Tables of Contents Total Person Program Overview 1

Leadership Fitness (includes 1 “Sting Daily” Article) 2-4

Programming Calendar 5-6

Growing Leaders Overview 7-8

Career/Networking/Etiquette Highlights 9-15

Self-Defense Class 16

Yellow Jacket Celebration/Award Winners (includes 1 ramblinwreck.com Article)

17-26

Student-Athlete Advisory Board (includes 1 Buzz Magazine Article and 1 “The Good Word” Article)

27-32

Community Service Calendar (includes 1 “Sting Daily Article) 33-35

Community Service Photo Album 36-39

Girls on the Run Highlight (includes 1 “The Good Word” Article) 40-42

Academic Success (includes 2 ramblinwreck.com Articles) 43-46

Sports Nutrition 47-49

Spiritual Growth 50

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Georgia Tech’s Total Person Program “At Georgia Tech, the day the cheering stops will still be a time of celebration. An athlete’s playing days will end, but the Total Person program ensures that Tech student-athletes will be prepared for the career and personal challenges ahead.” Every year, the Total Person Program is strategically laid out to provide a year’s worth of speakers, programs, trainings, opportunities to serve the community, and other events to help develop Georgia Tech student-athletes, with the above goal in mind. In order to keep up with the ever-evolving needs of today’s student-athletes, this program must be dynamic. A big step that was taken this year to enhance the overall effectiveness and reach of the program was the addition of a 50% staff position. Adding resources to the program is one of the greatest displays of importance and support. Nicole Jameson, who had been volunteering her time for the past year and a half with the program, was given official responsibilities and has been a tremendous asset to the program! With a strong focus on leadership development, which can ultimately have one of the greatest impacts on the maturity and decision-making skills of the student-athletes, the Total Person Program changes year after year so key topics are addressed at the appropriate stages in the collegiate athlete’s career and they graduate from Georgia Tech with a strong sense of direction and preparedness. The following pages outline what the 2013-2014 Total Person Program consisted of. It is a comprehensive snapshot of all of the programs and events that took place that fell underneath the umbrella of the Total Person Program so that anyone can see and appreciate the many areas that this program touches in the lives of Georgia Tech student-athletes.

Dr. Homer Rice, back in action, teaching Leadership Fitness during the Fall 2013.

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#STINGDAILY: Lessons in Leadership

There may be no Tech athletics program today if not for Homer Rice

Dec. 2, 2013

By Matt Winkeljohn Sting Daily

- Class begins and ends with the blow of a whistle, the same shiny tooter with a little wooden ball inside that Dr. Homer Rice used as a high school football coach back at the dawn of his post-playing career in coaching and administration.

His record at Wartburg Central (Tenn.), Spring City (Tenn.) and Ft. Thomas Highlands (Ky.) from 1951-'61 was 101-9-7. So Rice went to cooking from the start.

At 86, he's still at it as he teaches "Leadership Fitness" at Georgia Tech, where he achieved the greatest success of his career as athletics director from 1980-97.

Tech fans ought to forever give thanks that Homer Rice came along. You might say he saved athletics on The Flats.

His is a small class, with 17 students, and available only in the fall - one day a week. The list of guest speakers is austere, and on a recent day the speaker was a special blessing: former Tech player and head coach Bill Curry.

He did not enjoy great success as a head coach, but he's widely considered both a gifted speaker and motivator. One of his tales this day was not uplifting. It was alarming.

Curry spoke of his early days as the Yellow Jackets' head coach (1980-86). He arrived shortly before Rice, and in fact was involved in recruiting his eventual boss from a front office position with the NFL's Bengals. Rice had previously coached at the high school, college and professional levels, and been athletic director at North Carolina and Rice.

Times were tough across the board at Tech. The football team was suffering as were most athletic squads on campus. Facilities were generally in sad shape. Attendance was poor. Money was tight, tight, tight. Interest was miserable.

"Then, Dr. [Joseph] Pettit [the Tech president at the time] and [former] coach [Bobby] Dodd and I begged on our knees for a couple months to get Dr. Rice to come here. It's one of the best things that ever happened to the Georgia Institute of Technology," Curry told the class.

"Homer's style of leadership involves so many facets that it would be a lesson in itself."

At Tech, Rice really got to cooking. Curry knows from experience that there are many different ways to lead.

"We were basically winning no football games at that time. The program was considered dead and gone. There were meetings being held before Homer got here by the athletic board to discuss how to dissolve an athletic department," Curry recalled. "I'm serious. You can't make this stuff up.

