Graduating Senior – Alex Horn

Posted: March 2, 2015 at 4:57 pm, Last Updated: March 3, 2015 at 10:41 am

 

Alex lives by the motto ‘You can always be better – a better referee, a better player, better in fitness.” That personal credo has carried him from being family-oriented and an excellent athlete, to being a stellar student and employee.

Alex grew up in Glen Allen, VA with four sisters: two older and two younger. He takes his job as brother seriously by setting a good example in whatever he does. He’s been an athlete his entire life starting with pee wee soccer at the age of 4. As he grew up, he played football, basketball, track, baseball, ice hockey and swimming.   In high school he won the state champion gold medal for butterfly and the bronze medal for breast stroke. After coming to Mason, Alex continued to participate in sports by joining some of the intramural teams.

During his sophomore year, he applied to be a referee for intramural so he could make some extra money to pay his bills. Soon after, he realized it was also an opportunity for personal growth. Alex was an official for one year and became a supervisor the next year where he continues as program assistant and staff development program assistant.

Alex is also the Extramural basketball team captain. Their recent participation at the University of Maryland Basketball Tournament proved to be a success. While they lost their game with Maryland after winning the first two pool games, making them a number two seed, they finished with the 2nd best record for the tournament. He says, “Extramural ball gives the younger guys an understanding of how important it is to practice and what’s needed to be competitive. It’s fun to play with a group of guys you don’t really hang out with and then you learn about them as you practice and play.” Alex credits his Dad for instilling respect and humility into him. He says he wants to be an ambassador of fun and the embodiment of good sportsmanship to promote a safe and competitive environment for sports.

Alex feels like Mason is what you make of it. He says, “Since it’s a commuter school, some people just come and go without really connecting. But Mason has a ton of ways to get connected. There’s always something to do. Living on campus, the smaller sense of community makes it easy to connect.”

He adds, “Mason Recreation really represents making the best of the Mason experience. People who live on campus have three great centers to go to. If you go to the gym, you get to know the people who are always there. With fitness, you can get better, have fun, and get involved in a positive way. Recreation is so important in college. It becomes part of your life and fosters a healthy lifestyle.   With sports there’s always a way to get involved. I’ll probably play basketball as long as my body will let me.”

Alex graduates in May with a degree in Government and International Politics. He’ll be attending the University of Oklahoma starting Summer 2015 and will work as their Intramural Sports Graduate Assistant.

 

By Jennifer Lehman, MS RYT