Georgia Tech Commencement – Friday Afternoon Ceremony – Fall 2023
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I'm sure today you guys will all take photos of your loved ones and we want to tell you how to share I'm Evan ainon I'm joined by Anna Isles and she's going to share a little bit with you about how to connect today that's right Evan we want to see all those smiley faces we want to see you on social and you can do that by using the hashtags rambling on and hash gt23 you can tag us at Jia Tech on all platforms we can't wait to see those photos all right she said you're going to want to make sure that you connect with all those platforms uh we're on everything right we're on Facebook we're on Twitter on Instagram so make sure when you take those photos make sure you tag them right because we're going to be sharing as many photos as we can throughout the day but as I said I'm iavan ainon I'm joined by Anna Isles but we are not the only two members of our team we're actually joined by two other members on the floor Tyler and Rebecca thanks Evan uh my name is Tyler I am a current student here and I'm so excited to celebrate commencement with you all tomorrow is actually my graduation day as well so I'm feeling the anticipation with you feeling this excitement that's stirring and excited to celebrate with you and I'm joined here with Rebecca as well hi my name is Rebecca Wang I'm a second year aerospace engineering major here at Georgia TCH and I'm so excited to be here with you at commencement today all right we have some students to meet today so we're going to toss back to the stage and start talking to some of our exciting graduates right now okay that is enough about us but as I said we are here for all of the graduates and I think it's time we introduce you to our first graduates we'll show you a little video on Lindsay my name is Lindsay langstaff and I am graduating uh after six years with my masters in computer science through Georgia Tech's online masters of computer science program I have wanted to go to Georgia Tech since I was probably four years old and I got to sing the fight song in the back of our car and it was the only time I got to use the word hell in front of my parents I got my undergrad from Georgia Tech I graduated in 2015 with my bachelor's in mechanical engineering and ever since then I've been dying to go back so as soon as Georgia Tech offered the opportunity to get an online Masters I was going to get my masters from Georgia Tech I did a Pacific program study abroad my fourth year at Geor Tech we got to spend six weeks in New Zealand then Australia and then we got to spend our last still there are not many things that at 32 years old I can go the top five experiences in my whole life but three of those were probably from the Pacific program to be able to experience that side by side with students you know going along the same program with you alongside these faculty to be able to build those relationships it's something I still cherished this day Robo jackets absolutely shaped my life it was one of the few things on campus that I felt was completely cross functional you're working with computer scientists you're working with designers you're working with electrical engineers and mechanical engineers the dynamic of getting to work with all of those different students was such an incredibly valuable experience for me here at Tech I love thinking that I'm going to make a difference I think Tech kind of instills a little piece in your heart that makes you think you are always going to be a powerful force of influence in whatever you're doing okay well that is Lindsay and I'm here live with her so okay right so you are a double jacket right double graduate so I hear Georgia text hard enough right so why come back for a second degree I wasn't going to at first but I missed it after two years I had to come back so two years away and you already ready to come back for for another degree yes and maybe in another two I'd be ready for it again but yeah when you're done you're done and then you miss it a little bit well I'm sure you missed some of the cool experiences you had we saw you had a really cool experience in study abroad can you tell us a little bit about that yes I got to spend I think 3 months um in Fiji New Zealand and Australia it was incredible um I took the mechanics of deformable bodies I was over there and that was notable because the teacher would sit with us during dinner and like help us with our homework is probably the only reason I got through that class such cool stuff and Jordan said you can do anything okay so I won't ask you what's next but I'm sure you probably have some people here that are supporting you that are either in the crowd or online we want to make sure we give opportunities or anyone you want to say hi to or say thank you to I have some tech alom with me today that traveled from New York Houston and North Carolina um yes my dad my brother we do have a ug grad in there somewhere we don't yeah but he still came to support me so yes okay well it's support it's support that all that matters and I'm glad you have some people here supporting you um well that's our first student Lindsay I think I'm going to send it over to Tyler with another student for the day thanks y'all yeah thanks Evan we love meeting all of you on the floor um we have one of our students here what's your name and what are you getting your degree in yeah my name is Hisham I'm getting my degree in computer science with a specialization in machine learning wow that's awesome so I was talking to you and you said you got your degree online how did you go about finding the Georgia Tech program and what made you want to do your Masters online at Georgia tag yeah good question um I asked around friends of my wife told me about the program and it had a really good review online I mean top 10 school and it was cheap you know so why not not yeah for sure and you said that you were actually working while you got your degree I know that's common for a lot of our Master students especially with that online computer science what was it like balancing coursework balancing working at the same time I'm sure there was a lot to do at the same time with that yeah definitely a challenge but I feel like having that challenge also made me a lot better just as a worker as a person so definitely challenging but a lot of fun and I learned a lot having working and then also studying at the same time so what's next for you you get your degree you cross the stage today are you heading back to the same company changing things up what's next yeah I'm at meta right now part of the generative AI team in media safety probably will continue there for a little bit and then who knows we'll see what happens well we're excited to see what the future holds while you're here is there anyone back home in the stands who you'd like to say hello to yeah I'd like to say hi to my wife in Michigan