"Homer showed up and began to shape a plan to create things that were considered impossible."

A remarkable legacy was born. On Rice's watch, Tech raised approximately $100 million for facilities, and he and others helped increase athletic fund raising from about $700,000 per year to some $5 million.

Within 10 years of taking the helm of Tech athletics, the Yellow Jackets won a national football championship and went to the Final Four in basketball.

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Tech's women's athletics programs took off on Rice's watch, he created the Total Person Program that became a model for all the NCAA and beyond, and the Jackets over his tenure enjoyed great success on the fields and courts of play.

The basketball team made it to the Final Four in 1990, and that was just part of the greatest run in school history in that story as coach Bobby Cremins brought unmatched passion to The Flats.

The Jackets also were co-national football champions in 1990, the baseball team was national runner-up in 1994 and, on Rice's watch, Tech won 14 ACC championships in football (one), basketball (three), baseball (four), golf (five) and volleyball (1).

Rice, who recently lost his wife of 62 years to a long illness, is not coaching or administrating yet he remains in his element. He is best shepherding others. And that is what he is doing. His class began the year after his retirement from Tech, in 1998, although it was interrupted for a while as he tended to the early stages of Phyllis' illness.

"Way back, I thought there's got to be something more than the X's and O's of football [about] the type of leaders that they can be," Rice said. "The attitude technique philosophy . . . kind of grew into a total person, total success program where you're not only successful in career but in your life ... what you are, your health, your financial part.

"When I started the Total Person Program here in 1980, immediately it caught on and I was asked by the NCAA to develop a a program. I chaired that committee. We called it CHAMPS - challenging athletes' minds for professional success. I kept ours named Total Person. The idea is to be successful in all areas. You have to be successful or nobody will listen to you. I built it on that. It just kept mushrooming."

Rice teaches the course out of a book he authored - one of seven that he's written, and he is still writing. Leadership Fitness is about methods and attitudes.

"I call chapters lessons, and we have nine. I have speakers come in to fit certain categories," he said. "There are more women than men who are interested in leadership. I had a meeting with President Peterson. He said that's true across campus."

You won't find a bigger fan of Homer Rice than Bill Curry, who said, "We would not be here, these classes would not exist, were it not for his passion."

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Programming Calendar for Summer/Fall 2013: Date/Time Topic Presenter Attendees

Each Wed. in July

Leadership Academy Wes Wynens, Director of GT’s LEAD; Leah Thomas & Nicole Jameson

All freshman football, men’s & women’s basketball, and volleyball

Sat., Aug. 24th Welcome Back Party Student-Athlete Advisory Board

All student-athletes

Tues., Aug. 27th & Thurs. Aug. 29th

Academic Integrity/Information Security

Office of Academic Integrity/Office of Information Technology

All freshman

Thurs. Sept. 12th

Communication with Generation IY

Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders

Coaches & Staff

Mon., Sept. 16th Habitudes: Character Development, Establishing Values, & Narrowing Your Focus

Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders

All student-athletes

Mon., Sept. 16th Habitudes: Faith based practice

Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders

FCA

Mon., Sept. 30th & Mon., Oct. 7th

Leadership Academy Leah Thomas & Nicole Jameson

All non-summer freshman

Mon., Oct. 28th Financial Literacy Anthony Rice (GT Football Alum)

All student-athletes

Tues./Wed. Nov. 12th & 13th

Creating Business Cards – in Edge Dining Hall

- Any student-athlete

Tues./Wed. Nov. 19th & 20th

Resume Critiquing – in Edge Dining Hall

- Any student-athlete

Mon., Nov. 18th Sexual Violence Prevention Training

Women’s Resource Center/Stamps Health Promotion

All female student-athletes

Tues., Nov. 19th Sexual Violence Prevention Training

Women’s Resource Center/Stamps Health Promotion

All male student-athletes

Tues., Dec. 3rd Athletic Association Career Fair

- All student-athletes

Fri., Dec. 13th Graduation Reception - All graduating student-athletes

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Programming Calendar for Spring 2014: Date/Time Topic Presenter Attendees

Mon., Jan. 13th Ladies Networking Event - All female student-athletes

Wed., March 5th

Dinner/Business Etiquette Dinner

Carolyn Luesing Any student-athlete (had ~30 in attendance)

