Greg Johnson

Jana Aly began her studies at George Mason University as an undeclared major. A first-generation college student with a strong aptitude for mathematics, she explored courses in the Costello College of Business, initially considering finance. However, it was during an accounting course that her career aspirations began to take shape.

On Saturday, August 9, the WISE program officially launched at the Hybla Valley Community Center in Alexandria, Virginia—marking a significant milestone in advancing entrepreneurship and workforce development for aspiring entrepreneurs in Fairfax County.

The Costello College of Business at George Mason University is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED), marking a significant milestone in advancing innovation, economic development, and student career readiness across Northern Virginia.

Nadine Choueiri, BS Management ’08 and MBA ’16, is the chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO) of Mission1st Group, a fast-growing, service-disabled veteran-owned government contractor.

Brianna Wallman began her academic journey at Northern Virginia Community College, where an inspiring accounting professor sparked her interest in the field.

When Cory, BS Finance ’18, and Ashley Brooks (formerly Reichert), BS Finance and Marketing ’19, first started dating at George Mason University nearly a decade ago, they didn’t yet realize that their love story would one day turn into marriage, both working as wealth advisors for the same company, volunteering their time at the school where they first met, becoming parents to a beautiful baby girl—and so much more.

When he first received the email informing him that he was a recipient of the PCAOB scholarship, Tyler Ngo was convinced that it was too good to be true. It was not until Peggy Tsirigotis, assistant area chair and instructor of accounting at the Costello College of Business, reached out to him that he realized how legitimate it was. 

When Grant Patterson began his career in accounting at Beers and Cutler, his team was searching for a staff member to recruit and present at George Mason University. As he took more recruiting trips, he got to know the faculty well and connected with student organizations. Eventually, the firm’s partner at the time, John Niehoff, BS Accounting ’84, asked him if he would be willing to manage the recruiting relationship at George Mason, and Patterson was more than willing to step into that role.

After taking the Survey of Accounting 203 course with Muhammad Awais (BS Accounting ‘13, MS Accounting ‘14), an adjunct instructor at the Costello College of Business, Khaled Alkurd knew everything he needed to know to switch his area of study from marketing to accounting.

At the end of the 2025 spring semester, Brian Ngac, an instructional assistant professor of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM) at the Costello College of Business and FWI Corporate Partner Faculty Fellow, and Nirup Menon, professor of ISOM at Costello, received word that another one of their experiential learning proposals won a grant from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI).