The George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government's chapter of the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society (PAA) admitted 35 new scholars in the 2018-2019 academic year during a ceremony at Mason’s Arlington Campus on April 12.
The Washington, D.C.-based global organization Pi Alpha Alpha is the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. It has more than 162 chapters at NASPAA member schools, and it accepts Master’s in Public Policy and Master’s in Public Administration students with a cumulative grade point average of 3.8 or higher.
“We ought to celebrate success throughout the way,” said James Burroughs, director of the Master’s in Public Administration program, addressing the newly admitted scholars. “Nobody arrives at this point without putting in the effort and time.”
“The people who do the best and work the hardest are here,” said Bonnie Stabile, director of the Master’s in Public Policy program, and an alumna of Mason. “I think you are all going to make the world a better place by bringing insight to difficult problems.”
“I was actually in the first PAA chapter admitted here at Mason,” she said. “It was an honor.”
Burroughs and Stabile handed out pins and certificates of achievement. After receiving her award, Katherine Simon, a Master’s in Public Administration student, said, “Events like this show what happens when students find a program and an environment that really helps them thrive.”
Paul Nooney, the organizer of the ceremony and associate director of student services, wants students to be proud of and acknowledged for their achievements.
“I think it’s important that we recognize the students that excel,” he said. “It’s a way that we can honor them, and it’s an honor that they can take with them beyond the Schar School.”