Mon., March 10th

Networking Dinner in the Edge Dining Hall

- Any student-athlete

Mon., March 31st

Total Person Program: Success Story

Joe Hamilton All student-athletes

Wed., April 9th Ladies Self-Defense Class Todd Williams, RunSafer

Any female student-athlete (had ~30 in attendance)

Wed., April 9th Sexual Violence Prevention Training

Women’s Resource Center/Stamps Health Promotion

Men’s Basketball

Mon., April 21st Yellow Jacket Celebration’s “Golden Buzz Awards”

Student-Athlete Advisory Board

All student-athletes & coaches/staff

Wed., April 23rd

Graduation Breakfast - All graduating student-athletes

             

Above: Joe Hamilton, current football staff member and former GT football standout, speaking to all student-athletes in the spring 2014.

Below: Members of the student-athlete advisory board model their new SAAB gear!

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Tim Elmore & Growing Leaders Generation iY: Understanding & Connecting With Students Today

Tim Elmore, of Growing Leaders, was brought in to provide a 3-part series to the Athletic Association as part of the Total Person Program. First, he spoke to coaches and other AA staff on communication with today’s college-aged students: a generation he has termed “Generation iY”. This presentation was divided into 4 segments: Understanding Generation iY Equipping & Empowering Generation iY Connecting with Generation iY Unleashing Generation iY – Identifying their

strengths and capitalizing on them

His presentation to Coaches/Staff covered:

Martians on Earth: How do their minds work? Why do they think the way they do?

Career Time: How do we help them move from backpack to briefcase? How are they different from past generations and how will they rebel? What’s the next wave of issues that will capture their imagination? How can we help them cross from idealism to a realism? Seizing the Day: How do we capitalize on their strengths & minimize

the weaknesses? The Joshua Problem: What’s the best way to equip them to become

leaders? EPIC Language: How can we make communication Experiential,

Participatory, Image-driven & Connected?

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The 2nd presentation of Tim’s 3-part series was provided to all student-athletes. This presentation was based on his “Habitudes” curriculum. He delivered valuable information on identifying personal values and narrowing your focus while eliminating outside distractions that might take you away from your focus. The overall theme was character development. More on Growing Leader’s “Habitudes for Athletes”… Habitudes for Athletes will help you:

Transform a group of individual athletes into a unified force. Create teams of student-athletes who build trust with each other and

their coaches. Create language to talk about real life issues in a safe and authentic way. Build teams where every athlete thinks and acts like a leader. Build athletes who make wise decisions that keep them in competition and out of

trouble. The Habitudes curriculum uses powerful images to teach important character principles in an EPIC fashion that is engaging and memorable. As a result, student-athletes are equipped and empowered to develop healthy character-based leadership skills that will positively impact their lives both on and off the playing field. As a person of faith himself, Elmore has a faith-based version of his Habitudes program. The Total Person Program funded this 3rd presentation to be delivered to FCA. It took place immediately following the presentation to all student-athletes and discussed ways to incorporate the knowledge they just received, into their spiritual lives and how it might play out in their spiritual lives.

Tim Elmore addressing FCA. 

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Total Person Program’s Career Month November of 2013 marked the Total Person Program’s career focused month. Within this month, there were several days designated to help get our student-athletes ready for the student-athlete only career fair that took place on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd:

Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov. 12th & 13th o There was a station set up in the Edge Dining Hall during the lunch hours to help

student-athletes make personal business cards. Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov. 19th & 20th:

o Mary Fisher and Michael Laughter from the GT Division of Professional Practice set up a table in the dining hall during lunch to offer impromptu resume critiquing. Student-athletes could walk up with their resumes to get input on them, or they could set up an appointment.

Then on Tuesday, December 3rd, the Athletic Association hosted the 2nd annual student-athlete only career fair in the lobby of the Edge Building. There were approximately 10 companies present, recruiting for both internships and full-time positions. Below is the promotional flyer that was used to let student-athletes know of the various career month activities, as well as the career fair recap.

Mary Fisher & Michael Laughter conducting the resume blitz in the Edge Dining Hall.

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Ladies Networking Event To kick off the spring 2014 semester, we hosted a Ladies-only Networking Event in the Callaway Club of McCamish Pavilion. There were 12 round tables set up throughout the club, and 2 professional business women per table to lead the discussions. The pre-designated discussion topics included:

Importance of networking, internships, and confidence Why attitude matters Utilizing & leveraging your skill set Applying sports experiences to job interviews Transition: Athlete to you’re hired Work life balance and managing competing priorities Branding/social media

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Dinner Etiquette with Carolyn Luesing For the first time in many years, we hosted a dinner/business etiquette seminar with Carolyn Luesing, of Carolyn Luesing and Associates Etiquette. This took place in the Gordy Room of the Wardlaw Building and we had approximately 30 student-athletes in attendance, from a variety of sports.

