Greg Johnson

Many students graduate from the Costello College of Business at George Mason University with bold plans to start their own companies. Bethany Rivera and Alex Tugbang, both undergraduate marketing students and classmates in Jiyeon Hong’s marketing course, had already launched their respective businesses Rivera’s Photography and Photuggraphy prior to enrolling.

Ajay Vinzé, dean of the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University, sat down with Susan Riel, president and CEO of EagleBank, for a fireside chat on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 10.

When hearing the term “sustainability” in business circles, there’s often a misconception that it hinders growth. For the last three years, the MBA elective course Environmentally Sustainable Operations has offered interested graduate students from across George Mason University the opportunity to work with companies from multiple industries on making the business case for sustainability.

After two years of studying management and marketing at the Costello College of Business and the Honors College at George Mason University, Rakibul Alam’s academic credits have put him a semester ahead of schedule.

Brittany Mullins, BS Marketing ’07, found her professional niche while studying at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University. Since graduating, she has founded and run her successful brand, Eating Bird Food, providing healthy recipes and more to her loyal followers.

Led by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) within the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, the Patriot Pitch Competition supports early-stage business ventures and ideas from Mason students and recent alumni. On April 11, the finalists made their final pitches on the Fairfax Campus. 

To mark the beginning of a broader academic connect between George Mason and leading universities in Viet Nam, the Costello College of Business and University Libraries officially opened a special exhibition in partnership with the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and received their donation of rare books to the university's special collections.

The students’ trip to the headquarters showed them how they could apply what they have learned in the classrooms as future professionals, whether it be at the SEC or elsewhere.

Co-founded in 2018 by Trevor Montano, BS Accounting ’00, and Derek Horstmeyer, a professor of finance at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, the Montano Student Investment Fund (SMIF) is an all-equity investment fund administered by finance students at the Costello College of Business.

Shabinaaz Mahdi, BS Accounting ’12, discovered a passion for accounting at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University. While in school, she was introduced to Baker Tilly, a leading advisory tax and assurance firm, where she has risen through the ranks to become partner.