"Courage—Be Unafraid of the Impossible": Stu Shea Inspires Honors College Students

As the inaugural Honors College Executive-in-Residence, national security leader Stu Shea inspires inspires George Mason University students to imagine the future.

“In the Honors College, we imagine the future,” began Zofia Burr, dean of the Honors College, opening the first event of the Honors College Executive-in-Residence series.

Stu Shea, who retired from his role as president and CEO of Peraton in August 2024, serves as the Honors College’s inaugural Executive-in-Residence, inspiring Honors College students to ask: how might we imagine the future of national security?  

Shea, who was George Mason's 2022 Spring Commencement speaker, began working with motivated Honors College students last fall. This month, Shea returned to campus, calling on students to imagine their own futures and aspirations, challenging them to go beyond what already seems possible and to orient themselves towards transformational career paths in national security.  

Shea described his own journey into national security leadership in ways that inspired aspirational thinking, courage, and embracing the unknown.

“If you want to become a leader, follow the leaders.” —Stu Shea

From his early education studying geology through his early career in cutting edge cartography and computer-assisted intelligence, Shea was constantly building his skillset and the breadth of his knowledge: “Every time I did something, it piqued my interest in something else—and I did it,” said Shea, underscoring the importance to cultivating a lifelong “desire to learn.” 

Honors College junior Avery Shippen, a conflict analysis and resolution major in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, observed: “Many of the opportunities he became involved in resulted from following a path based on his interests, rather than what was expected of him.”  

Eventually, he explained, this habit of taking on the greatest challenges available enabled him to rise to the highest levels of the national security field. He shared stories drawn from his leadership at many of the national security companies and institutions that students aim to join, from Peraton to Leidos, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  

“I work really, really hard to understand what the problem is, to understand what’s available, and to not be afraid that the problem is not solvable. […] What I’d like to do in this dialogue is to tease out the things that challenge you most.”

—Stu Shea 

Students shared with Shea the challenges they face pursuing their dreams, leading to a far-reaching conversation that touched on a range of important national security subjects, including contemporary cybersecurity in the era of AI, the balance between ubiquitous surveillance and civil liberties, the role of the United States and China in Africa, and the intersections between public diplomacy and education.

Shippen said that sharing aspirations and challenges was particularly valuable because Shea “constantly questioned why we felt the way we did,” encouraging participants to approach challenges and opportunities with an “open mindset.” One of Shea's key insights was that students should embrace their challenges—and even their failures. 

"Failure is just a dry run for future success" —Stu Shea

Berk Kasimcan, an Honors College graduate in the accelerated MS in bioengineering, said students are especially receptive to programs like this because they are “eager to learn how to take the first steps toward making a meaningful impact.” He added that signature Honors College experiences like the Executive-in-Residence program help students become “more innovative and adaptable leaders.”