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Edge Dining Hall Networking Dinner Continuing on in our focus on career related programming, we hosted our 2nd annual Professional Networking Dinner in the Edge Dining Hall on March 10th. With this, we worked in conjunction with the Letterwinners Club to recruit GT alumni (both recent and not as recent, from a variety of professional backgrounds) to attend this event. Because this event was hosted during normal dinner hours, there was no dress code or attendance requirement because plenty of student-athletes would attend by default.  Each student-athlete received the below handout: STUDENTS Networking Dinner w/ GT student-athlete alums

Monday, 3/10 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

6:00 - 6:30 Social – Meet & Greet 6:30 - 7:30+ Dinner (Alums will rotate) NOTES: 1) Alums will lead with introductions at beginning of dinner. Then each student should introduce themselves. We recommend starting with the following questions but modify as you see fit:

NAME? SPORT? DEGREE(s) and GRADUATION DATE(s)? WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

2) In order to increase network/contacts Alums will be asked to switch seats with the alum sitting behind them during the dinner portion. Students will be able to connect with other alums both at the beginning and ending social periods. 3) Alums/Mentors are encouraged to discuss (among other topics):

Educational and occupational info Effective job search skills, and ultimately attaining employment and/or graduate school goals Transitioning from Tech Lifestyle Post Tech

Student Questions/Alum Discussion Topics

What is your educational and professional background? What do you like/dislike about your job and why? How did you decide to get into the field and what steps did you take to enter the field? What should I do to best prepare myself for a job in this field? What suggestions do you have for someone wishing to enter this field? What skills and background are needed to get into this field? What is the salary range for a person in this field? What are the tasks you do in a typical workday and could you describe them? What are the trends/issues to be aware of in the field? What is the job outlook in this field? What related occupations might I investigate? Is advanced education beneficial in this field? Can you recommend additional people for me to talk to?

Preparation: What preparation is necessary for entry-level jobs in this field? How important is it to pursue a graduate degree or additional training for this field? Could you recommend things I should be doing now to prepare for a career in this field (e.g., internships,

courses)? Lifestyle

Is there travel involved in your job and if so, how often do you travel? What is the typical salary range for entry-, mid-, and upper-level positions?

Job Routine: Describe how you spend your time during a typical work day/week. What major satisfactions do you derive from working in this field? What are some of the issues/problems that you must deal with in your work?

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Yellow Jacket Celebration’s “Golden Buzz Awards” This annual all-sports banquet has developed into one of the highlights each year for everyone – student-athletes, Athletic Association staff, and invited guests. It has the appearance of being run exclusively by our student-athletes and highlights some of the best students and athletes that Georgia Tech has. This year saw some new additions to the event. A photo booth set up in the ballroom lobby was a huge hit that accompanied our normal Gold Carpet event complete with the GT media backdrop. We also added a few new awards that will likely evolve each year, depending on what significant achievements happen that year.

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2013-2014 Student-Athlete Award Winners

Spotlight Award There are student-athletes that drive everyone else to push harder, work longer, and achieve

great things, but are not typically the ones that get recognized.

Maria Boff, Alex Braxton, Alec Clifford, Kaleigh Colson, Mitch Earnest, Michael Hines, Kammeon Holsey

Billy Koskiewicz, Tyler Marcordes, Roddreka Rogers, Jaclyn Rohal, Yuval Safra, Eduardo Segura, Muriel Wacker

ACC Top-6 for Service

Georgia Tech, along with the ACC, recognizes those student-athletes who go above and beyond through their service to the surrounding community.

Kate Brandus, WSW Caitlyn Coffey, SB Alex Grady, MTK

Kammeon Holsey, MBK Ivona Kolak, VB Alysha Rudnik, SB

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ACC Post-Graduate Scholarship

Each year, the ACC recognizes those who excel at the very highest level, in the classroom and on the playing fields. Additionally, these student-athletes have chosen to continue their education

to a higher level.

