Mason is major­ing in his­to­ry and sec­ondary edu­ca­tion. If he could give any advice to some­one who is con­sid­er­ing apply­ing for the Bright/​Lois Dale Schol­ar­ship it would be to leave noth­ing on the table in your appli­ca­tion essay; the Bright Foun­da­tion wants to see who you are and the poten­tial you have to make a dif­fer­ence. Scroll to read the full inter­view for more about Mason!

What does being a Bright Schol­ar mean to you?

Being a Bright Schol­ar is like being a lega­cy of Dale and Lois Bright. Even though they are no longer with us, the Brights saved and invest­ed their mon­ey to give stu­dents like me an oppor­tu­ni­ty to pur­sue an edu­ca­tion with­out finan­cial wor­ries. We are, in a way, rep­re­sent­ing their val­ues and vision. If they were here, I would want to make them proud. 

To me, being a Bright Schol­ar means I’ve com­mit­ted to work­ing hard. I believe I was cho­sen for this fan­tas­tic schol­ar­ship for a rea­son, and that is what moti­vates me to be at the top of my game at all times. I nev­er want to let the Bright Foun­da­tion down or cause the foun­da­tion to sec­ond guess its deci­sion to pro­vide me with this fan­tas­tic opportunity.

What advice would you give to some­one who is con­sid­er­ing apply­ing for the Bright Scholarship/​Lois Dale Scholarship?

My best advice would be to leave noth­ing on the table in your appli­ca­tion essay. The Bright Foun­da­tion wants to see who you are and the poten­tial you have to make a dif­fer­ence. Be upfront and hon­est about why you are apply­ing for the schol­ar­ship. If you have a sto­ry, share it. I do not think my life expe­ri­ence is out of the ordi­nary, but I was very open through­out the appli­ca­tion process, and I believe that’s why I was for­tu­nate enough to be award­ed this amaz­ing scholarship.

What is your favorite class and why?

My favorite class is His­to­ry 222: Sur­vey of U.S. His­to­ry II, taught by Dr. Sta­cy Cordery. When I took Dr. Cordery’s class, I was study­ing Eng­lish edu­ca­tion with addi­tion­al endorse­ments in speech and the­ater, but I wasn’t sure this was the right path for me. For­tu­nate­ly, Dr. Cordery’s pas­sion for U.S. his­to­ry rubbed off and inspired me to switch to his­to­ry and sec­ondary edu­ca­tion. The impact a teacher can have on stu­dents is tru­ly amaz­ing. I hope to be an inspi­ra­tion to stu­dents through­out my career, as Dr. Cordery inspired me.
What’s the best food on campus?

That’s a toss-up! The din­ing cen­ters have a fan­tas­tic Thanks­giv­ing din­ner the week before break. They do the whole thing : turkey, mashed pota­toes, cran­ber­ry sauce, green bean casse­role. Hon­est­ly, it might be bet­ter than my family’s Thanks­giv­ing meal… but don’t tell them I said so.

Hawthorn in the Fred­erik­sen Court Com­mu­ni­ty Cen­ter has some of my favorite meals. The SoCal sub sand­wich is fan­tas­tic. Pair it with a bag of Gar­den Sal­sa Sun Chips, a Rasp­ber­ry Lime Hi‑C, some Real House­wives of New York City, and a room­mate who sup­ports my real­i­ty TV addic­tion, and I’ve got one good Sat­ur­day night! I also wouldn’t argue with a cheese­burg­er piz­za with a side of onion rings.