It wasn’t too long ago that Howard Stone was learning about the world and making foreign friends on the international-themed fifth floor of the Commonwealth residence hall on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University. Now Stone is in Japan, learning the language and developing connections in the Japanese government that he will continue to foster when he returns to his job at the Justice Department next year.
Stone, BA International Relations ’09, is in the Ishikawa Prefecture as a recipient of a Mike Mansfield Fellowship, a program established by Congress in 1994 to build bridges and discover best practices between the U.S. and Japanese governments, focusing on law enforcement policies and public-private partnerships. Stone, who works for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, credits his experience at George Mason for his job, his fellowship and “for providing me with skills that will aid me long past the day I retire.”
“As an incoming freshman I had no idea how important my time at Mason would be to the years beyond college and my experiences beyond the classroom.” - Howard Stone Alumnus
“As an incoming freshman I had no idea how important my time at Mason would be to the years beyond college and my experiences beyond the classroom,” he says. His upward trajectory began immediately, with a 100-level general education class taught by Mason history professor Jane Censer, who made him eager to learn, and a career counselor “who helped me navigate the confusion of being a clueless freshman to guide me past class requirements and provide a window into the world of federal internships,” he says.
Stone took advantage of nonacademic opportunities at Mason, which included working a job in food service where he learned to appreciate how hard the students study as well as the dedication of the food service staff. While a resident advisor, Stone says he “learned to appreciate the job by housing staff to keep everyone safe.” And he made his first trip to Tokyo to study at Sophia University as part of Mason’s Direct Exchange Program.
“These were excellent opportunities to fully appreciate the meaning of being a George Mason Patriot,” he says.
When Stone returns home next year at the end of the fellowship, he plans “to focus on international U.S. law enforcement cooperation and aid, public-private sector security partnerships and U.S.-Japan law enforcement ties.”
Write to Buzz McClain at bmcclai2@gmu.edu