After a 35-year-long run at Georgia Tech, Keith Oden has decided to retire as the College of Sciences’ Director of Academic Diversity.

"I feel my career at Georgia Tech and the College of Sciences has been very rewarding and impactful," Oden says. "I think it is time to pass the torch to other individuals who can continue the initiatives that not only increase diversity, excellence, and inclusion, but also the overall Georgia Tech experience for all students, staff and faculty."

Oden is the first person to serve as the College’s Director of Academic Diversity. He was named to the position in 2012. Oden collaborates with faculty, student organizations, academic departments, research centers, and undergraduate/graduate admissions offices on recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations, such as ethnic minorities, women, and first-generation college students.

Oden advises the Georgia Tech student chapters of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

"Keith has worked tirelessly on a variety of programs to broaden participation in science and mathematics to include more students from groups that have historically been underrepresented in STEM," says David Collard, College of Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs. "But more important than any one program are the mentoring relationships that he has established with students over the years."

“From the moment I joined the CoS (College of Sciences) team, Keith welcomed me with open arms,” says Emma Blandford, Assistant Director for Living Learning Communities at Georgia Tech. “He supported my efforts to embed diversity and inclusion initiatives into the foundations of our first-year program, and helped me to connect with undergraduates who are working to make a difference for their peers. Keith’s passion is undeniable and I wish him the absolute best as he moves into the greatest adventure.”

Jennifer Leavey is a principal academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences, Director of Georgia Tech Urban Honeybee Project and Faculty Director for the EXPLORE Living Learning Community. Leavey says she knows Oden best from working with him on the Research Bound program for prospective graduate students.

“With that program, Keith created an experience in which young undergraduate researchers visualized and actualized themselves as professional researchers,” she recalls. “From the poster session to the professional development and networking sessions, the event paralleled the features of a scientific conference. Keith has gift for bringing out the best in young people and it was fascinating to watch the transformative effect the program had on the students who attended it. I know Keith will continue to have a positive impact on all the young people he encounters even in retirement. It's in his nature! I will miss him.”

Oden lists several accomplishments that he is proud of during his time at Georgia Tech, starting with his relationships with students and student organizations. "I feel that I have benefitted from helping these groups accomplish their goals. I have been at Georgia Tech because I enjoy working with students, encouraging them, mentoring them, and sharing opportunities with them. As an administrator, my managers gave me the liberty to be creative in implementing new initiatives and programs that would have a positive impact for the Institute. Some of these initiatives include submitting and successfully having REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) programs funded, and increasing underrepresented minority participation." In addition, Oden has served as a formal Georgia Tech mentor for Institute staff for more than 20 years. 

"Keith's work in partnership with faculty in our schools to establish National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates summer programs has been a real highlight," Collard says. "For example, the creation of a program in physics has established a strong track record of encouraging underrepresented minority students to pursue graduate study, both at Georgia Tech and elsewhere."

Oden first came to Georgia Tech in 1985. He has also served as diversity director for the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and as the director of the Graduate Co-Op and Fellowships Office. Oden received a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies-Higher Education from Georgia State University in 2004. His B.S. is from SUNY-Albany, and he received his M.S. from Brockport College. 

Oden plans to spend more time with family and friends, and will also volunteer to work with middle and high schol students, along with part-time teaching and consulting. "I will also continue to travel worldwide, once the pandemic is over. In other words, I still plan to be very active, have fun and enjoy life."

Over the past ten months, colleges and universities across the nation have rapidly transformed and adapted to the shifting landscape of higher education in the midst of a pandemic. One of the more notable changes within the College of Sciences, however, centers on a standardized test that began raising questions on campuses beyond Georgia Tech long before Covid-19 first dominated headlines and the college experience.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test was established in 1936 as a way to measure reasoning and critical thinking skills for students entering graduate collegiate programs. 

Georgia Tech College of Sciences is waiving the GRE (subject and general test) and will not require the exam for fall 2021 applications into any of the College’s graduate programs. Information on requirements across campus for fall 2021 applications can be found at the Degree Programs page of the Georgia Tech Graduate Studies section of the Institute’s website.

Several College of Sciences programs have also opted to permanently drop the requirement, joining a movement coined throughout academic circles as “GRExit.” 

The GRE is permanently no longer required for entrance into Georgia Tech’s Schools of Biological Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Quantitative Biosciences Ph.D. Program and Ph.D. in Applied Physiology program, as well as the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) in the College of Engineering, have also permanently dropped the exam as a graduate admissions requirement.

Boosting diversity and equity in graduate admissions

Jennifer Glass, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS), who also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Biological Sciences, has been active in asking programs across the Institute and beyond to take a closer look at whether the GRE makes sense in their individual admissions processes.

“The impetus for our efforts came largely from conversations with graduate students, who told us that removing the GRE requirement was an essential step towards boosting diversity and equity in graduate programs,” Glass says, noting that recent data also represented that the GRE can be “biased against underrepresented groups — and that it is not a good predictor of graduate school success.”

Glass joined fellow EAS professor Kim Cobb, who also serves as an ADVANCE Professor and Georgia Power Chair; EAS graduate student Minda Monteagudo; and faculty from Georgia State University and Boise State University in writing a summer 2020 op-ed about the GRE for Eos Magazine, which is published by the American Geophysical Union. The op-ed, “#GeoGRExit: Why Geosciences Programs Are Dropping the GRE,” refers to the social media hashtags #GRExit and #GeoGRExit that have surfaced as academics and students around the country discuss their personal experiences and research related to how the standardized test can narrow and stymie inclusivity efforts and representation related to science, technology, engineering, and math-based (STEM) professions — with a particular focus on bio- and geosciences.

During a fall presentation on #GRExit to Georgia Tech graduate admissions leaders, Cobb shared that 340 biology/EEB (ecology/evolutionary biology) graduate programs in the U.S. have dropped their GRE requirements, as have 75 geosciences graduate programs. (That biology graduate program number has increased to 370 programs since then, according to that database’s keeper, Joshua Hall, Director of Admissions for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sarah Ledford, an assistant professor at Georgia State University who co-authored the Eos op-ed, publishes the geosciences database.)