uh all my friends that hopefully are watching but that's kind of suspect uh yeah thanks for watching guys we made it well great nice to meet you and congratulations today we're going to meet another student back on the stage right now all right I'm here with Christina Fang so Christina can you just tell everybody first what you studied here at Georgia Tech I'm an architecture major okay so architecture so that might be a little tough to study remotely but I know that your first year here you actually studying fully remote what was it like to actually be able to come to campus and actually be able to study for theast last few years it was absolutely surre I got to meet so many people that I had only known online and it was just a wonderful experience meeting them and actually being here on campus yeah and speaking of your on campus experience you had experience working at The Hive can you tell us a little bit about what that is and why that work was important for you yeah so the hive is of maker space dedicated to electrical engineering and I knew that I wanted to apply because a friend introduced it to me and the community there was absolutely wonderful um um I learned a lot about electrical engineering and even though I'm an architecture major I really enjoyed it okay as we mentioned you started your studies remotely and then you came here how does it feel to like actually be here at this moment after so many years of studying uh to actually be able to cross the stage I definitely feel nervous like many other students but I feel very ready and do you know what's next for you after graduation and if you don't know what's next necessarily your job you know how you're going to celebrate with your uh family this evening I plan to pursue a master's degree in human computer interaction and hopefully I can come back to Tech to do so okay well I love to hear that right here that is Christina Fang but right now let's learn a little bit from our alumni [Music] association [Music] [Applause] want to [Music] Res they go he's going to go to [Music] [Applause] [Music] herut I [Music] guys [Music] ready now we're going to learn a little bit about the regalia of our bachelor's and Master's student I'm here with Barbara Castro vanaki Nolan helmouth industrial design all right so for our regalia we're going to tell you a little bit about um how they are formed so first of all for a regalia each graduating student will be reg will be wearing regalia but there are few similarities and differences each student regalia is 100% made of recycled plastic bottles sourced from landfills there are about 23 to 27 bottles in each cabin gown our master's graduates wear the traditional black gown with fulllength sleeves that come to a point and the gowns are adorned with the Georgia tag seal the Master's hoods are lined in white and gold with hook others matching their major now our bachelor's degree candidates today were the traditional blackout with no extra sleeve material another good thing to note if you happen to see wire or gold cords that means they have graduated the honors High honors or the highest honors so make sure you congratulate them when you see them now we are going to go back onto the screen to learn about transforming tomorrow our students are different the current students at Georgia Tech are the future of our world all they need is for someone to support them and they can create whatever it is that the world needs for them to create we're the top source of stem talent in America we produce the most women engineers in America we produce the most aerospace engineers in America we have that local National Global impact georia Tech really prepares you for that real world next step it gives me ton of confidence to know that what I'm learning I'm going to be able to apply when I go to class I know that the things that I'm going to be learning are beneficial and so it makes me want to pay attention more it makes me want to ask questions there's an emphasis on what you're doing with your scholarship how are you involved in campus how are you involved in the community being a leader is about what you're giving back it's about investing in others every student no matter how bright and capable they are they still need an opportunity to be a human being not just a human doing when we involve our broader Georgia Tech Community I think there's a really good opportunity to really make a meaningful measurable change and if we give them the right tools and right resources we know that our students really can change the world in a whole bunch of different ways it's going to be the grandchildren of the students that were giving these opportunities that someday will benefit from all of this I am absolutely glad that I decided to come here transforming tomorrow the campaign for Georgia Tech all right that was amazing So for anybody who is now just joining online or maybe just coming into mamish my name is Evan ainson I am joined by Ayana is we are commencement live we're just doing a little pre-show highlighting all of your loved ones as many as possible we are telling graduate stories talking a little bit about regalia just a little more details about the day leading you up until the actual start of commencement um but like I said before what is commencement without photos right we need photos of all your loved ones all your graduates and we know you're going to be posting them online ayyan tell everybody how they can get connected through so social media yeah Evan this is such an exciting day and we want to see how you capture it so please tag Us in those photos we're at Jord Tech on all platforms that's Twitter that's Instagram Facebook all of it we want to see it and you can use hash rambling on and # gt23 okay we appreciate that Ayana and as I said today is about our graduates so we don't want to hold up too much more of your time let's learn more about another graduate Nick Emy my name is is Nick Emory I am a communication and design major Georgia Tech because I wanted to be the best and my family is a huge Georgia Tech family they love Georgia Tech so it just felt natural the Marine Corps prepared me in a lot of ways definitely time management and risk management learned not to procrastinate and do everything to the best of my ability it prepared me to take criticism and roll with the punches a bit just made me a more resilient person and you have to be resilient to graduate from a school like this I've wanted to be involved with the game industry since I can remember when I was a kid I wanted to be a concept artist when I got older I wanted to be a designer and then as I've worked my way through the Marine Corps and through here at uh Georgia Tech I realized my strength is coordination production coordination producing my plans are to complete my certification in project management uh which I'm working on right now and to find a job as a producer or production coordinator for a developer or a publisher