Learning technology student and alum find shared language to develop International Trade Commission corporate university

It's called the "eureka effect": an 'aha!' moment when a student suddenly understands a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. For both George Mason University graduate student Mimi Glass, MA Arts Management '19, and alum Christopher Bellone, MS Learning Design and Technology '22, this is what they work toward in their studies and work in learning design and technology. And they brought that shared philosophy to the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) as student volunteer and mentor, respectively.

Bellone came into instructional design from health care. After serving as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy and working in emergency dispatch, he transitioned into training-focused roles, first as the regional hospital preparedness coordinator and then a training specialist with FEMA.

"I spent a lot of my time traveling across the United States teaching state and local officials rules and regulations," he said. "But when COVID-19 happened, and I couldn't be out there with people anymore, I needed to do something." George Mason University and the Learning Design and Technology Program were the answers.

"It was backwards engineering for me. I knew how to do it up front, but not the theory behind it. It taught me so much about what I've been doing for over 20 years." It was, he said, his "aha” moment.

Now, he's paying it forward for current learning design and technology students. Earlier this year, Bellone reached out to Lisa Giacumo, associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development and Doug Wilson, assistant professor and academic program coordinator for the Learning Design and Technology master’s program, to develop an internship partnership between the program and the USITC.

Glass is the first student volunteer in the program.

A learning design and technology master's student and the associate director of development, constituent engagement in the College of Engineering and Computing, Glass' first taste of learning design came from her time as a professional dance instructor. "I got to watch people literally walk through the learning process as I taught them the steps of a dance," she said. "And at some point, there's the 'aha' moment, and they get it. And it's such an exciting moment for everyone involved." With her extensive experience in administration and project management as well, instructional design was a perfect confluence of her strengths and skills.

As a student volunteer with the commission, Glass spent the summer building the foundation for the development of a SharePoint site for training and educational materials for commission departments.

"We have the learning management system for the organization, but there's so much other training that happens within departments," Glass explained. "It'd be great to have one place for that to live."

She created a UX design plan, conducted user interviews, and developed prototypes and recommendations for next steps. It's necessary groundwork for Bellone's vision of a corporate university. It's a valuable experience for Glass as well, putting her coursework into practice and learning new technologies.

"I could have all the theory in the world," said Glass, "but there's nothing that's going to substitute the networking and learning opportunities that come from hands-on work."

And working with an alum of the program is, Glass describes, like sharing a language. "Having that shared language of how we think about instructional design creates a lot of trust."

Bellone hopes the learning design and technology program can continue expanding the bridge between college and career through opportunities like this. "I'm at the point in my life where I want to give back," he said, "I want to share my expertise, and give those who are just starting their training careers more opportunities. I want students like Mimi to succeed."