Shayla Bivins, WBB Will Jackson, FB Alysha Rudnik, SB

ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year

The ACC likes to recognize the top student-athletes at Georgia Tech, when considering both academics and athletics. This prestigious award identifies a male and female Georgia Tech

student-athlete that has earned ACC athletic honors, while maintaining an exceptionally high level of academic success.

Alysha Rudnik, SB Andrew Kosic, MSW

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Bobby Dodd Scholarship

Bobby Dodd is a legend in college football and the legacy he left will forever be the foundation of the Georgia Tech Athletics program. The Bobby Dodd Scholarship is given each year to one

undergraduate male and female who are both superb athletes and exemplary students.

Morgan Jackson, WXC/TK Ollie Schniederjans, G

Georgia Tech Athletic Association Leadership Award

This award recognizes a student-athlete who demonstrates leadership qualities on the playing

field, in the classroom, and in the community.

Shayla Bivins has spent her career at Georgia Tech making a difference, in one way or the other. Having served on the student-athlete advisory board for 3 years, with one and a half of those years being President, Shayla immersed herself in this role and took full advantage of the opportunities she was presented during that time. She represented student-athletes on SGA, sat on the Athletic Association Board of Directors, represented Georgia Tech at the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in-person meeting in Greensboro, and even served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Issues Committee. She also was the primary organizer of what turned out to be a hugely successful first ever Donor Appreciation Week alongside the Alexander Tharpe Fund.

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Total Person Student-Athlete Award

These student-athletes represent what Dr. Rice’s Total Person Program stands for: academic achievement, athletic excellence, leadership, and contribution to others and the community.

Shayla Bivins, WBB Bo Andrews, G

L.W. “Chip” Roberts Award

This award is considered the most prestigious award given out each year by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association. It is made in honor of L.W. “Chip” Roberts’ family. The recipients are the

top student-athletes in academic, athletic, and campus life.

Alysha Rudnik, SB Will Jackson, FB

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Georgia Tech Athletic Association Athlete of the Year

The recognition of Athlete of the Year is given to the male and female who have achieved the highest level of success in their sport. There are several student-athletes at Georgia Tech

that are among the best in the country at what they do – this award highlights those.

Ty Marshall, WBB Ollie Schniederjans, G

Rookie of the Year

A lot of college athletes were standouts on their high school teams. It isn’t uncommon for these

high school stars to take a year or two to transition to the college scene and make a name for themselves. However, there are always exceptions to those rules and we have among us

freshman who didn’t wait to make an impact.

Kaela Davis, WBB Harrison Butker, FB

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Best Record Breaking Performance of the Year

Records are meant to be broken. Some records fall easier than others. Every year, school records, ACC records, and even specific event records are broken by our very own student-athletes.  This year, we have certainly had several records broken, two of which have been

deemed “Best Record Breaking Performance of the Year”.

Jeremy Greenwald, Zach Fenalty, Shawn Roberts, Brandon Lasater

Ty Marshall of women’s basketball broke the school record in career points scored. This was accomplished during their win over No. 13 North Carolina.

Men’s Track: 4 x 800m Relay Team Broke 20-year old school record as well as the Florida Relays meet record.

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Best Moment in Sports

The thrill of victory and the pain of defeat: we all experience both of these types of moments throughout our careers as athletes. While we typically don’t rank moments of victory as better,

or more thrilling than the next, looking back over the past school year, there is one particular moment that cannot go unrecognized.

Team of the Year

When looking back over the year, and even the past several years, there are many things from many different teams to be very proud of. There is one team, in particular, that has racked up quite the list of accomplishments in ALL areas. While the title of this award is “Team of the

Year”, a more fitting title may actually be “Team of the Decade”.

What else can you say? They are THE best in the country! November 10th, 2013 was a memorable day for the Georgia Tech women's tennis program as well as Georgia Tech Athletics as a whole. The No. 26th ranked doubles team of Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard won the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships doubles title. The National Indoors crown capped off a successful fall season for Kurey and Woodard. It was a hard fought win that went into 3 sets, but the focus, energy, belief and disciplined execution by Kurey & Woodard paid off as they brought the national title back to Georgia Tech.

Won or shared 14 ACC Championships.

10 NCAA appearances under coach Heppler.

Finished in the top 10 of the final Golfstat or Golfweek/Sagarin rankings 10 times since 2000.

5 national players of the year; 18 All-Americas

9 players on the PGA Tour, 7 that are still active.