of video games I'm going to miss walking around getting my steps in every day and looking at it it's a beautiful campus it's a beautiful place to be I will miss that and I will miss the students I have met some really incredible people here and I will cherish my time with [Music] them all right guys I am here here with Nick Emory as you mentioned you were in the Marines for I I have it on my notes 8 years so what was it like going from the Marines and then coming back to get your degree here well I had a bit of a soft transition I did 5 years active duty and then I transitioned into the reserves so kind of eased into being a civilian again and started school back up and it's it's weird being older and being through the things that you've been through uh but surrounded by all these brilliant creative people um it's you feel like you don't belong for a while but um yeah it's eventually you get back into it and I can't be grateful enough for the people I've had to work with so for me when I think about the Marines right it sounds like something very difficult right but I'm also not a a Georgia Tech Student and that also sounds difficult I I just have to ask do you know which one has been more challenging going through the Marine or getting your joy DET Tech degree they're both challenging in different ways you definitely have to uh be more resilient you have to be resilient in different ways for both of them um if we're talking hard I'm going to give it to the Marine Corps just getting through it on a day-to-day basis but this is not an easy school and everyone here in this room has worked so hard to get where they are so no that makes a lot of sense um so you actually transferred into Tech since you started at a different school I do am just curious like after you transfer here do you have a favorite thing about Georgia Tech that you think you're going to miss now that you're not going to be that you're going to be uh graduating and Crossing this today the campus itself I'm going to miss walking around getting my steps in like I said on the video and um looking at it every day it's a beautiful campus but I'm going to miss the students mostly I've met some incredible people some people who are sitting here today brilliant creative uh technically skilled people that every day I'm in awe of how amazing they are and I'm going to miss being around them every day and then I of course I have to ask you what is next um for you uh after you cross the stage today I'm sure you'll have some friends and family here you know but what what's next for you down the line next is finding my place as a producer or production coordinator in the game industry actually that sounds that sounds pretty cool I know I'll be rooting for you and I'm sure you have some people here um either in the crowd or watching on they're supporting you is there anybody want to say hi to or say thank you to while I have you here they're right over there my my amazing wife my super supportive and amazing family mom dad sister boyfriend and my grandmother over there thank you all for being here no that's amazing right here you have it that's Nick Emery but we're going to send it right over to Tyler who will have another student with him hey thanks Evan we're here with another student can you tell me what is your your name and major today my name is Bailey kazlowski and I am BS architecture all right so you said your architecture and I know you were talking to me you had a bit of a journey to get to architecture so what did you come in as I was all over the place undecided at first and then I thought I wanted to do civil engineering but I realized I needed a little more art than that that's awesome so you switched from civil to architecture it's great that we have the flexibility that you could do that um how do you like architecture in comparison oh I love it I wouldn't have asked for a different major so I'm glad I found it a that's great and do you have any plans after graduation for what you'll do with that yeah so I am going to start in February at the firm that I've been interning at so I'm super excited for that well that's fantastic while you're here is there anyone out in the stands or maybe watching online who you'd like to say hello to I'll shout out my mom and dad and my boyfriend up in the stands and then my grandma watching online great well congratulations enjoy walking across this stage today and we will will be cheering on so we have another student to meet on the stage uh tossing it back to Evan okay I am here at Meda Gonzalez so you are a computer science graduate today I just have to ask you why get a a degree in computer science and you know why why do it online um so yes as a young girl I got to experience the internet um within yearly 2000s where every website wasn't just a web page it was an experience and this inspired me and I started Ed creating my own interfaces using construction paper and I remember pointing it like showing it to my dad and I have point to different sections on the paper and I shuffled the papers and I didn't know it at the time but I was building user interfaces and in my undergrad I went through graphic design and it and when I finally found coding I knew that was the Perfect Blend of creativity and technology that I needed to be able to accomplish my goals and objectives yeah and you you combine your creativity in another way tell us a little bit about we hear you have a YouTube channel tell us about your YouTube channel what's on that and what inspired you to start a YouTube channel yes so I also inherited an entrepreneurial Spirit from my dad I always seen him scale his businesses and I noticed that he needed a little help on the tech side so that's kind of where I came in I created a YouTube channel called yety where I help entrepreneurs scale their businesses in the digital world so I just helped them with concise tutorials TP things that might seem very obvious to US tech Majors but not so obvious to those wanting to get out there and that's what I'm there for great and so uh Mara what is next for you I believe that you're already working already have a job lined up um what's next for you um so what's next for me I'm currently working as a software Dev for Miami day County Water and SE Department um I'm planning to continue scaling my YouTube channel I I feel that I'm very passionate about that I'm going to be putting my heart into it and I'm also going to be uh working on this new video game where it's educational and it teaches users how to learn English as Spanish speakers great now it's the fun part is there anybody you want to say hello to and give a shout out to in the audience today yes so I in the audience over here I have my husband my father my sister and my brother-in-law they came all the way from Miami and Orlando Florida so I just wanted to give a big shout out to them I love you guys all right well she loves you guys and congratulations to you and Evan we're going