Two years ago, a study published in the journal PLOS ONE examined the efficacy of the GRE in predicting Ph.D. completion related to STEM fields. The study analyzed the academic performance of 1,805 students from four flagship universities. Its lead researcher told Inside Higher Education that although the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which owns and administers the GRE, explicitly discourages the use of cutoff scores on any part of the GRE, "this is a common practice ... our study shows convincingly that the scores [were] not useful for identifying students most likely to finish STEM doctoral programs. In fact, the scores [were] negative predictors of completion rates for men."

The researcher added that “one reason given for using GRE scores to compare students is to ‘level the playing field’ for students coming from undergraduate institutions differing in prestige. It has been suggested that without these scores, admissions committees may show implicit bias that could hurt the chances of admitting students from underrepresented groups who often come from lesser-known institutions. However, for undetermined reasons women and non-Asian minorities continue to score less well than white males and Asian Americans and, therefore, the pool of ‘acceptable’ women and minority candidates is reduced substantially.”

ETS responded, sharing that “The GRE test does not predict graduate or doctoral completion rates ... Rather, the test provides a measure of graduate school readiness by assessing skills that are necessary to handle graduate-level work: verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing.”

Breaking down the barriers

Beyond concerns with cutoff scores and true readiness assessment, students and faculty alike have noted other barriers that the exam can add to the process of applying for grad school. "The issue of cost, for example ($205 to take it and $27 per report) is a major barrier for many students," notes Cobb. "This entire initiative (at Georgia Tech) was really the brainchild of the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council, on which Minda (Monteagudo) sat."

“It's exciting to see the College of Science remove the GRE requirement in some programs temporarily, and in other cases more permanently,” Monteagudo adds. “I'm grateful to the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council for their leadership on this issue, as well as the faculty and administrative support that made this change possible. I'm hopeful that removing the GRE requirement is an important first step towards making the graduate admissions process more equitable.”

The following links are for the individual degree program requirements for the College of Sciences graduate programs:

·      Biology

·      Bioinformatics

·      Ocean Science & Engineering

·      Mathematics

·      Quantitative Biosciences

·      Statistics

·      Chemistry and Biochemistry

·      Applied Physiology

·      Psychology

·      Physics

·      Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

More information on testing and graduate admissions at Georgia Tech, including the latest on testing delays due to Covid-19, can be found at this link in the Graduate Studies section.

When Derek Huell first came to Georgia Tech, he was ready for an academic environment to challenge, support, and nurture him in his journey as a neuroscience student on the path to medical school. However, as a 330-pound former football player, Huell noticed that many of his classmates wanted to talk more about his high school sporting career and physique than his hopes to become a physician. 

“More often than not, when I would meet people, especially in my first semester, one of the common questions I was met with was, ‘Do you play football?’” Huell remembers. “People meant no harm. But at the same time, it just kind of appeared like my physical being, my outer presence was saying that I was an athlete — versus in my head, I was here to be a student.” 

As a student majoring in neuroscience — an undergraduate degree program with a majority of female students and a minority of African American students — Huell says that early on, he would often look around a classroom and realize he was the only Black male student there. 

“If they say ‘form groups’ or something, I look around the room to see if there are other minorities in the room,” he explains. “I can join because I know that those people will be more likely to accept me and be willing to work with me.”  

Huell pivoted around two things in those early days at Tech: first, he says he was inspired to focus on health, well-being, and a different kind of fitness — and has since lost 100 pounds. Second, he zeroed in on academics and personal growth — and a mission to mentor and advocate for others also finding their freshman footing at Georgia Tech. 

Journey to Georgia Tech 

Growing up with a father in the military, Huell moved to several different places in the United States before settling in Columbus, Georgia, in fourth grade. At Columbus High School, Huell says, he felt supported and motivated academically by his teachers. 

Through his guidance counselor Christopher Porch, Ph.D., whom Huell shares is “definitely one of the shining stars of Columbus High School,” Huell was connected to the Gamma Psi Boulé mentee program in Columbus, which connects Black male professionals with students during monthly meetings where students have the opportunity to meet mentors and gain personal, professional, and academic advice.  

Meetings would begin with a presentation on various topics. Huell remembers one about how to deal with the police if you are pulled over as a Black male and how to de-escalate the situation. After each presentation, the program’s students and leaders would have casual conversation over dinner about school and their career. During one of these meetings, Huell met Dr. William E. Roundtree. 

“Dr. Roundtree and I — we started talking about medicine and his kind of ‘pursuit’ of it,” says Huell. “And he even shared how it wasn't easy for him, and some of the barriers he faced, with like, racism and stuff.” 

Huell shadowed under Roundtree at his medical practice, and soon began to consider a future working in medicine, cementing his interest in the medical field.  

Mentors through the Gamma Psi Boulé program, including Roundtree, helped Huell think through the college decision process.  

“I think that always, the biggest thing was that I was looking for a school where I wasn’t just going to learn the textbooks,” notes Huell. “I wasn’t just going to learn from lecture. But I really was going to be pushed to keep the motto of ‘progress and service’ and transform the future.” 

Through Tech’s dedication to undergraduate research and thriving startup culture, Huell says he knew that he would have unique opportunities at Georgia Tech that might not have been available elsewhere. 

“Right now, I'm taking a neuro engineering course,” he says. “And at most schools, I wouldn't be able to take their engineering courses because it's not something that is very common. And so, just things like that, I think, were really big and kind of enhanced my experience beyond just like, taking the same classes everywhere.” 

With advice from his mentors and substantial research on a number of colleges, Huell ultimately decided to attend Georgia Tech to study Neuroscience with a minor in Health and Medical Sciences on track to medical school — and earned a Stamps President's Scholarship along the way. 

Making an Impact on Campus 

Within his first semester at Georgia Tech, Huell joined several organizations across campus, which Huell says opened up opportunities to give back to the community, access resources for personal and professional development, and form meaningful friendships.  

Huell also saw leadership roles in various organizations as an opportunity to impart lasting change on organizations that positively influenced him. 

“You can actually kind of shape the path that the club goes down, have a voice and work with the other members to make sure — that the value that I saw in it translates to the next board and just continues a good, long line down the club,” says Huell. “You kind of have the opportunity to help establish a long continuity of successful organization.” 

