Mason Gersh
Political Science/International Affairs, BA
2018
Mason knew from a young age that he was interested in social justice and advocacy. At age four, his mother took him to the Million Mom March for gun control. His co-op and research experiences at Northeastern cultivated his already budding passion for social justice, while broadening the ways in which he was able to conceptualize how social change and justice manifest themselves. His time at Northeastern also helped him narrow down this passion into a career path for after graduation as a policy and communications consultant at the International Rescue Committee.
With a combined major in political science and international affairs, Mason pursued his passion for human rights advocacy with a unique interdisciplinary approach.
He went on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Berlin and Istanbul with Professors Berna Turam and Kathrin Zippel where he studied how minority communities use urban space.
His first co-op was at Oxfam, working on advocacy campaigns about industry transparency, climate change, and food security.
Human Rights in the Twenty-First Century, taught by Professor Serena Parekh, confirmed Mason’s decision to work in the field of human rights policy.
Professor Denise Garcia’s International Conflict and Negotiation course engaged Mason in international issues and how negotiations can positively impact outcomes.
Mason spent a semester at the London School of Economics through the Hansard Scholars Program. The fieldwork he did built toward his required thesis as a Hansard Scholar.
Working with Professor Tom Vicino, he examined how the LGBT community has used urban clustering to create historically LGBT neighborhoods, receiving a scholar’s research grant.
As Senior Information Officer (Humanitarian Reporting) for USAID, Mason channels his interest in advocating for marginalized populations.