to send it over to Rebecca who's over there with another student all right we're going to do another interview this is Sophie Sophie tell us a little bit about yourself and your major hi I'm Sophie Goan and I'm an international Affairs major so Sophie I heard that you did two study abroad and an internship abroad tell us a little bit more about that yeah so I have a minor in Middle Eastern and North African study so I went to Dubai for 4 months and then did the EU study abroad program which was a absolutely amazing experience and then I guess I was in Atlanta for too long wanted to go back to Europe and so I did an internship in Slovakia for a few months and the people cultures everything it's just it's been such a incredible and crucial part of my experience at Tech so she took a lot of opportunities abroad but tell us about your next opportunity what are you going to do after you graduate so I'm going to be a consultant with the Carter Center working for the Latin America and Caribbean program and I focus on Venezuela and Colombia very cool very cool is there anyone in the audience today you would like to give a shout out to yes there's my parents my grandparents my sister brother-in-law my boyfriend and my brother who couldn't be here in person you're here in spirit all right now we're going to toss it back to the stage for another student interview all right I'm here with AIT can you tell everybody um what you studied here while you were at Georgia Tech yeah for sure so I studied a computer science I'm an mscs student okay perfect so why get um a degree in computer science yeah I think the question is why not like today like with the whole field of gen and everything coming up I feel like you know jorch really prepares you for the future especially with artificial intelligence and integrating with newer Technologies like blockchain Quantum Computing so I feel like it was a great opportunity to be here and extend my stay even more and it seems like you made some good use of your time here on campus it's you were a TA and a tutor can you tell us what you tutored in and why you decided to be involved in that way 100% so I was the head teaching assistant for CS ethics which is a required course year taken by over 700 students every semester moreover I love teaching and I taught over 15 subjects for like different like economics mathematics computer science great so I have to ask you about one of the clubs you were a part of the India Club so I from what I know Georgia Tech has a lot of great options on clubs right there's a lot of different things you can choose from I'm always in awe about the different things that people can do why was the India club the club for you and what makes that club so special no 100% I feel India Club was the club for me especially cuz I'm from India and it provided me like a home away from home it's like the largest student organization on campus and we do a lot of events every semester so just being part of organizing events for over thousand people learning all the different skills something that was truly exceptional and so you spent a little bit of time here I do have to ask you do you know what you think you're going to miss most about um your time here at Georgia Tech yeah for sure I think it's definitely going to be my friends and all those late nights we pulled together all the fun trips we had we studied abroad in GTL those experiences are something I'm going to miss every single day of my life all right we're we're here for a fun time so we want you to give your shout outs and say hello to anybody in the audience are online that you want to recognize for supporting you 100% so first of all I want to say thank you for my parents and my brother they flew from India for this graduation I also want to thank my closest friends in college Mna Grover uh Rena and Leica for being here so yeah that's about it all right well congratulations to you we're excited for you I think right now we're actually going to send it back to Tyler who's right across the floor with another student to highlight great thanks one of my favorite things about graduation is how the graduates are able to decorate what they wear so we can see here one of the mortarboards is decorated can you tell me how did you decide to decorate your mortarboard like this I always love Buzz that's the best and the be is awesome so I wanted to represent Georgia Ty with that on my hat and that's how I came up with it I'm a that's awesome well I love it I see with the regalia that you're a master student what are you getting your degree in here computer science with machine learning oh that's awesome so what made you choose Georgia Tech what have you liked about Georgia Tech what is your favorite part of the experience I love this experience because I'm a mom and I have twins who are 5 years old so I'm actually on the OM program the online master students program I get to do everything online and I'm just here for graduation oh that's so cool so is this your first time on campus or have you seen Campus before yes this is my first time on campus and I get to see a lot we had a campus tour yesterday where I get to visit all the famous landmarks and took pictures and show some of it with to my family this morning oh that's awesome well you mentioned your children uh your mother is there anyone including them that you want to say hi to out in the stands or watching online yes I want to say thank you to my husband my biggest supporter and my children Andre and Olivia for my inspiration great well congratulations love the mortarboard love the enthusiasm and it was great speaking with you we'll toss back to the camera for a another interview with another student thank you okay yes for anybody who is just coming in in here or joining online my name is Evan ainson we are commencement live we're just giving you a pre-show as you might have seen showing off all of our amazing graduates right there's a lot of amazing things our students do here at Georgia Tech they're always involved research internships they're always just doing some amazing things so right now we're going to show you a video about one of our students projects here at Georgia Tech my name is Matthew Gumble I'm an assistant professor in the school of interactive Computing we do a variety of research in my lab to develop systems that can interact with people learn through that interaction in their environment so we developed a tennis playing robot that is basically a robot arm that is mounted on top of a wheelchair specifically designed for the sport of wheelchair tenants the current capabilities of the robot are that it can hit the ball back against ball launcher it can adjust for the variance in the ball launcher and it can hit the ball back over the net to the other side of the Cod we take a system of cameras around the tennis court to look at the court and see where the tennis ball is when we use cameras from different angles we can