Now, as a third-year student, he serves as founder of the Precious Angel Project, Vice President of the Minority-Association of Pre-Medical Students, Vice Basileus of the Delta Kappa Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, President of Neuroscience Club, and is also on the undergraduate portion of the College of Sciences Diversity Council. 

Through the Neuroscience Club, Huell represents his relatively new major and forms connections with professors and fellow students. Club events encourage students to meet researchers at Georgia Tech and connect their coursework with real-life research. 

“Neuroscience is good — definitely is one of the newer programs at Tech,” notes Huell. “It's been very open to student feedback and is very versatile.” 

Through the Precious Angel Project, Huell has combined his interest in healthcare with his passion for community service by establishing relationships between Georgia Tech students and Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes. Though the organization is not currently able to physically visit nursing homes due to Covid-19, a pen pal letter writing program has helped safely maintain connections. 

Huell also gives back to the Atlanta community through service with Omega Psi Phi, where he has become friends with fellow Black men at Georgia Tech who share his vision to help positively impact Atlanta through service and volunteering. 

“We had a ‘luggage for love’ event where we accepted donations of luggage and then donated that to the foster care system for Georgia so that foster kids can have just something to put their stuff in, instead of traveling from place to place with only a trash bag or whatnot.” 

Huell says these activities have highlighted the importance and impact of community service and giving back. He adds that doing these activities with his friends makes them more memorable and enjoyable. 

“It's a good way, especially during college, to kind of create those bonds with other people who are on a similar track, achieving high goals, going great places. It's great having brothers, great having friends. And then on the flip side, you get a lot of career influence, career help — as well as giving back to the community. So, it's kind of the best of both worlds.” 

That combination of service and brotherhood also encouraged Huell’s deep involvement in Omega Psi Phi. The organization’s emphasis on giving back and creating a lasting and tangible impact on the community has shaped the vision he sees for his future. 

“We have kind of illuminated that fact — that an important aspect of my career should not just be what I do in the hospital, but it should also be what I do in the community,” he shares. “And when I think about my career, hopefully as a physician — you think you're helping people just in the operating room. I think it's also important that my fraternity showed me that getting back in the community can be just as valuable — because you could inspire the next Black male physician.” 

Goals to inspire the next future physician are echoed in Huell’s leadership in the Minority-Association of Pre-Medical Students, where intentional emphasis is placed on encouraging minority students to explore and achieve their career goals. 

“Diverse positions are valuable in the workforce, because sometimes when information is communicated by people who maybe reflect you, or may have faced similar difficulties as you, they can relate more and then they kind of give a higher impact level — and you know how they can help you. And so, I think that that's the biggest thing — is just creating an easy sense of community, if you know you face similar barriers or if you know you'll be facing similar barriers moving forward socially.” 

Huell’s goal of increasing resources available to minority students is further emphasized through his involvement with the College of Sciences Diversity Council, which he was invited to after meeting now-retired Director for Academic Diversity, Keith Oden, at a College of Sciences event. 

In the beginning, Huell notes that the Diversity Council did not include undergraduate students — and he was a part of that first cohort of younger student members. He shares that through the Council, he has appreciated the opportunity to concretely impact diversity and inclusion initiatives to help other students like himself. 

“It's been really good, because I think that it allowed me to see how you can play a role in giving back early — while you're still a student — helping the next on campus, as well as sculpting your own experience through your continued involvement and using your voice.” 

Celebrating Black History Month 

While the spectrum of academics and activities that Huell focuses on are a daily practice in inspiring and helping, he notes that Black History Month is a celebratory marker each year that symbolizes “the progress and inherent improvement that Black people have been able to make and contribute to society despite many barriers they may have faced.” 

“If we're looking at different poets or different writers, they may have been undervalued due to their race,” he notes. “But they keep writing. Or if we look at civil rights leaders, they may have been arrested or beaten, but they keep fighting for equality. So, I think a lot of it is about kind of that perseverance of Black people as a whole — as well as kind of commemorating and honoring a lot of the progress that we've made as a race, especially in the United States." 

Huell says that this year, Black History Month is especially relevant to him as he remembers the deaths of Georgia Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and others that sparked powerful social justice protests and movements last summer and fall. 

“I attended multiple protests in my hometown after we finished finals,” he shares. “And it was really powerful to be out there, and be uniting with other people who you may not know.” 

He adds that every Black History Month, he tries to engage with a different book, documentary, poem, or artwork weekly that was written by a Black author or highlights the history of African Americans in the United States. 

“I actually do enjoy poetry, so I'll read significant Black poets, such as Langston Hughes, to relate the words that they're saying, and their symbolic mechanisms to stuff that's going on now because, well, times have changed, but we still do see some similar struggles. And because we are seeing those things, I think that, largely, a lot of their writings and things are still applicable.” 

He specifically recommends reading Hughes’ “I, Too” and “Mother to Son” poems. 

Huell also encourages people to talk to older Black people in their families and communities to learn about their stories and experiences living through segregation and discrimination.  

Huell says he talked to his grandfather, who lived in Miami, Florida, and learned about the discrimination he faced while purchasing a house decades ago. 

Huell shares that talking to older generations is like “uncovering history.” He adds that he recently learned about the national response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 death in Memphis, Tennessee through conversations with elders and was surprised that he had never heard about that part of history. Through these talks, he also uncovered more details about his grandfather’s background and personal history. 

A drive to honor the legacy and strength of his family members encourages Huell daily through his activities as a student and leader. He reflects on the support of his parents, teachers, advisors, friends, and mentors with gratitude. 

In the future, Huell hopes to create a network of Black mentors to support pre-med students in their educational careers — just as leaders and friends have supported him. 

“My eventual goal is to create a national network of minority physicians looking to uplift the next generation” of pre-med students, says Huell. “Eighty percent of pre-med students don't go to medical school. And so, there's kind of like a big drop off between being pre-med and then becoming a doctor. You lose a lot of people there, just because classes are hard and it's difficult. I think that it would be good to have, kind of like a constant person you can look to and be like, ‘I can ask them if I need anything, or I can call them and they'll give me advice or we can relate based upon, you know, we both have been through this.’” 

