BA in Human Development and Family Science
The Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) program focuses to educate students through quality instruction and experiential learning in lifespan human development and family science by fostering critical thinking and the research, communication, and career-ready skills that prepare them to become professionals in service to individuals and families.
JOYCE FREMPONG
Three days a week, after her 12-hour shifts as a hospital secretary, Joyce Frempong would rush to Mason, where she said she would brush her teeth in her car and change her clothes in a university bathroom just to get to class on time. For the 45-year-old from Woodbridge, Virginia, who came to the United States from Ghana 20 years earlier and had a husband and 10-year-old son to attend to, the routine was worth it. “I’m overjoyed,” she said of earning her bachelor’s degree at Mason after two years at Northern Virginia Community College. “I look back sometimes, going hours without any sleep, the stress. But I see myself, and I’m graduating, and it’s like a dream come true.” Frempong aspires to be a family services counselor and might return to Mason to pursue a master’s degree. She credits College of Education and Human Development associate professor Bethany Letiecq for inspiring her. “I don’t know how to thank her,” Frempong said. “She gave me strength. She kept pushing me every day and working with me. She was the one who started everything.”
