Mackenzi Moran, Candidate for Vice President of Fairfax Campus
Graduate Degree Program: Master’s student, M.A. in Criminology, Law and Society, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (full-time student)
Expected Date of Graduation: May 2025
Campus of Academic Department: Fairfax
Campus(es) of Classes, Work, and/or Residence: Fairfax
Biography and Candidate Statement
My name is Mackenzi Moran, and I am enrolled for the M.A. program for Criminology, Law and Society! Throughout the development of my educational career, I realized that I’m very capable of being a mentor, an advocate, and a leader. I have held various positions of authority throughout my time at GMU, and during the completion of my bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland for Criminology and Criminal Justice. I work vigorously to make the communities I am a member of better; as you continue to read my statement, I want my main message to include two things: I work tremendously hard to help others, and I want to work hard to make this campus a better place, especially for graduate students! Before discussing some of my educationally-based roles, one of the main contributions I have made to the world is my current role as a tutor for inmates currently incarcerated within Maryland prisons, of which are actively working towards their bachelor’s degrees! Having been engaged with this program since Fall 2023, I go out of my way to help and mentor those around me, especially individuals who might not have ever had a chance to succeed or feel valued. While this might be a loose application to running this race, I feel as though it encapsulates how I go above and beyond to work outside of my standard student hours to make a difference in the world! It is important to note that I also have proven to be effective in both leading and helping students on-campus as well. Before GMU, I was a Teaching Assistant (GTA) for about one year at the University of Maryland. At GMU, I have been a Graduate Teaching Assistant since Fall 2023, assisting Professor Heather Toronjo in teaching Crim 495 (Capstone in Criminology, Law and Society). This role involves me holding brief recitations weekly (three hours per week), which showcases my experience with public speaking. Furthermore, I work outside these hours to provide additional support to students, working with them via Zoom sessions for individualized assistance with their final papers of their educational career at GMU. Funny enough, yesterday I met with most students in my class, and held 1v1 meetings with them for approximately six hours! Both my amount of experience, along with the amount of work I put into these types of roles, proves many things: my capability to work well with students at our campus, my ability to lead a room, and my dedication to going above and beyond the expectations of my assigned role(s) here on campus. If you select me to serve as the Vice President of GAPSA, I would be BEYOND honored! I work really hard for the people around me, and to make members of our community feel both heard and represented. I have proven to work with those within our campus very well, and I want to do everything in my power to make our campus improve! Thank you for reading!
Availability and Commitment to the Time and Expectations of the position
I will be capable of meeting the time commitments and expectations of my role. I will be engaged in two graduate courses next semester, and will be working to complete my Master’s Thesis during this time. I will also continue actively participating in the organization involved with tutoring inmates within the state of Maryland. Again, I will be capable of managing my time accordingly, to adequately represent graduate students at George Mason University!