When Zachary Hopton began his first semester at Georgia Tech, he quickly realized that his degree program was going to be a bit atypical. He wanted to find a major with a scientific and technical focus to complement his interests in linguistics, but was unsure what that perfect major would be.  

Initially, Hopton considered majoring in mathematics, computer science, and biochemistry, but none of them felt right for his interests and envisioned career path. 

“I just wanted to figure out what perspective sort of worked for me to look at language at,” shares Hopton. “Eventually, I ended taking a psychology class on human language processing, and I realized it was psychology.” 

In the class taught by Daniel Spieler, associate professor in the School of Psychology, Hopton says that he found himself fascinated with “how our brains have produced language as such an intricate thing that sets us apart from so many other species.”  

The course also included neuroscience, biological, behavioral, and experimental components, which Hopton says showed him that the flexible nature of psychology would make it the best degree for his interests. 

With his major officially declared, Hopton decided to explore research pathways to further enhance his education. Though there were no available undergraduate research opportunities directly related to language and cognition at Georgia Tech, Hopton realized that cognitive psychology research would provide valuable insight to increase his understanding of brain processes. 

“One of the things that interested me in psychology so much was the fact that the biological basis for language was crazy to me,” remembers Hopton. “That applies to other areas of cognition as well, like, memory, retention. The way the brain works is similar, regardless of what area of cognition you’re in. So I figured that was good experience for me to have, even if I changed the exact path later.” 

In his sophomore year, Hopton began research in associate professor Audrey Duarte’s Memory and Aging Laboratory, where EEG (electroencephalogram) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies are used to analyze behavior. Initially, his responsibilities were largely related to recruiting participants for studies, but as he continued to work in the lab, he began to more actively and deeply engage in research. 

Recently, Hopton joined a team of researchers led by his graduate student mentor, Taylor James, and Duarte on analyzing the ways that depression affects a specific type of memory throughout the lifespan. He helped collect data from hundreds of articles for nearly a year. The research studied specific variables, but instead of getting lost in the details, Hopton learned the importance of analyzing each unique variable. 

“In a clinical setting, for example, that can be the difference between a diagnosis for subthreshold depression for a 50-year-old or maybe some sort of dementia or Alzheimer's,” says Hopton. “Both affect memory, so it’s important to understand if there are differences between them or if depression may be a symptom of early onset dementia.” 

Thoughts on the research encouraged Hopton to ask questions on how his discoveries could relate to public policy, technology development, and public health resources.  

“If we know that one sort of memory works better for older people, then we have to make sure that if we’re teaching them something or giving them some sort of information that’s important, we make it accessible to them,” Hopton explains. “It’s important that we understand the memory loss symptoms that come with depression because we need to make therapies that accommodate that treat the memory — the cognition aspects as well as the emotional parts of depression.” 

These questions and considerations tie into public policy, which Hopton studied in-depth on his spring 2020 exchange semester in Paris, France at Sciences Po, which was compressed due to Covid-19. It was Hopton’s second study abroad program after participating in the French Language, Business, and Technology program. 

In fact, after accumulating enough credits in his French courses, Hopton is now undertaking a second major in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies.  

Hopton shares that while in Paris he truly began to recognize the balance between experimental psychology and humanities, and the relationship that the two disciplines have with each other.  

“For example there was a class I took there on the psychoanalysis of politics,” he says. “That was crazy to me — I never thought about in my life, applying things from clinical psychology — to think about how the government works.” 

During his exchange semester in Paris, Hopton immersed himself in Parisian culture and challenged himself to meet new people. Rather than living with the four Georgia Tech students also studying at Sciences Po, he decided to live with roommates from Chile, Spain, Germany, and Ireland.  

“That was so cool to me, because at Tech I lived in the  International House for most of college, so I’m used to this environment of constantly having other people from different cultures around me. Even just the action of sitting down for breakfast with another person, I end up coming away from it with crazy information about a different place that I’ve never heard of before.” 

In his classes in Paris, the majority of which were taught in French, Hopton noticed that he also had flexibility to customize his studies to his specific interests.  

“The professors were there to guide the conversation, but the majority of the classes that I had at that school were student-led and kind of took on their interests,” remembers Hopton.  

On a typical day of classes, students would begin class with a presentation on an assigned topic. “They were given a topic to present about, and then they went in their direction just with that topic, and then when they finished the professor would lecture for 10 or 30 more minutes and sort of fill in the blanks,” remembers Hopton. 

The class structure surprised Hopton – on the first day of classes, he remembers being unprepared when a professor asked each student to decide on a major project that would determine most of their grade. 

“On the first day of class they assigned everyone their work for all of the semester. I didn’t know that was going to happen, I was looking through the syllabi like 'Oh... I don’t know what this work means but I’ll take it, why not.'” 

And although Hopton had to return home halfway through the semester due to the spread of Covid-19, he says he looks back fondly on his exchange semester. When he returned to Tech, he was warmly welcomed back to his research lab, where he is currently working on his undergraduate thesis. 

Hopton was able to complete that research from home throughout last fall semester. 

“It’s fantastic that I already have this relationship with professors and graduate students, and I’ve been working with this study, and now I can just say, 'Okay, well I’m really interested in this aspect of it, and so I’d like to do these different analyses.'” 

Hopton decided to complete a thesis after advice from James, who shared with Hopton that her thesis allowed her to build important connections with professors and other members of a lab, while also being helpful for graduate school applications. 

“There’s always some sort of variable that’s gone unanalyzed, there's always some sort of different analysis you can do,” Hopton says.  

For his thesis, Hopton is analyzing how built-up memory relates to one’s ability to learn and retain new information, and if the memory process is different for various ages. 

For example, Hopton’s research ponders if a phenomenon, such as seeing an abnormal object in a bathroom, would be difficult or easy to remember. “So if you think about it, you are a person who’s been in a bathroom many times, so you have this built-up knowledge in your memory of what you can see in the bathroom. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a toilet there, a sink, soap, shampoo — but if you were to go into a bathroom and see a blender, that would be really weird. It wouldn’t fit your expectation, based off what you already know. So later on, are you going to remember that the blender was there more than some other thing that belongs in a bathroom, or is it going to be harder to remember because you don’t normally see a blender in a bathroom — so why would you remember that it was there?” asks Hopton. 

