Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
Bio: Mason is a second-year Master’s candidate at CLAS with previous attendance at the University of South Carolina, where he received his B.A. in Political Science and B.A. in Languages, Literatures and Cultures, concentrating in Spanish. Specifically, he is curious about the intersection of political institutions, social justice movements, and community advocacy, with a unique focus on the environment. These interests have guided him as a graduate student to studying the Amazonian region of South America, looking at conflicts surrounding the advancement of both agro-business and indigenous land tenure and sovereignty. In the future, he hopes to find a career in legal advocacy, using his education to defend the rights of people and the environment against civil and ethical violations.
Concentration: Governance and New Leaderships
Research Area – Substantive: Environmental Justice, Ecophilosophy, Human Rights
Research Area – Geographic: Mexico and the Brazilian Amazon