Society of Professional Journalists Chapter George Mason University

On September 20, 2016 Former USA Today Journalist Mary Beth Marklein spoke to the GMU chapter of SPJ to discuss al things journalism and her upcoming Vietnam study abroad trip. Marklein was a freelance writer for 10 years before joining USA Today where she worked for 17 years. While freelancing she was also a professor and was an editor at the same time. She covered stories abroad in Romania and Hungary when first working for USA Today. Marklein first went to Vietnam in 2014 and while she was there she realized she enjoyed being a writer than an editor. She is currently hosting a study abroad program in Vietnam for winter 2017.

On September 13, 2016 Washington Post Reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan visited George Mason University to share about her experiences working as the Washington Capitals Beat Reporter and gave students advice for their future career paths. Isabelle attended the University of South Carolina and obtained a degree in journalism. While she was in college she was an active participant in the school's newspaper, specifically she covered a soccer beat. After her sophomore year she completed an internship at the Daily Press. From there she went on and applied for a journalism scholarship specifically for minorities and women, which she received. Using this scholarship she continued her career and landed a position with ESPN. This particular job taught her to be aggressive, even though she did not write as much as she hoped she would. Her senior year of college she began free lancing with a local paper in the area. Shortly after, she got an internship with the Washington Post and then was hir