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Health & Fitness

Mason Welcomes Melissa Broeckelman-Post

Mason welcomes a new faculty member in the Communication department!

This fall, Melissa Broeckelman-Post will be joining the Communication Studies faculty as an Assistant Professor and as the Basic Course Director.

She will be taking the place of Don Boileau who will be starting his retirement. Melissa comes all the way from Los Angeles, where she worked as a Basic Course Coordinator and TA supervisor at CSULA.

When I asked her what made her decide to come to Mason, she said, “I was actually really happy working with my colleagues at Cal State Los Angeles and wasn't planning to look for another job—my husband and I bought a house last summer and were planning to stay in Southern California.  But, he was traveling to Reston a couple of weeks a month for work since his company's primary office is there, so when the GMU Basic Course Director position opened up, I decided that I should take a closer look.”

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Melissa also had some great things to say about the Communication Department at Mason.

“Everything that I saw about the Communication Studies department impressed me — the quality of the faculty and students, the impressive and relevant research being done across the department, and the support for student groups within the department (especially forensics!), and I have continued to be impressed by the collegiality within the department and the scope of the work being done as I have had an opportunity to spend a little more time on campus.” She continued, “I'm also looking forward to joining a department that is growing rapidly and collaborating with so many other outstanding faculty-scholars.”

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After she received her Bachelor’s of Arts in English at Kansas State University, Melissa went on to also receive a Master’s of Arts in Speech Rhetoric and Communication there as well in 2005. Did I mention she graduated Summa Cum Laude? In 2009 she became a Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Studies at Ohio University. You could say she quite qualified to work here at Mason, and we look forward to having her. I also learned a little about her hobbies and interest in my interview. She has visited D.C. before, but she is looking forward to going to all of the museums and participating in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. As an avid runner Melissa has done 5k’s, 10k’s, and is preparing for a couple more half marathons in May.

Melissa also enjoys cooking, and learned how to at a very young age. Melissa said, “I have really enjoyed experimenting with new ingredients and types of cuisine.  Living in Los Angeles in particular has given me a chance to try a lot of new foods and have access to a lot of fresh, locally-grown ingredients, so I'm looking forward to checking out even more new foods in Fairfax and DC and hope to spend a little more time cooking since I'll spend a lot less time driving.”

As a new faculty member here at Mason I have no doubt that Melissa will fit in nicely here on campus and as a new resident of Fairfax. It seems she is well qualified and has much to offer our Communication Department here too. We look forward to having her here and turning her into a full-fledged Patriot!  

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