Enter your email Address

Giving To Mason Giving To Mason-Stacked
  • Vision
      • gmu-arrowVision
      • Make Your Difference
        • Students
        • Research
        • Campus
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
  • Impact
      • gmu-arrowImpact
      • Impact Stories
        • Faster Farther Recap
        • Donor Recognition
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
  • How To Give
      • gmu-arrowHow To Give
      • Giving by School
        • Athletics
        • College of Education and Human Development
        • College of Health and Human Services
        • College of Humanities and Social Sciences
        • College of Science
        • College of Visual and Performing Arts
        • Hylton Performing Arts Center
        • Honors College
        • Antonin Scalia Law School
        • Schar School of Policy and Government
        • School of Business
        • Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
        • University Libraries
        • University Life
        • College of Engineering and Computing
      • Corporate Giving
        • Overview
      • Make A Planned Gift
        • Overview
        • Explore More
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
  • Connect
      • gmu-arrowConnect
      • Ways to Connect
        • Contact Us
        • Alumni Engagement
        • George Mason University
          Foundation, Inc.
        • Impact
      • Questions?
        • FAQ
      • Policies
        • Donor Bill of Rights
        • Administrative Fee Policy
      • Contact Our Team
        • Contact University Advancement And Alumni Relations Staff
        • Contact School, College, And Unit Advancement Staff
  • Visit
    Gmu.Edu
  • GiveNow
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Giving

Changing Lives: Elena Prien

08/24/2016
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

The Greatest Gift: A Life Well-Lived

When she turned 80, Elena Prien, BIS ’82, decided the best present would be to give something away. So she gave Mason $150,000.

The gift created the Elena Scholarships Endowment, which will award $1,000 annually to six students studying with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. “When I made the decision to start a scholarship, I went looking for a program that provided all the lessons I had learned about living a meaningful life and found it at the center,” Prien says.

For her, it was the culmination of a long road to personal well-being. Searching for meaning after her 22-year-old son took his own life, Prien discovered the benefits of mindfulness to understand and come to terms with her emotions and reach a more peaceful state of mind. With her own life stabilized, she earned her degree at Mason and went on to work as a nurse in a long-term care facility.

Now, through her generous gift to Mason, Prien hopes to see generations of students follow in her footsteps: learning how to best take care of themselves, then paying it forward in a groundswell of well-being.

Reprinted from Spirit magazine, Winter 2016 

Tags: giving, Prien, scholarships, Spirit magazine

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

Related Posts

Featured
04/13/2022

Donors rally to support students in the Green Machine Ensembles for Mason Vision Day

A $100,000 investment from the company will support scholarships for up to eight graduate students...
/by Eliza
Engineering and Computing
04/07/2022

Deltek Scholars Program Created to Fund Mason Computer Science Students

A $100,000 investment from the company will support scholarships for up to eight graduate students...
/by Rob Riordan
Featured
03/25/2022

Mason Korea Honors Sam Machour for Scholarship Gift

Executive shows a commitment to education and giving back.
/by Rob Riordan
Featured
09/29/2021

At Arts Emerging, the Arts Return In-Person to George Mason

Mason renewed its arts community at the event while raising funds to support students and performances...
/by Rob Riordan
Giving To Mason Giving To Mason-Stacked
  • Vision
  • Impact
  • How to Give
  • Connect
  • Visit
    Gmu.Edu
  • GiveNow
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
Giving to Mason

George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university, located in one of the most important political, economic and intellectual hubs in the world. Our mission is to help students succeed, enrich our community, and contribute to solving the most complex global problems.

Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations

4400 University Drive, MS 1A3
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-993-8850

Copyright © 2022 George Mason University | www.gmu.edu

Privacy Policies | Sitemap

Scroll to top