13 All-America Scholars and a perfect APR score every year.

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A Gold Carpet Affair

The Yellow Jackets celebrated the 2013-14 year at the annual Yellow Jacket Celebration

April 25, 2014

By Wiley Ballard

Each of Georgia Tech’s 17 varsity teams celebrated yet another outstanding year for Georgia Tech Athletics at the annual Yellow Jacket Celebration’s Golden Buzz Awards Monday night. Student-athletes, coaches and staff poured into the Grand Ballroom of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center on Monday night for an evening banquet including dinner, award recognition and entertainment.

The celebratory event gave the Athletic Association an opportunity to recognize outstanding student-athletes who have excelled on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Before the ceremony got underway guests had their pictures taken with props of their choice in the photo booth and walked down the gold carpet on their way into the auditorium.

Offensive lineman Trey Braun began the evening with a stand-up comedy act in front of an audience that packed the ballroom from corner to corner. In addition to Braun’s stand-up, Softball’s Alysha Rudnik performed an original song on acoustic guitar and a band comprised of track and field’s Jeremy Wegener, Laura Nelson, Austin Veith, Obiandu Igwe and Cameron Reid performed their own medley spanning Miley Cyrus, Ludacris and other artists. Outgoing SAAB president, Shayla Bivins of women’s basketball, and her successor, Morgan Jackson of track and field, hosted the 11th annual Yellow Jacket Celebration. In addition to emceeing the ceremony, Bivins and Jackson also took the opportunity to recognize Dr. Sue Ann Allen, Georgia Tech’s outgoing faculty athlete representative, who will retire after five years of service.

Lastly before recognizing the award winners, football’s Errin Joe, basketball’s Aaron Peek and volleyball’s Ivona Kolak also took the time to divvy out superlatives to their peers. The superlatives included “most likely to live with their parents at age 40”, “best English speaker from abroad”, “most likely to be re-vined”, “best #ThrowBackThursday” and “best selfie.”

Following the superlatives several individual student-athletes were recognized and presented with Golden Buzz Awards.

The first award presented was the Bobby Dodd Scholarship award which signifies student-athletes that are the future of the program. The winners were Morgan Jackson of track and field and Ollie Schniederjans of golf.

The L.W. “Chip” Robert award, named after L.W. Robert Jr. a former Tech football and baseball player, civil engineer and assistant Treasurer of the United States, recognizes the top student athletes in athletic, academic and campus life. The winners were softball’s Alysha Rudnik and football’s Will Jackson.

Awarded annually the ACC Top Six for Service Award distinguishes six student-athletes or teams at each ACC school to reward those who excel in service. This year’s winners were Kate Brandus (Women’s Swimming & Diving), Caitlyn Coffey (Softball), Alex Grady (Men’s Track & Field), Kammeon Holsey (Men’s Basketball), Ivona Kolak (Volleyball) and Alysha Rudnik (Softball).

The GTAA also named Shayla Bivins, Will Jackson and Alysha Rudnik as the recipients of the post-graduate scholarship along with Andrew Kosic and Rudnik as ACC Scholar Athletes of the Year. Bivins also took home the Georgia Tech Leadership Award.

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The Total Person Award presented by Homer Rice’s Total Person Program was given to women’s basketball senior Shayla Bivins and golf senior Bo Andrews in recognition of academic achievement, athletic excellence, leadership, and contribution to others and the community.

The rest of the awards and results are listed below including the first ever Team of the Year Award:

GTAA Athlete of the Year: Female: Ty Marshall (Basketball) Male: Ollie Schniederjans (Golf)

GTAA Rookie of the Year: Female: Kaela Davis (Basketball) Male: Harrison Butker (Football)

Record Breaking Performance of the Year: Female: Ty Marshall (Basketball – all-time leading scorer in Georgia Tech women’s basketball history) Male: Zack Fanelty, Jeremy Greenwald, Brandon Lasater and Shawn Roberts (Track – broke the school record for the 4x800-meter relay, which had stood for 20 years).