triangulate where the ball is in space we then make a plan of where the robot is and where we want it to be so we can plan where the wheelchair needs to swing to hit the ball at a specific intercept point in the trajectory the recent uh testing that we did on the court we showed that it can now start to hit back against a human player uh we want it to like improve further and in the future we want the system to be able to Rally against a a human player if we can figure out how to get this right on the tennis court have a robotic system that can quickly perceive where the ball is how the ball is spinning where it's going to go into the future in order to be able to plan a trajectory to get there in time and and hit it back and not just hit it but actually hit it to the right spot I think if we can solve so many of those problems and do it at the speed and the scale of tennis then a lot of the problems that we have in in manufacturing and robots and the home are going to be a lot easier because we developed a system that can be safe at those speeds yeah and some really cool stuff happening at Georgia Tech you know what else was school is commencement day and we are so excited what a great day we want to see your photos Evan works on our social media team so we want to see all the photos from your end a reminder here tag us in your photos at Jord Tech on all social media platforms use those hash rambling on and # gt23 exactly you guys heard Ayana it's # rambling on and # gt23 as she mentioned I'm on the social media team here so I get to see all the photos you guys post we're going to be trying to share as many you guys might have seen over the last couple weeks we tried to highlight as many students as we can this time of year we do it through social media and we do it through this time here on commencement live and actually it's time for us to introduce you to another student Jessica Johnson we have a video for you through CCF I did an internship in Sierra Leone actually where I worked for a sustainable water company but through design I was actually able to contribute through more of their expansion programs and so catting up a lot of models for like presentations and different investor things but it it it was a great opportunity because I'd never been out of the country a lot of my projects still stayed theoretical they were in my portfolio they weren't really tangible in helping people but through that I was able to actually like go and put boots on the ground and actually see an impact of like my work going to another country another language another culture when my mom dropped me off into the airport I was like oh my gosh like I'm really about to do this alone and like I couldn't believe it cuz I I just felt like like am I allowed to do this but then you know Landing in sier Leon I just remember thinking like like wow like it's time to get to work I just felt so privileged and very like fortunate to be able to be there in a position to help I was just so ready and hungry to get in to the culture to get into the this new world and see how like I could fit in and how I could contribute and it was just such a welcoming experience it was it was amazing to be honest like my heart is really in the interviewing and like talking to people and really just sitting down to figure out like what people need and how do you get it to them and as long as I'm able to like talk to people figure out what they need and figure out how to deliver it to them I would be very set for my career and very happy with it okay we are here with Jessica so people got to introduce you a little bit in your video but but can you still remind anybody what you studied here at Georgia Tech yes um I was industrial design shout out to y'all um yeah so industrial design I I don't know much about industrial design but can you always have to ask this like what made you choose industrial design and like why was it the major for you um well in high school I took a art class my senior year of high school and it really just I was always a stem kid but it really just made me realize how much I enjoyed being creative being able to create things and so I really want to incorporate that into my career and Industrial design is just kind of the perfect mix of those two so do you feel like you made the right decision uh oh yeah for sure okay okay and now you're actually doing some working on some really cool projects you're doing a project on life vest right and it's a project that can help a lot of people can you just explain that and tell everybody about what you're working on yeah so one of my um soft good projects was actually a life vest to teach kids how to swim specifically um I was looking into the rates of drowning ings amongst black kids because there's a discrepancy between you know um just proficiency of swimming and so the life vest was designed to not only help children be able to swim and learn how to swim but also to alleviate parent fears because I found that that was a big part of why a lot of kids weren't learning how to swim great you also are involved in in an important organization can you tell us about your work with NAACP and why you chose that role yes so incp we were just chartered for like an RSL but we've been working for 3 years um and our president Camille trotman she started the organization on campus we're the very first ones on campus and so it's been a really rewarding work and we have like a really great team um even when I got sick during the semester it was just very supportive and our really our goal is to not only bring the black student organizations on campus together and really um provide opportunities for black students but also to to really just try and create create more camaraderie amongst black students beyond our campus and so amongst other USG colleges great and so can you tell us about what's next for you when after graduation what are you planning to do yeah so right now I'm working in uxui and so I plan to continue that um but I'm really just looking to travel continue working and see what's out there that's great we love to travel right and before we get you off stage we like to give people the chance to say hi to anybody who's here or watching online it's your chance is your time to do that okay I have a long list so first of all shout out to God wouldn't be here without him also shout out to my parents shout out to all my siblings who are here also my granddad who flew in and my godparents um also my sister who's not here but who's watching online shout out to teage um as well as all my cousins and aunts and uncles who are watching online um all my ID friends also the little ID section oh yeah so shout out to all all y'all perfect that is Jessica Johnson right now we're going to send it over to Rebecca and Tyler because I'm pretty sure they have a couple more students over there to talk to all right we are here with Eli Eli tell us about your major yeah so I am a literature media and