{"id":529774,"date":"2025-12-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?p=529774"},"modified":"2025-12-11T10:43:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:43:22","slug":"3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/","title":{"rendered":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who knew that 10 years after three George Mason University<\/a> students were just trying to get through their classes, they\u2019d create a hot sauce that would become the official staple of the GMU dining hall?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all started when SOSS <\/a>co-founder Hasham Hafez, then a GMU grad and biotechnology graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, mixed up a sauce to elevate his meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe basically formulated the sauce 10 years ago and kept it as a family recipe,\u201d says SOSS co-founder Lance Ahmadian, Hasham\u2019s friend and fraternity brother from his undergrad years at GMU. \u201cWhen he finally gave me a sample, I told him, \u2018This sauce is amazing. If you don\u2019t do something with this, you\u2019re crazy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Hafez wasn\u2019t ready to go commercial. So the recipe sat quietly \u2014 until Ahmadian\u2019s persistence (and a $100 bribe) revived it. Years after first tasting the sauce, he still hadn\u2019t forgotten its flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI called Hasham and said, \u2018If I give you $100 right now, will you make me the sauce?\u2019\u201d says the Chantilly resident. Hafez agreed \u2014 and that was the moment he realized he had something special. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward several weeks. Hafez invited Ahmadian to join him at his Miami home to teach him the recipe. \u201cWe got into the lab and experimented,\u201d Ahmadian says. \u201cWe tried a couple things \u2014 that became the original formula: smoky, creamy, zesty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The Original 300 Bottles<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadian says their first batch was hilariously DIY. \u201cWe hand-bottled 300 bottles. I bought a bottler on Amazon. We had no idea what we were doing. It was very much like bathtub gin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They shipped the bottles to Hasham\u2019s brother, Karim Hafez, in Virginia, and he and Ahmadian sold all 300 in 60 days. Suddenly, SOSS was a thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After perfecting their recipe and bottling, the group made its public debut last May at Dominion Energy Riverrock <\/a>\u2014 an outdoor sports and music festival \u2014 in Richmond. Offering sauce samples in person changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeeing the reactions \u2014 young, old, every background \u2014 everyone loved it,\u201d Ahmadian says. \u201cIt changed the shape of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask the founders what makes SOSS special, and they\u2019ll tell you it\u2019s the flavor balance no one else has mastered. \u201cIt\u2019s the smokiness, creaminess, and zestiness,\u201d Ahmadian says. \u201cIt\u2019s so hard to get a smoky flavor without liquid smoke or chemical aftertastes; we\u2019ve mastered the art of smoke in a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The line now includes three sauces: mild, original, and habanero hot.\u00a0 All three are designed not to mask flavor, but to enhance it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not a hot sauce company,\u201d says Herndon resident Karim. \u201cWe\u2019re a premium condiment company. Too many condiments cover up food \u2014 ours makes food taste better. It gives you citrus, heat, a touch of sweet \u2014 all working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
Courtesy SOSS<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/a>Made by Patriots, For Patriots<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A major milestone in SOSS\u2019s young history came when the founders\u2019 undergraduate alma mater, George Mason University, designated one of their creations as the official sauce of its dining halls. The co-branded \u201cMason Mild\u201d is now sold exclusively in on-campus convenience stores or directly through SOSS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeorge Mason is the reason we all met,\u201d Ahmadian says. \u201cWithout Mason, SOSS wouldn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founders describe their distribution strategy like a clothing brand: curated and exclusive. You won\u2019t find SOSS on grocery shelves. Instead, it\u2019s available on the SOSS website<\/a> and at partner locations like George Mason University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brand will also feature their products at the Frostival Winter Market<\/a> in Tysons on December 13. They say the limited approach lets them control quality, messaging, and community partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founders say building the brand has been the biggest challenge of their lives. \u201cYou have to wear every hat,\u201d Karim says. \u201cProcurement, co-packing, formulation, sales \u2014 it\u2019s nonstop. But when you\u2019re at an event and someone tries the sauce and immediately buys five bottles, that reward is unmatched.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadian agrees: \u201cHundreds of those interactions in a day \u2014 it tops any corporate pat-on-the-back I ever got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feature image courtesy SOSS<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"College friends bottled a family recipe that’s now the university’s official condiment.","protected":false},"author":1002043,"featured_media":529791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41096],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-529774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Northern Virginia Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dawn Klavon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NorthernVaMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NorthernVaMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dawn Klavon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dawn Klavon\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/edf9ec36a77aed5efec3bb1232a4729c\"},\"headline\":\"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\"},\"wordCount\":675,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Food News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\",\"name\":\"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Courtesy SOSS\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\",\"description\":\"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":385,\"caption\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/NorthernVaMag\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northernvirginiamag\/\"],\"description\":\"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.\",\"foundingDate\":\"2006-01-01\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/edf9ec36a77aed5efec3bb1232a4729c\",\"name\":\"Dawn Klavon\",\"description\":\"Dawn Klavon is a seasoned writer and reporter with more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. She contributes to a wide range of publications, including Northern Virginia Magazine, PEOPLE, Virginia Living, Bethesda Magazine, Arlington Magazine, and several military-focused outlets. Earlier in her career, she reported for multiple San Francisco Bay Area television stations, including KLXV, KKPX, and KFCB. She holds an MLA from Harvard University and a BS from Boston University.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/author\/dawnklavon\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce","description":"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce","og_description":"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.","og_url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/","og_site_name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Dawn Klavon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NorthernVaMag","twitter_site":"@NorthernVaMag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dawn Klavon","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/"},"author":{"name":"Dawn Klavon","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/edf9ec36a77aed5efec3bb1232a4729c"},"headline":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce","datePublished":"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/"},"wordCount":675,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp","articleSection":["Food News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/","name":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp","datePublished":"2025-12-12T12:00:00+00:00","description":"Three GMU students created a hot sauce, SOSS, that would become the official staple of the university's dining hall.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOSS-sauce.webp","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Courtesy SOSS"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/food-and-drink\/food-news\/2025\/12\/12\/3-gmu-students-create-a-popular-new-hot-sauce\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 GMU Students Create a Popular New Hot Sauce"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/","name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","description":"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization","name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg","width":1199,"height":385,"caption":"Northern Virginia Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NorthernVaMag","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northernvirginiamag\/"],"description":"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.","foundingDate":"2006-01-01"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/edf9ec36a77aed5efec3bb1232a4729c","name":"Dawn Klavon","description":"Dawn Klavon is a seasoned writer and reporter with more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. She contributes to a wide range of publications, including Northern Virginia Magazine, PEOPLE, Virginia Living, Bethesda Magazine, Arlington Magazine, and several military-focused outlets. Earlier in her career, she reported for multiple San Francisco Bay Area television stations, including KLXV, KKPX, and KFCB. She holds an MLA from Harvard University and a BS from Boston University.","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/author\/dawnklavon\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002043"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}