Best Moment of the Year: Megan Kurey and Kendal Woodard (Tennis - 2013 National Indoor Champions)

Team of the Year: Men’s Golf (2013 National Semifinalist)

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2013-2014 Student-Athlete Advisory Board

Anders Albertson Spencer Allen Bo Andrews Shayla Bivins, P Kate Brandus Golf M. Track Golf W. Basketball W. Swimming

Alex Braxton Elliott Brockelbank Kate Clark Caitlyn Coffey Julian Darden W. Track M. Swimming W. Swimming Softball M. Track

Colleen Darragh Frida Fogdemark Alex Grady Robbie Godhigh Morgan Jackson, VP Softball W. Basketball M. Track Football W. Cross Country

Errin Joe Isaiah Johnson Ivona Kolak Megan Kurey Ricky Lehner Football Football Volleyball W. Tennis M. Swimming

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Monique Pate Aaron Peek Natasha Prokhnevska Nathan Rakitt Devin Stanton W. Track M. Basketball W. Tennis M. Tennis Baseball

Ashley Thomas Jeremy Wegener Hailey White Wimberly Wilson Softball M. Cross Country W. Swimming Volleyball

In addition to their normal monthly meetings, where they discuss a variety of topics, including NCAA legislation up for voting, issues among their own teams, Total Person Programming, and certainly plenty of community service ideas & opportunities, they have also represented the Athletic Association in various capacities, both on campus and off.

ACC In-Person Meeting – Oct. 24th & 25th in Greensboro, NC o Caitlyn Coffey & Ashley Thomas, both from softball, represented GT

ACC In-Person Meeting – April 10th & 11th in Greensboro, NC o Aaron Peek of men’s basketball and Ivona Kolak of softball represented GT

Morgan Jackson of cross-country and Aaron Peek were both submitted as nominees to fill the ACC spot on the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee

Kate Brandus of women’s swimming was nominated for and selected to participate in the inaugural campus-wide Leading Edge Program, a peer-to-peer leadership coaching program offered through the L.E.A.D. office.

Additionally, Perron Jones, a graduate student that was a member of SAAB as the men’s track representative, applied for and was selected to serve as a leadership coach for the Leading Edge Program next fall (2014).

Ashley Thomas, along with 2 teammates not on SAAB (Kate Johnsky & Karly Fullem) participated in Dr. Homer Rice’s Leadership Fitness Class, re-introduced in the Fall 2013.

Led by President Shayla Bivins, SAAB successfully pulled off the first ever Donor Appreciation Week where several hundred donors received phone calls or thank you notes from current student-athletes.

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#TGW: Going The Extra Mile

Junior Morgan Jackson is setting personal bests on the track and as SAAB President

Feb. 19, 2014

By Jon Cooper The Good Word

When junior distance runner Morgan Jackson won the mile at last week's Cupid Classic held at the Birmingham (Ala.) CrossPlex, she was naturally over-joyed.

What athlete wouldn't be after gaining his or her first collegiate victory -- one of four Yellow Jackets to win their event, and one of 15 to gain a top-five finish -- in the process, shattering their personal best time?

Jackson did both, running 4:51.69, to outdistance the field of 50. It was the second time this season in five meets that she'd beaten her personal best, and knocked almost 13 seconds off her personal record (P.R.) coming into the season.

"Personally, I kind of like this track because I've been running good times on it," said the Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb High School) who set a P.R. on the same track at the Jan. 18th Auburn Invitational, running a 4:56. "It's a 200-meter banked track. It's pretty fast. It's a really nice facility. If you have a good track you'll have good times. There are different surfaces. Some are better for racing, some are better for training. This is a really good track for racing."

While last Friday was the first time Jackson finished first in an indoor college race (she's won in cross country and outdoors), she has grown quite accustomed to leading a group of students. Jackson is out front as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, where she took over January.

She knew when she took over that she had to hit the ground running, something that also is familiar territory.

"I have some big shoes to fill because [women's basketball player] Shayla Bivins did a great job," said Jackson, who first got involved in SAAB as a sophomore, volunteering as secretary before being selected vice president at the end of that year. "I want to be as motivating as she was to SAAB and the rest of the student-athletes. I'm taking the role very seriously. We actually had our first SAAB meeting in January, which I led and it went really well. I'm looking forward to the next one, which is at the end of this month." Jackson knows that being a successful leader for something as important as SAAB means being confident in her abilities and taking the lead on ideas.

"One thing [Bivins] mentioned is that you really have to put yourself out there. You can't sit in the corner. You need to pull up a chair and sit at the table. Get involved," she said. "Even though I feel like I am involved right now there is always more you can do to network, meet new people. If I put myself out there I'm also getting student-athletes out there in just getting the word out and spreading our values. So really, being confident and putting yourself out there to benefit the group."

The weight of her school work (she is a Biomedical Engineering major), training and competing on the track and serving as SAAB president seems like a load that Atlas might have difficulty shouldering. So how does Jackson do it?