This idea was first suggested to him by his graduate student advisor, James, who noticed variables during her research that she thought Hopton might be interested in analyzing. She has continued to support Hopton through the process of research and writing. 

Hopton is also advised by Duarte, who he meets with weekly to discuss his thesis, and who he shares has also been instrumental in his research experience. 

“It’s been nice. She knows me — she knew me before I did my thesis as well,” says Hopton. “And then, now that I’m doing my thesis with her, she provides a lot of intellectual support. She’s very good with explaining how concepts apply and making them relevant to you personally.” 

Hopton also took a behavioral pharmacology course with Duarte, where, on the first day of classes, students were welcomed into the lecture hall by a Gregorian chant playing out of the speakers. 

“The Gregorian chant was because she was explaining the history of pharmacology and she wanted to talk about a nun in the 13th century who did all this research on herbal remedies and their psychoactive properties,” he remembers. “She was also a musician, and Dr. Duarte wanted to play her music for us to tie it in. It was clear when she got up to the podium that she was having a good time and enjoying what she was teaching about — so it was a great class.” 

Along with Duarte and James, Hopton has received support and guidance on his thesis from Spieler and Lelia Glass, assistant professor of Linguistics and coordinator of the Linguistics Program. 

The collaborative nature of his thesis project has allowed Hopton to combine important independent study with advice and support from experienced professors and students. He also appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of his thesis, which was his initial impetus for choosing a degree in psychology. 

Hopton notes that “the interdisciplinary nature of the thesis, for me, is the biggest thing. It’s gotten to bring in neurosciences aspects, behavioral aspects — still psychology, linguistics as well — and I’m using computer science data analysis.” 

After graduation, Hopton says he sees his future taking one of two paths. On one route, he sees himself attending graduate school and working in experimental psychology with a language focus. On the other route, he shares that he is interested in working in public health, particularly the growing field of global mental health.  

But before starting on either of those paths, Hopton plans to spend a year abroad teaching English through a fellowship program and experiencing language development first-hand. 

“I’ve looked at language from this really structural point of view in my linguistics classes, along with a biological and psychological point of view, but I’ve never really had the chance to see how these perspectives can be put to use,” says Hopton. “One field of applied linguistics looks at how people learn a second or third language, and how that changes with age. What better way to learn that than in a classroom helping people learn English.” 

And after his fellowship ends, Hopton hopes that his ultimate career path will be clear. 

“If I get there and I’m like dang, I really miss the scanner, or the MRI machine, then maybe neurolinguistics research is the path I’m meant to go on!” 

The recently announced College of Sciences Strategic Plan: 2021-2030 has three ambitious goals at its foundation, each of which are focused on striving for excellence — in the workplace, in training and education, and in research. A trio of themes connect across the plan’s goals to guide this work and strategy: catalyze discovery and solutions, amplify the College’s impact, and build communities of excellence. Explicit in the strategic plan are expectations and goals to enhance inclusivity, equity, and diversity, especially of underrepresented groups in the College.

In January of this year, the College released a call for proposal submissions that reflect these themes and accomplish these goals. At that time, all students, staff, and faculty in the College’s community were encouraged to work in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams to submit proposals for projects.

Collective funding to achieve the proposals is provided through a generous $300,000 investment by the Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean's Chair. “I can think of no better use of the Sutherland Chair funds than to invest in ideas from our community. I expect this investment to pay dividends in the years ahead,” notes Susan Lozier, College of Sciences Dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair.

“We were gratified to receive a large number of proposals from across the College of Sciences community, including proposals led by students, staff, and faculty,” says Julia Kubanek, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Sciences, and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Each of the strategic plan goals are represented among the proposals we received. All proposals were group efforts, and many represented interests from members of different academic programs and schools within our college. Among the proposals received, members of all six of our schools participated.”

“These projects and programs will lay the groundwork for meeting the goals of our strategic plan,” Kubanek adds. The dozen new projects include team-building efforts for collaborative research, staff professional development, recruitment of underrepresented minorities into academic programs and postdoctoral training, and several other initiatives:

Astrobiology Program
PI (Principal Investigator): Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Research (Astrobiology); Communities of Excellence

Center for Microbial Dynamics & Infection Postdoctoral Recruitment Program
Co-PIs: Sam Brown, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Marvin Whiteley, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Tech Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Co-Director, Emory-Children’s CF Center (CF@LANTA)
Research (Microbial Dynamics and Infections); Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion (Historically Underrepresented Groups)

Deliberate Innovation in Undergraduate Biology
PI: Chrissy Spencer, senior academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences
Education/Training; Amplify Impact

Empowering Strengths-Based College of Sciences Team Members
PI: Christie Stewart, academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences
Communities of Excellence

ENTANGLED (Graduate Students in Quantum Sciences)
PI: Martin Mourigal, associate professor in the School of Physics
Research (Quantum systems); Education/Training; Communities of Excellence

Georgia Tech Summer Research Academy (SRA)
PI: Shania Khatri, undergraduate research assistant and Stamps President's Scholar in the School of Biological Sciences
Education/Training; Undergraduate Recruitment; Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Initiative for Living Dynamic Systems
Co-PIs: Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor of Physics and Biological Sciences and Daniel Goldman, Dunn Family Professor of Physics
Research (Physics of Movement); Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Strategic Development at the Interface of Human and Environmental Health
Co-PIs: Joshua Weitz, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences and Greg Gibson, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Director of the Center for Integrative Genomics, and Genome Analysis core of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience
Research; Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Nucleating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Collaborations in the College of Sciences
PI: Roman Grigoriev, professor in the School of Physics
Research (Data Science); Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Project Potty Parity
PI: Mike Schatz, interim chair and professor in the School of Physics
Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Staff Advisory Council Strategic Plan Proposal
PI: Kathy Sims, development assistant in the College of Sciences, chair of the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council, and member of the College of Sciences Task Force for Racial Equity
Communities of Excellence

Urban Heat Islands
PI: Kim Cobb, Georgia Power Chair, ADVANCE Professor, and Director of the Global Change Program at Georgia Tech
Research (Climate science); Education/training; Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Learn more about the College of Sciences Strategic Plan: 2021-2030 and coordinating Implementation Guide.