communication graduate all right so Eli actually has a passion for fashion and he's going to tell you a little bit about his final um for his LMC class yeah so I was fortunate enough to be able to take LMC 4000 my senior seminar class which had a focus in fashion design and so with this class I was able to actually um create my final garment inspired by Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour and uh some J Janella Monet Inspirations very cool and so Eli actually graduated in two and a half years very impressive Eli how did you do that well in high school I decided to try really hard and took tons of APs tons of D enrollment and when I got here to Tech uh I just wanted to speak speedrun it I guess and um I'm know I'm really thankful that I was able to work an intern throughout taking classes here and I'm excited for the future speaking of the future Eli tell us about what you're going to do after graduation yeah so I will be working for a company called teradata a cloud data analytics provider uh working within their product marketing as an influencer marketing specialist all right and Eli is there anyone you would love to give a shout out in the audience yes of course my mom and dad brother sister and then my friend Janie are just right up there and I'm so thankful they got to be here and yeah go jackets all right thank you Eli now we're going to pass it to Tyler yeah so we're here with another student another graduate today can you tell me what is your name and what are you getting your degree in hi my name is Edson and I'm getting my degree in computer science with a specialization in Computing systems I was one of the online student that uh School offer and now I'm excited that I'm finally overr it that's great and I know we have a lot of online students who are either here today or maybe haven't even gotten to experience the campus at all you know I saw that you have this camera with you could you explain kind of to the crowd what that is for and what it does oh yes this is a 360 camera that allow me to record 360° so a lot of online student don't have experience of what it feels like to be on campus so by recording this video they are able to see it and interact with it and then they can have a feel of okay this is how it like and I since I wanted to share my graduation experience with them then I went ahead and record some more for them great so want you record it people will may be able to see it online somewhere yes I have a YouTube channel that I've been uh that I've been playing with for a while so the channel name is uh if you type Edson philli then you will find it that's awesome so is there anyone here with you here or maybe online watching who You' want to say hi to yes I'd like to thanks my family my my wife and my kids they are on there up there and my parents and also my in-laws they they all have contributed and help me in a way thank you guys well what a great way for people who are either here with you to watch back or people who are online to come and experience the ceremony we also have other ways for people to experience this ceremony and all of Georgia Tech online we're going to toss back to Evan and he's going to tell you a little bit about how to experience the online version of commencement thank you Tyler yes I'm Evan ainson I'm here with Ayana is we are commencement live we are about 10 minutes away from uh K kicking off um our commencement and so we want to make sure like we said that we had your attention and that we highlight as many students as possible yeah so really quickly we got word that we're going to walk you through grab pass okay so pull out that phone we know you got it pull it out turn your brightness all the way up screenshot your grab pass so you don't have to Fumble with it and then when you get in line you're going to get it scanned and come across the stage so um that's how grab pass works we want to make sure you're all prepped and ready to go when you guys have your phones out and you guys are in line there will be people along this way that can help you out so if you have any issues with your phone ask any of the people that have the askem me stickers on or a name badge and they will be able to help you out um but Ayan I do have to ask you right commencement is one of my favorite days of the year it always has a lot of energy for you what is one of your favorite Parts about commencement day you know what Evan I think it's the energy I think all the excitement all the family all the just the students energy the family's energy commencement is just such an energetic great day and proud day at Jord Tech I know for me I always really love it when we have the balloon drop I love seeing all the smiling friendly faces we have Rebecca and Tyler join us from across the floor and so I have to ask you all as well real quick what is your favorite part about commit commencement day I really like meeting all of the graduates they have really cool stories to tell and um the past that came along to get here is really fascinating yeah so I've do about seven different commencements and I'm actually a student here so usually it's watching my friends cross the stage watching everyone I know get that celebratory moment but this year I'm really excited about commencement because tomorrow afternoon is my graduation as well so I'm joining you guys in all of that excitement all of this energy and it's just all up to the end so hopefully we can celebrate together and we will finally get out all right we really appreciate you guys' time it is time for what you guys all been waiting for to get your loved ones across the stage it is it is time uh okay we going have one more thing for you want to walk you guys through the grab pass really really quickly here hi guys thanks for being at fall commencement we are thrilled to have you here we're going to show you some quick stage directions on how to use your grad pass so this is a great moment to have it up on your phones right now screenshot that it helps all of us out so if you have not done that yet screenshot it you guys are going to be dismissed by row wait for staff to come get you when that happens we're going to call you all the way over here you're going to have that grad pass up and ready for your big moment come over and they're going to scan it oh I didn't have my grad pass ready did you hear that beep let's do it one more time that's the sound we're looking for if you hear that beep you're good to go you're going to come across stage there will be people pacing you you're going to come across you're going to shake president Cabrera's hand thank you thank you thank you great time wonderful great to be here and then you're going to receive a uh momento from your Dean or college representative right here and then you'll keep going across stage and back here we'll get a photo of you after you graduated from there you'll be taken back to your seats and that's commencement thank you so much