a student first. So if your grades are not together, if your GPA is not at a certain point, you cannot work the job, right, because you have to prioritize your academics. That is why you're here. If you flunk out of George Mason, you can't still work the job. Right? So I will say that they help students academically in terms of encouraging them to prioritize their academics, and if they don't do well, then they can't work the job. You know what I mean? As a Patriot Leader, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain as a Patriot Leader. As STUCO, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain. As an RA, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain, and if you don'tmaintain it, then they provide resources for you to bring your GPA up. And then, of course, you can't work the job if you don't do the work, basically. They have a great way of holding students accountable, and then they also offer resources if a student is really struggling in terms of academics, because that is why and how they're here. We can only work these jobs if we have good grades, we can only stay in the school if we have good grades. If you flunk out, you can't do anything. So just in terms of holding us accountable is how they provide support academically and encouraging us to put our academics first. EMMA: And I would say that I think a really nice thing is, in my personal experience of working in NSFP student centers and CHSS, is when... I'm a person that tries to be intrinsically motivated, but I've just noticed that when, because like you said, George Mason has these standards of your student first, and that when you are in these positions, you are already inherently surrounded by individuals who want to help keep you motivated as well. So it's not even like, I mean, of course, it's your supervisors and your professional staff who are going to support you if ever you fall short of making academic requirements, but I also think that there's a level of community of your fellow students and peers around you who help support you in your academic success and your jobs. CECE: Most definitely. EMMA: What would you say to students who are hesitant to utilize the resources you have mentioned? CECE: Do it scared. That's what I did. I might seem like a very confident person, but when it comes to approaching new things, especially, I get anxiety. I do. I get very scared, but I learn that I do everything the when I'm scared. Do it scared. Don't allow your fear or your feelings of anxiety or your feelings of you not potentially being good enough hold you back from accomplishing something that you want to accomplish. Be the best version of you that you can possibly be and go for it, and if they don't accept you for who you are, then it's not meant for you, but there is always something that is meant for you. At the time, you might be focused on something, and you might try it out, and like, this isn't for me. That is okay. That is okay. There's always something else out there that is for you. Just remember that. Don't be discouraged if you get one no. You keep going until you hear yes. Okay, so do it scared. Do it unsure. Do it. Do it. Don't do it unsure. Like, if you're not sure about it, don't do it, but do it scared. That's signs that you're going to do very well. EMMA: If you're unsure, ask for help. Ask for questions. CECE: Yeah, don't do it unsure. CADIE: Well, kind of going off of that note, what's one lesson you've learned during your time here at Mason and being so involved in all these resources? CECE: You can't do it all, and it's okay that you can't do it all. You don't have to be Superman or Superwoman. You don't have to do everything. Take it one step at a time. If you're, especially if you're a freshman, you have three to four years left, right? Take your time. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to do five to six clubs your freshman year and continue to do that. You don't have to do that. Take it one step at a time and utilize your resources. We have resources. You have your academic advisors, success coaching. You have your professors. You have CHSS. You have people within these departments that care about you. Utilize them. Go to them. Email them. Blow the emails up. That is what they're here for. Ask your questions, and there's no such thing as a dumb question at all. Ask your questions. Get them answered. Reach out to your professors, and just be you, but you do not have to do everything at one time. EMMA: Looking ahead, how do you see your experiences in these roles and these resources influencing how you support others post-grad? CECE: Very deep reflection, huh? I don't know. Just continuing everything that I've learned, kind of. I've just learned to, in terms of being a leader specifically, I've learned to kind of take into account how others feel and what their ideas may be and consider those ideas, so I guess in terms of being a therapist in the future, kind of listening to people and kind of trying things their way. As a therapist, your job is to not tell them what to do. It's to help them navigate life on their own, right? Yes, you can give them examples of techniques to use, but also it's about working with them and what's best for them and providing advice, but not telling them what to do, so honestly just listening to them, making them feel seen and heard, reflecting with them. Yeah, honestly, just a lot, just hearing people. CADIE: I can't believe we're even saying this, but... EMMA: We're at the end of our episode, actually. CECE: Wow. CADIE: This is our final question. CECE: Wow. CADIE: We like to ask everybody here the same final question, and that question is, what advice would you like to give to our listeners? CECE: Okay, I've said this like 50 times throughout the... EMMA & CADIE: Say it again! Say it again! CECE: Yes, but... CADIE: This is a thesis of the episode. CECE: Be the best version of yourself as you possibly can. Like I said before, they can tell that you're not being yourself just by first meeting you. Don't have to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time, and finally, do it scared. Do it scared. If you're scared, do it anyway, but if you're unsure, don't do it. Ask questions. Ask as many questions as you possibly can, but do it scared. Be yourself and just do it boldly, and that's it. EMMA: And I think that's a great way to close out this episode. Cece, is there anyone or anything that you would like to shout out or promote? CECE: Yes, NSFP. Become a Patriot Leader, and if you see your Patriot Leader, say hi to them. They'd love to hear from you. Become an RA. RAs are great. Become a CHSS Ambassador. If you're interested in that, do it. It's fun. EMMA: Yeah. Where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS? CECE: Yes, so you can find me on social media at underscore Ciara Keen, C-I-A-R-A-K-E-E-N. You can find me on LinkedIn by the same name. Snapchat, the same name. Email, same thing. Pretty much it. EMMA: And finally, very, very last question. What are your post-grad plans? CECE: Yes, so like I said before, I'm graduating in May of 2026. I finished school in three years. So happy about that, but after that, I am planning to stay here next year and do either the social work graduate program or either the clinical mental health graduate program. And also, like I said before, work as a graduate CD if things go well with that. After that, we're going to see what happens. But that is the only thing I am sure of at the moment. EMMA: Well, Cece, thank you so much for being here. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. CADIE: Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website, where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. EMMA: If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging @chsspod. All these things help support the show and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you will tune into the next episode, where we are joined by Lillian Ryskamp to discuss being a research assistant for the psychology department here at GMU. But until then, stay curious, CADIE: Stay creative! BOTH: And stay connected!