At the end of every semester at Georgia Tech — after weeks of faculty grading the work of students — the tables are flipped, and students get to evaluate their teachers and their class experiences using the Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS). 

Faculty members with exceptional scores and response rates are presented with the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Award. This year, 40 College of Sciences faculty and instructors are receiving awards and honors for their work from spring through fall 2020 semesters.

The challenges of teaching classes during Covid-19 necessitated a new recognition from the CTL: The Honor Roll, which includes 32 College of Sciences faculty on its inaugural list.

“Teaching during the pandemic has required everyone to pivot to new ways of teaching, and faculty appreciate hearing that students value their efforts,” says Joyce Weinsheimer, CTL director. The criteria for Honor Roll selection are the same as for the Class of 1934 Award.

The following are the College of Sciences faculty named to both the Class of 1934 and Honor Roll Awards (groups broken up into small and large classes): 

Class of 1934 Award

Small Classes

Mirjana Milosevec Brockett, senior academic professional, School of Biological Sciences

Lutz Warnke, assistant professor, School of Mathematics

Large Classes

Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher, School of Mathematics

Dan Margalit, professor, School of Mathematics

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor, School of Psychology

Amit Reddi, associate professor, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Alonzo Whyte, academic professional, School of Biological Sciences (Neuroscience)

Honor Roll

Small Classes 

School of Biological Sciences — Mirjana Brockett, senior academic professional; Colin Harrison, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Heather Chilton, lecturer;  Zachary Handlos, academic professional

School of Mathematics — Lutz Warnke, assistant professor

School of Psychology — Richard Catrambone, professor; Michael Hunter, assistant professor; James Roberts, associate professor

Large Classes 

School of Biological Sciences:

Annalise Paaby, assistant professor; William Ratcliff, associate professor; Raphael Rosenzweig, professor; Emily Weigel, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences:

Samantha Wilson, academic professional

School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Meghan Benda, graduate student; Amit Reddi, associate professor; Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience

School of Mathematics:

Alex Blumenthal, assistant professor; Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher; Klara Grodzinsky, Director of Teaching Assistants; Miriam Kuzbary, assistant professor; Gary Lavigne, professor; Wenjing Liao, assistant professor; Marissa Loving, postdoctoral researcher; Dan Margalit, professor; Gregory Mayer, Director of Online Learning; Stephanie Reikes, lecturer, Tutoring and Academic Support; Victor Vilaca Da Rocha, assistant professor; Zhiyu Wang, postdoctoral researcher

Neuroscience:

Mary Holder, academic professional; Alonzo Whyte, academic professional

School of Psychology:

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor

Seven College of Sciences faculty members from five schools are winners of annual awards from Georgia Tech’s Center for Teaching and Learning.

The Center for Teaching and Learning, part of the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development, enhances the learning and teaching environment at Georgia Tech by encouraging a fully engaged, sharing community with communication networks, resources, and innovative programs for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students. It recognizes tenured and non-tenured faculty with end-of-school-year awards honoring the work and innovation Georgia Tech educators bring to their classrooms.

This year's list includes a pair of School of Mathematics educators: Stephanie Reikes, a lecturer in the School of Mathematics, is the winner of Georgia Tech’s 2021 Undergraduate Educator Award. Professor Dan Margalit is one of two winners of the 2021 Eichholz Faculty Teaching Award.

2021 Undergraduate Educator Award 

Stephanie Reikes, School of Mathematics

Reikes’ award was offered for the first time in 2009, recognizing the outstanding contributions that non-tenure track faculty make to student education. It reflects Reikes’ unique role at Georgia Tech, with responsibilities in the School of Mathematics and the Tutoring & Academic Support unit at Georgia Tech. She is responsible for teaching all of the Institute’s pre-calculus mathematics courses, including Support for College Algebra, College Algebra, and Pre-Calculus. She specializes in working with student of all backgrounds, including at-risk students, students with disabilities, and student-athletes. 

In addition to leading improvements in this challenging area, she has strengthened the cooperation and collaboration between Tutoring & Academic Support and the School of Mathematics, and introduced an innovative Learning Assistants program. She also directs the Math Lab.

2021 Eichholz Award Faculty Teaching Award

Dan Margalit, School of Mathematics 

The Eichholz Award, which includes a $3,000 prize, was established in 2005 through a gift from School of Mechanical Engineering's Regents’ Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Eichholz. It was created to reward senior faculty members who made a long-term contribution to introductory undergraduate education and were outstanding teachers for students taking freshman and sophomore core courses. It was recently broadened to recognize faculty at any point in their careers who excel in teaching core and general education courses, and who help students establish a solid foundation for their education at Georgia Tech.

Margalit’s math research lies at the intersection of low-dimensional topology and geometric group theory. He focuses on mapping class groups of surfaces, also called the the symmetries of surfaces. The author/editor of three books, Margalit hosts several workshops and discussion groups centering not just on topology and the advanced geometry he teaches, but mentorship and support for undergraduate and graduate students.

CTL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award ($3,000 each award)

Young Jang – School of Biological Sciences

This award, offered through the joint support of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and BP America, provides Georgia Tech with the opportunity to highlight the excellent teaching and educational innovation that junior faculty bring to campus. 

Jang, an assistant professor, researches stem cell biology and its impact on the aging process. Jang’s lab uses multi-disciplinary approaches to study muscle stem cell biology and develops bioactive stem cell delivery vehicles for use in regenerative medicine.

Faculty Award for Academic Outreach ($3,000)

Chandra Raman – School of Physics

This award rewards faculty members for productive academic outreach in which they go beyond their normal duties to enrich the larger educational community with their subject matter knowledge. Initiatives may involve furthering the learning of K-12 students, teachers, or other educational stakeholders in Georgia.

Raman, a professor, lists Bose-Einstein condensation and quantum atomic sensors as his research interests. His lab is an experimental atomic physics group that prepares atomic vapors from room temperature down to the microKelvin temperature regime, and seeks to exploit their unique capabilities for applications in quantum photonics, sensing, and many-body physics.