for being here all right as Serena said it's time you've been waiting for it's time to get your loved ones across the stage let's begin our Friday afternoon commencement [Applause] [Music] ceremony [Music] [Applause] go [Music] [Applause] h [Music] welcome to Georgia Tech Fall commencement students please rise for the The Faculty [Music] processional [Music] the [Music] [Applause] the good afternoon and welcome please rise and remain standing for the singing of the national anthem oh say can you you see by the light what so we at the Twilight last gleaming who stripes and bright stars through [Music] the the we gly streaming and The Rock the BS [Music] singing gave Pro through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that Stars Spangled yet or the of the free and the home of [Music] [Applause] the all right thank you thank you so much please be seated my name is zil Caba and I have the privilege of serving as Georgia Tech president before we get started today I would like uh for all of us to take a moment and recognize all veterans active duty members and First Responders uh with us today if you have served in any branch of the US military or haveed served as a first responder please rise so we can thank you for your service you thank you graduates members of the faculty and staff distinguished guests families and friends my heart is full as I welcome you to the 265th commencement exercises at the Georgia Institute of Technology it's a true pleasure to be together in celebration of these graduates and their academic achievements we have a few special messages for you today the first one is from one of our very graduating students I'm pleased to introduce Tess green master's degree candidate in computer science who will give the reflection and she is er p customer double jacket welcome Tess good afternoon my fellow Yellow Jackets I am honored today to address my peers the College of computing graduate students as well as the recipients of bachelor's degrees from the Ivan Allen College of liberal arts and the College of design to my fellow Computing grads you each deserve deserve to be deeply proud today for taking the extra leap in your education when I struggled during my degree I was told by A very wise woman that a master's is not just evidence of education but proof of one's grit your perseverance and determination are just as impressive as your academic accomplishments to the undergrad celebrating today when I was an undergraduate student at Georg Tech I was most intimidated by my peers in the College of design because they were widely known as the hardest workers spending countless hours in studio congratulations on your achievements and hopefully the return of your free time and as the child of two liberal arts professors I have the greatest respect for our Ivan Allen graduates you carry the weight of History policy International Affairs and ethics of all of us here today I consider your responsibility the greatest and I know you are more than capable of handling it during my first year at Georgia Tech I took a history class with students of a dozen majors and in discussions I was always particularly opinionated and confident how lucky I was to sit in a classroom of people prepared to tell me I was wrong I was challenged by students with backgrounds and knowledge compl completely new to me and they forced me to grow that is the gift of higher education when I learned what categories of students would attend this ceremony I was at first Unsure how to address us all what do we have in common where lies the intersection of computing Art and Design I found inspiration from 20 years before I was born in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind when aliens arrive to Earth how do humans communicate with them they use computers to make music science and the Arts are not opposites they are the means to each other's successes in times of conflict we must look to each other to build the means of communication cooperation and connection when others build bombs we must build Bridges we must design shelters for protection and technology for translation and music for Joy so when when you meet people of fields foreign to you today and in the future consider how your work depends on theirs find Common Ground reach out in whatever language you share today is the first day of the future we build together congratulations graduates of Georgia Tech thank you Tess so uh graduates today you are joining a very impressive uh family of joria tech alumni community of leaders innovators of thinkers and doers who are making a difference across our state and and around the world many of them are actually here to celebrate your accomplishment our alumni have a special appreciation for what you've done done cuz they went through it themselves to all our alumni joining us in the audience today please stand to be recognized thank you all to welcome you formally into the fellowship of Georgia Tech alumni I'm pleased to introduce Betsy bulad an international Affairs and modern languages graduate from the Class of 2004 and the chair of the Jordan Tech alumna Association Board of Trustees Betsy thank you good afternoon my name is Betsy buat and I am a proud alumni not just of Georgia Tech but the Ivan Allen college I know there's a few of y'all here today I put think you put they put y'all up front for me it is my pleasure to welcome you into one of the most coveted networks in the world the Georgia Tech Alumni Association you are now part of a powerful family of over 200,000 alumni while each of your Pursuits is unique and the contributions of our alumni span every industry and every continent we share many of the same experiences we share the same experience of receiving our rat cap of walking freshman Hill and getting good luck on our exams from sideways more than that though we share traits from our time at Tech we share the power of perseverance how to problem solve and how to remain cool Under Pressure Tech taught us that you've worked so hard to put yourself in the position you're in today one of increasing power and privilege use it wisely as Peter Parker's uncle said with great power there must also come great responsibility this concept has motivated me since I got out of tech one way I've been able to give back is through the Alumni Association the Alumni Association has been behind the scenes giving you advice whether you ask for it or not celebrating your achievements with you and raising funds towards your student experience stay in touch with us and get engaged let us celebrate you when you accomplish your goals we will provide you with connections job leads networking opportunities events on campus and in your local communities and future friendships some of my most important Tech friendships I made after I got out of tech you can always call Tech home it's a special place steeped in Tradition and as alumni you will always be part of our family while your time at Tech may be