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Community Buzz is dedicated to keeping you informed of how Georgia Tech engages its community to make a difference.
Georgia Tech Government and Community Relations
It’s summertime in the city of Atlanta, and the Institute continues to honor its motto of progress and service. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor stifling heat can slow us. Service isn’t what we do, it’s who we are. Go Jackets!

K-12 and Beyond

Collaborating to positively impact Atlanta's youth

Tech Student Explores Teaching Career at Centennial Place Elementary
Stephanie GreearStephanie Greear, an International Affairs and Modern Languages major from Woodstock, Ga., is interning this summer at neighboring Centennial Place Elementary School. Greear's internship serves as a pilot for a collaboration with the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and the Division of Professional Practice (DoPP) to broaden opportunities for Tech students interested in exploring career paths teaching in K-12 classrooms.

Atlanta High School Students Benefit from Research Internships at Tech
"Passing the Torch" in Project ENGAGEThe Georgia Tech Research Institute is employing two Atlanta high school students as part of the Mayor’s Youth Internship Program. The program was created by the city of Atlanta to provide high school students and recent graduates hands-on work experience and exposure to the business world. Also this summer, twelve Atlanta public high-school students from Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy and B.E.S.T. Academy began Project ENGAGE, an intense, yearlong research internship in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioscience and Bioengineering. Local radio journalist Jim Burress is reporting on the students’ journeys. Read more at the Westside Communities Alliance website >

Campus a Hub for Broadening Participation
In addition to Georgia Tech’s own athletic and academic camps, local organizations are teaming with the Institute to host student development workshops on campus.
  • Tomorrow’s Luminaries Foundation hosted a college admissions workshop July 13 to provide training on financial aid, SAT/ACT, HOPE and other scholarships, and writing admission essays.
  • Tech played host for the second year to Urban League of Greater Atlanta’s Project READY, a program to support 9th through 12th graders to connect with high growth career paths and prepare to go to college. Students focused on academic development, leadership and social development, as well as cultural and global awareness. More about Project READY >
  • Bridge to Tech extends the Institute’s work with neighboring Drew Charter School. A Race to the Top (RT3) collaboration with Tech set in motion innovative STEAM curricula at the school. Now, more than 100 rising 9th graders are getting a little help from the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) as they make the transition from Drew to Kennedy Middle School in Vine City.
President Peterson Serves as “Mystery Reader”
CEISMC also is partnering this summer with Horizons, a national program for disadvantaged elementary aged students to gain exposure in arts, sports, and social growth. Nearly forty kids entering into 3rd, 4th and 5th grades this fall have enjoyed a weekly lineup of “mystery readers” including Government and Community Relations staff, Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Brock, and Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. More about Horizons@GT >

Civic Engagement

Georgia Tech is committed to being a good neighbor

Community Service on the Agenda for FASET
This summer marks the second year that the Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement will partner with Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children on Community Connections, which incorporates a community service component into FASET Orientation. Families and students are encouraged to participate at their FASET session by bringing food and personal items to donate. Mark your calendar for Friday, August 16, to join Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff to assemble kits for delivery to the Atlanta Day Shelter. 

New Ideas for Historic Washington Park
As Atlanta Public Schools reshuffles facilities to become more efficient, some neighborhoods are finding opportunity in vacant spaces. Leaders from the neighboring Washington Park area are teaming with Georgia Tech to develop a plan for the potential re-use of the newly vacated KIPP WAYS Academy. Early ideas include an education hub for adults and youth, a food hub with an urban garden, a “Makerspace” and computer lab, a business incubator, and a full catering kitchen for culinary arts training. The Georgia Tech team includes members from Ivan Allen College, OMED Educational Services and the Office of Government and Community Relations.

Get Involved

Leadership and public service in action

Help Improve Home Park Lighting
The Home Park Community Improvement Association is assessing the neighborhood to identify streets that are in need of improved lighting. You can help by reporting where lights are either not functioning or obscured by tree limbs. Report information to Joe Blount > 
 
Contribute to Westside Community Alliance Archive
Georgia Tech’s Westside Community Alliance (WCA) is creating an archive of materials related to Tech/Westside programs and is asking members of the campus community to submit maps, presentations, photos and website links related to Tech initiatives in neighborhoods on the Westside of Atlanta. Submit materials to mmadden6@gatech.edu >
 
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