Innovation in Co-Curricular Education ($3,000 shared--$1,000 each)

Paul Verhaeghen—School of Psychology

This award is open to full-time faculty of any rank who increase student learning outside the traditional curriculum and help Georgia Tech achieve its strategic goal of graduating global citizens who can contribute to all sectors of society. Initiatives may involve formal or informal out-of-class learning experiences that engage undergraduate and/or graduate students in opportunities to develop respect for other cultures, explore the leadership qualities and ethical behaviors necessary to contribute to society, and/or build on their innovative and entrepreneurial talents in order to have a positive impact on local, state, national and/or international arenas. 

Verhaeghen, a professor, researches cognitive aging and working memory in the School of Psychology. He has also conducted scientific research into mindfulness meditation, and has published a book on his findings, “Presence: How Mindfulness Shapes Your Brain, Mind, and Life.” In late 2020 he was awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Mind and Life Institute.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award ($3,000 shared--$1,500 each)

Michael Evans, Carrie Shepler, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry  

This award, offered in 2018-2019 for the first time, provides Georgia Tech with the opportunity to acknowledge the value of scholarship of teaching and learning articulated by Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered (1990), and exemplified by the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. This award is intended to encourage and support the work of faculty whose scholarship focuses on the instructional mission of the institution.

Evans is a senior academic professional who serves as the Freshmen Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator. As he writes in the Chemical Education section of his biographical profile, “Our advanced labs have focused on how to keep students engaged and allow them to see the relevance of lab work to their career paths.”

As Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Shepler’s responsibilities include co-chairing the Freshman Chemistry Committee, providing administrative supervision and support, planning of assessment and feedback, pedagogical development, and coordination and training of teaching assistants in the freshman program in addition to teaching freshman program courses. Shepler also serves as an academic advisor. 

Before beginning her undergraduate degree on campus — majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in leadership studies and a certificate in cognitive psychology — Brady Bove was unsure what her time at Georgia Tech would be like. Growing up in Franklin, Tennessee, Bove says she didn’t even consider applying to the Institute until her mother encouraged her. From there, she joined a campus tour and was quickly drawn to the collaborative and innovative atmosphere — and decided to attend. 

Since then she has earned a major, minor, and certificate across the College of Engineering, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and College of Sciences, respectively. She also just completed her senior BME Capstone project on an all-female team working on the National Security Innovation Network’s X-Force Fellowship. 

And although her last year before graduation was unexpectedly altered by the pandemic, Bove made good use of a hybrid schedule and some extra time to write and publish a collection of poems that seeks to show the joy of human connection — an especially relevant theme in a year that lacked a lot of direct human contact. 

“I am passionate about helping people — about forming connections with those around me,” she shares about her poetry book, “A Day of Humanity,”  which she published last summer. “I am passionate about showing people that they are not alone.” Bove gathered “touching stories from a wide variety of people — stories of anxiety, of love, of childhood pains, of friendship” for the book, which features 56 poems across a trio of themes: morning, day, and night. 

Now, as she gets ready to turn a tassel and begin the next chapter of her life, Bove reflects on the spirit of connection and community at Tech, where she says she’s found a home in many ways — on campus and in the classroom, where she’s met peers and professors who have challenged and encouraged her — and through a number of clubs and organizations where she’s made friends and relationships for life. Bove met her husband, Alejandro Muñoz, B.S. MSE 2019, while they were both studying at Georgia Tech. 

“I've grown in every single dimension of my life — emotionally, mentally, spiritually, intellectually,” she says. “I met my husband here. I met lifelong friends here. I've fallen in love with the sound of the Whistle on a sunny fall day. I love Tech.” 

Bove recently joined us virtually for a Q&A on her time as a student and what’s next: 

So, how have your initial expectations of Georgia Tech compared to your actual experience? 

I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of Georgia Tech when I first enrolled in 2016. I had never heard of Tech until my mom introduced me to it during my college search. I fell in love with the collaborative and innovative atmosphere and decided that I would call GT my home for the next four (which then turned to five) years. I still am surrounded by collaboration and innovation, but I found Tech to be so much more than that, too. I think the biggest shock was the level of success and experience each student brought to the table, and the way everyone really pushes you to be your best. 

What is the most important thing you've learned at Georgia Tech? 

The most important thing that I’ve learned here is the power of asking for help. Georgia Tech is a hard school that really pushes you. One of the ways I think it pushes you is to leave your comfort zone and lean on those around you. It is easy to “stay still” in your frustration and run around a problem over and over in your head without going anywhere — but what is more fruitful is to turn to the person next to you and work together to move forward. That was a really important lesson that allowed me to really engage with my studies. 

What is your proudest achievement at Georgia Tech? 

Georgia Tech has helped me grow so much and become proud of who I am and what I have done. I am especially proud of my senior design project. I worked with a team of four other amazing female biomedical engineers. We started our project in the summer as a part of the National Security Innovation Network’s X-Force Fellowship. We were partnered with the Army Rangers and were tasked with investigating traumatic brain injury in the military.  

This was an exciting project because it allowed me to incorporate some of the insights from my psychology courses as we spent an entire summer conducting interviews and performing a literature review. During the fall semester, we took our findings and designed a “blast attenuator” device for a mortar weapon system that would direct the damaging blast away from the brains of the service members firing the weapon. This design will hopefully be further refined by future teams.  

We also designed an experiment to measure the physiological and cognitive effects and the exact magnitude of the mortar weapon systems’ blasts upon firing. We were able to travel to Fort Benning to conduct this experiment.  

We have won two presentation awards for our work at different conferences and now are working on a research article to publish our findings. I am especially proud of this project, not because of the awards that we have won or for the possibility of having my name in an established research journal, but because my team worked well together and because we are making a real impact in the lives of those who serve us. 

Which professor or class made a big impact on you? 

A class that made a huge impact on me was The Art of Telling Your Story (BMED 4000), taught by Janece Shaffer, Joe Le Doux, and Cristi Bell-Huff. This class was so impactful because it showed me that the science world doesn’t have to be 100% technical — and that soft skills, like effective communication, are essential. After taking and being inspired by the connections formed in this class, I have been a teaching assistant for it for the past two semesters. Each semester I learn something new from the instructional team and from the students in the class. I have a passion for sharing stories, as a poet, and love being a part of this course. 

