Seven GW seniors will earn their master’s degrees at GW tuition free while gaining job experience, thanks to the university’s Presidential Administrative Fellows program.
Elizabeth Barnett, Paul Biba, Jordan Chaffin, Jessica Mann, Rob Maxim, Eric Thibault and Taylor Tibbetts will be honored along with graduating PAFs at the Presidential Administrative Fellowship Commencement Weekend Reception Friday in the Marvin Center’s Continental Ballroom.
“I've enjoyed working with the PAFs from the day I first arrived on campus, and this year’s graduating fellows were no exception!” said President Steven Knapp. “Our university benefits tremendously from having graduate students working in our offices who have such broad knowledge of, and deep commitment to, George Washington. I look forward to working with the incoming PAFs and getting to know them as well as I have their predecessors.”
Each PAF receives free tuition, a housing allowance and monthly compensation. While they pursue master’s degrees, they will work part time in a university administrative office.
A former GW Student Association vice president, Colonial Cabinet member and house scholar, Mr. Maxim saw the PAF fellowship as a way to continue his involvement on campus “as well as give back to the wider GW student and alumni community.”
“To be chosen from a pool of candidates that includes some of the university’s top student talent is an honor,” said Mr. Maxim, who will pursue a master’s degree in international trade and investment in the Elliott School of International Affairs. “The accomplishments of my fellow recipients and current PAFs show the caliber of student GW chooses for this program. It sets a high standard for my next two years, but one that I’m excited to work toward.”
Elizabeth Barnett, who will pursue a master’s degree in public health at GW’s School of Public Health and Health Services, said the decision to apply for the fellowship was an easy one.
“I was looking for a way to continue my commitment to GW as well as pursue my passion for public health,” said Ms. Barnett, who was a fitness instructor at the Lerner Health and Wellness Center and a housing proctor and office assistant with GW Housing Programs. “My PAF acceptance letter was completely unexpected, and it took weeks for the reality to set in.”
Paul Biba, co-chair and founding member of Camp Kesem GW—a non-profit summer camp for children of parents with cancer—and an intern with the U.S. Secret Service, said he hopes to make GW “a place where other students can have the same or even better experiences than I did as an undergraduate.
“At the core of the program is the idea that fellows are working to make GW a better place for those who will experience life at GW after we’re here,” said Mr. Biba. “It’s our job, in a sense, to be an advocate to the university for the undergraduates, alumni and graduate students.
“It’s a responsibility that none of us will take lightly,” he said. “We’re honored to serve as university advocates.”