over unless you are P pursuing an advanced degree or another Advanced degree the Alumni Association is here for you for a lifetime may your Pursuits be successful your friendships be rich and your life be full of Buzz go jackets thank you so much thank you Betsy so this weekend we celebrate 6,332 graduates from Jord teex class of 2023 we're awarding over 1,800 bachelor's degrees more than 4,000 master's degrees and this morning we awarded 245 doctoral degrees The Bachelor and Master's candidates we honor today represent 59 countries in a multitude of disciplines just think about it the talent in this room together they know how to build satellites and robots Bridges medical devices they can create and run businesses they can help shape better policies they're versed in chemistry in biology and psychology they can mine intelligence from complex data they understand how markets and governments work and what our Collective history teaches us about our future they have many of them travel the world they can communicate in dozens of languages they have learned to listen to others to respect what others have to say even when they disagree they have learned to work with and learn from people who are different from themselves they are confident capable creative problem solvers they have learned the power of collaboration they have been empowered to lead they make me all of us was extremely hopeful about the future but for all this potential to make a difference there is something that you all need to remember which is captured by the two words on our seal progress and service these two words Define us as a community they signify our belief in the power of innovation and Ingenuity to serve a greater purpose to improve The Human Condition we don't believe in technology for its own sake but because of its potential to help people live better lives some of you will join join well established companies and will help them do better others increasingly more of you will create your own startup some of you are bound for careers in Academia or in government and I know you'll be successful wherever you go next but remember that your true success will not be measured by how much money you make but by the value that you create for others now don't get me wrong money you will make and when you're rich and famous we'll kindly remind you where you went to school our Alum Association is extremely good at finding you so so uh be ready for that call yet yet at the end of our Journeys what will make you proud what will make your family and friends all of us proud is what you did to lift others to make a difference in our world no pressure as we say around here we can do that I know you're ready to tackle any challenge that may come your way now today we celebrate your accomplishments and your potential I'd like to thank you in advance for the great things we all know you'll get to do joining us here in person and online our family members friends and colleagues whose love and support have helped make this day possible these Yellow Jackets know perfectly well they wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and for that we thank all of you whether you're here uh today or watching on online we must also thank the faculty and staff members who have guided and mentored these students offering time wisdom and expertise to help our graduates reach their fullest potential will members of our faculty and staff please stand to be recognized thank you now I'm honored to introduce some members of our leadership team who are joining me here on the platform please hold your applause as they stand uh when I call their names Larry Jacobs your vice president provos for education and learning Paul con Vice provos for enrollment management Michelle Reinhardt Vice provos for faculty Monty ferry vice provos for graduate and post-doctoral education Chris Reeves assistant Vice provos and executive director for experiential learning John Stein associate vice president for student life and bran Fritz dean of student chair of students Leslie sharp dean of libraries Jen Hal vice president for development and Abigail tumpy vice president of Institute Communications in our mace Bearer today Rie Irvin vice president for institute diversity equity and inclusion who will be retiring at the end of this month after 13 years of extraordinary service to uh Jord Tech thank you all very much I know some of you may not believe it but we are fully aware of how hard we have made you work uh to until you were able to cross this stage we understand the obstacles you overcame these past few years and we congratulate you on crossing the Finish Line some of you may know that I've played different roles at georia Tech over the years I have been a student been an alarm a parent an advisor now serving as president I even found my spouse here Beth so I know very well that being a yellow jacket is something very special a Georgia Tech diploma is something you will treasure for the rest of your life it can be will be transformative it was for me in like so many students through the generations I can proudly say that nothing that I have accomplished in my career would have been possible without the opportunities I had at Georgia attch and without the people that I met here so now it's your turn you are forever connected to this great institution we cannot wait to see the great things you will continue to do it's time to look ahead to push forward to go out and make an impact on the world like only Yellow Jackets can congratulations class of 2023 and now it's my distinct honor to introduce NASA administrator Bill Nelson what a treat for your last lecture at Georgia Tech Bill's public service has spanned from the floor of the US Senate to orbiting Earth aboard the space shuttle Colombia President Biden appointed Bill to lead NASA in 2021 before that he represented Florida for 18 years in the Senate and 12 years before that in the House of Representatives Bill was considered the Congressional leader for the nation's space program a strong Advocate to combat climate change and a proponent for Science and Technology education while bill was a member of Congress in 1986 he blasted off into outer space and orbited Earth nearly a 100 times I asked him earlier how uh House of Representatives person would agree it says well if I'm going to chair the the the committee that oversees uh space I might as well have the experience myself wow he and the crew aboard the space shuttle Columbia conducted a host of medical experiments and cancer cancer research for six days in space he is in many many ways the embodiment of Jordan Tex motto progress and service please join me in welcoming Bill Nelson thank you sir graduates I've been told to ask what's the good word what's a good word okay I got the picture Mr President members of the Board of Trustees faculty staff family members and loved ones thank you for inviting me to be a part of this day it's you
2023-12-17 21:37