What is your most vivid memory at Georgia Tech? 

I have had so many amazing memories at Georgia Tech! One of my most vivid memories at Tech is actually one from my first semester. I was in a freshmen lounge with a few other people from my Classical Physics I course.  

We had a test that week and were trying to work through some problems that we didn’t understand. The white board was covered with acceleration and velocity equations, and across the room was an older student who didn’t appear to be paying any attention to us. After some time, we looked up from the problem we were working on to realize he had left. We continued to discuss the best equation to use for the problem we were working on.  

About thirty minutes later, we heard the door to the lounge creak open and then quickly shut. One of the people with me walked over towards the door to investigate. On the floor sat a bright blue box scribbled on with Sharpie: “Because every 1st year studying on Friday night deserves a donut! #stayhype.” Inside were a dozen Sublime Doughnuts.  

In this moment, I fell in love with Georgia Tech even more. It showed me that we are all looking out for each other and willing to help and support each other, any way we can. Georgia Tech is full of caring, smart, and passionate people — and that is why I love it. 

Where are you headed after graduation? 

After graduation I am getting married to another Tech graduate, Alejandro Muñoz, and we are moving up to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. I will be joining 3M as an optimized operations engineer.

At Georgia Tech, I fell in love with learning, and I wanted to be sure my future job would provide continuous education opportunities. I am excited for my role at 3M since I will be joining their Optimized Operations Developmental Program. This will allow me to grow and expand upon the lessons I have learned at Tech. I also hope to continue writing and sharing poetry. 

Are you joining Commencement festivities? 

I will be attending Commencement! I am most looking forward to walking across the stage, and feeling the peace that I have actually done it come over me. My family and fiancé will be in the stands — and I know how proud they are of me. 

Jessica Kilpatrick chose to attend Georgia Tech because she knew that “it would prepare me for my future and get me to the next step.” Now graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in health and medical sciences from the Institute, with plans to attend the Emory University Physician Assistant Program in the fall, Kilpatrick says she feels confident that her time at Georgia Tech has prepared her for the next phase of her life. 

Kilpatrick shares that on campus as an undergrad, she found a healthy balance between academics, career preparation, and social time. She kept focus on her classes — while making time to play volleyball and spend time with her friends, boyfriend, and nieces. 

She also worked as a student assistant trainer and currently serves in the coveted role as head student athletic trainer for Georgia Tech Football, which she notes as her favorite activity so far at Georgia Tech. “Being able to work with a team I grew up cheering for has been surreal, and I am sad that my Saturdays on Grant Field have come to a close.” 

As she prepares for the semesters and new adventures ahead, Kilpatrick plans to celebrate her graduation by attending this spring’s Commencement ceremony with her family. “I am most looking forward to getting my degree and completing one of the hardest things I have ever done,” she adds.  

Kilpatrick recently joined us virtually for a Q&A on her time as a student and what’s next: 

So, how have your initial expectations of Georgia Tech compared to your actual experience? 

Before coming to Georgia Tech, I was worried about the rigor and difficulty of classes. I thought that there would not be much time to do things that I enjoy, but I was wrong. I found that, to do well and maintain my mental health, I had to go out and enjoy things. It has been those moments with friends that have really grounded me, and kept me at a level needed to succeed at Georgia Tech. 

What is the most important thing you've learned at Georgia Tech? 

The most important thing I have learned while at Georgia Tech is that academics are not everything. It is important to join clubs, stay active, and do things you enjoy. During my first year, I found a group of friends who loved to play volleyball, so twice a week we would go out and play.  

This not only would give me a break from my work, but it would also lower my stress and allow me to be more attentive once I started studying again. It is important to find people who share similar interests as you and help you relax, but also encourage you to focus on school when needed. 

What is your proudest achievement at Georgia Tech? 

My job with the football team is my proudest achievement. In the spring of my first year, I started working as a student athletic trainer with the team. Since then, I have transitioned into the role of head student (athletic trainer), obtained over 2,000 hours of experience, and earned over $20,000 in scholarships.  

While working alongside some talented athletes has been amazing, I am even more blessed for the training I have received from the athletic training staff, and the connections I have made that will further advance my medical career. 

Which professors or class made a big impact on you? 

Dr. Meghan Babcock has by far been my most influential professor, and she has served as my academic advisor for the past two years. Every time I stepped into her classroom or office, or even saw her around campus, she spoke to me by name and asked how things were going. For a professor to care that much for her students was amazing, and it was comforting to know that I could go to her if I ever needed help. Because of her attentiveness and care, she will always be someone I remember. 

As far as classes go, Chemistry 1212 had the biggest impact on me. Throughout high school, I made all A’s, but I knew that at Georgia Tech, that was likely going to end, and I was prepared for it. During the fall of my second year, Chem 1212 broke my perfect record. And the grade? 89. Although I knew my perfect record would eventually end, it was still a humbling experience and again proved to me that academics are not everything. You do not have to be perfect to be successful. 

What is your most vivid memory at Georgia Tech? 

During my first semester, I ended up with pneumonia and was having some bad reactions. But it was a hell week, and I would not let little ole pneumonia stop me. Well, it ended up stopping me anyways. I was in a study session for a calculus test that was coming up, and my throat was swelling up on me. I had to rush out of the study session, walk 20 minutes to my dorm, and finally get to the hospital.  

While it was happening, I could not help but see the humor in the situation. I did not listen to my body telling me it needed to rest, so it made the decision for me. At this point I was not fully sold on the idea that "school isn’t everything," but that experience definitely pushed me to start realizing that my health is important too. 

What is one piece of advice would you offer a current student? 

Don't let academics get in the way of forming friendships. There is definitely a balance, and schoolwork should not be neglected — but you will regret not spending time with your friends when given the chance. Go to sporting events, go to SCPC (Student Center Programs Council) events, take advantage of your time on campus, because those are the memories you will keep. 

Where are you headed after graduation? 

I am very excited to say that I will be heading to Emory University to join their Physician Assistant Program. My job with the Georgia Tech Football team, balance of life and school, and help from professors like Dr. Babcock all helped me get to this point — and I definitely owe Georgia Tech big time for how it has set me up for success.