"Very carefully," she said, with a laugh. "It probably also helps that our sport sometimes can be pretty independent. I can set my runs around meetings, so my sport is pretty flexible with it.

Morgan Jackson is juggling a daunting schedule. She's a leader on the track team, serves as president of the SAAB, and she has a demanding major.

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"Biomedical Engineering -- I can find time for because I really enjoy it," she added. "So actually liking my major helps keep me motivated to want to do the work. The same for my sport and SAAB because I really enjoy doing it. It makes me want to find time to do it. Really, I have to stress that I couldn't do it alone. My coaches, my parents and other student-athletes definitely help me a lot."

Jackson, who has plans to apply for Georgia Tech's Master's Program for Mechanical Engineering upon graduation, won't be resting on her laurels over the summer. Instead she'll venture out on her own in Europe, when she tackles a unique internship at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland (also known as EPFL).

"I'm working as a research intern in their laboratory of motion analysis and measurement," she said. "I'll be analyzing the motion of Olympic ski jumpers and dancers. I'll be going over there by myself and be there a whole summer but I'm really excited because I've never gone abroad before."

You can bet she'll continue to do in Lausanne what she does in Atlanta, make every second count.

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Yellow Jackets in the Community

Date Project Participants Summer 2013 Ronald McDonald House Visit – ice

cream social All freshman football, women’s basketball, and volleyball, various SAAB reps.

Summer 2013 FCA/Chick-fil-A field day w/ Boys & Girls Club of Atlanta

Football

Summer 2013 Canton, GA – Cub Scout Twilight Camp Visit

Football

Fall 2013 Best Academy Athlete Panel Devin Stanton, baseball Caitlyn Coffey, softball

Fall 2013 School/hygiene supply donation from freshman Leadership Academy

Baseball

Fall 2013 Girls on the Run site visits W. Basketball, Softball, W. Track/Cross-Country, W. Tennis, W. Swimming & Diving

Fall 2013 Girls on the Run 5K Race Volunteers Softball, W. Tennis, W. Swimming & Diving, W. Track/Cross-Country

Fall 2013 Eat Cobb Christian School – 1st Grade Mystery Readers

Vad Lee & Robbie Godhigh of football

Fall 2013 Annual Michael Isenhour Toy Drive Collection & Delivery

All Sports

Fall 2013 Gear Donation – Covenant House All Sports Fall 2013 Adopt-a-Dining Hall Staff member

for the Holidays All Sports

Spring 2014 Special Olympics Indoor Games Opening Ceremonies – Grand Marshalls for Parade of Athletes

Softball

Spring 2014 Special Olympics Indoor Games Roller Skating Competition

Football, Baseball, M. Track/Cross-Country, Volleyball, Cheerleading

Spring 2014 Girls on the Run site visits Softball, W. Tennis, W. Swimming & Diving, W. Track/Cross-Country, W. Basketball, Volleyball

Spring 2014 Girls on the Run 5K – Hosted Race on Campus

W. Swimming & Diving, Volleyball, W. Basketball, Football, M. Basketball, M. Track/Cross-Country, AA Staff

Spring 2014 Tech Beautification Day M/W Swimming & Diving, M. Basketball, W. Basketball

Spring 2014 Dance Marathon to benefit Children’s Miracle Network

M. Tennis, Golf

Spring 2014 “College Day” speakers @ the Main Street Academy

SAAB Reps.

Spring 2014 Harrison High School Leadership Academy speakers

Robbie Godhigh, Errin Joe, & Isaiah Johnson of football

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#STINGDAILY: I Scream, We Scream...

Georgia Tech athletes, kids and families at Gatewood Ronald McDonald House enjoy ice cream social

July 26, 2013

Jon Cooper, Sting Daily -

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest impact. Little things like a smile, a laugh, maybe even just a bowl of ice cream. Last night a group of around 40 Georgia Tech athletes — some 32 freshmen as well as several members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (S.A.A.B.) — brought all of those things to Gatewood Ronald McDonald House and helped turn a random Wednesday night in late July into a special occasion for its residents. "It's great to see Georgia Tech student-athletes here at Ronald McDonald House Charities giving back to the community and being involved with an organization that's trying to take care of families in their time of need," said Rich DeAugustinis, Vice President of Global Strategy, Planning and Business Development for Coca-Cola, McDonald's Division and a 1992 graduate of Georgia Tech. "I'm very proud to see our athletes over here representing Georgia Tech and giving back. "It's always been a dream of mine to get Georgia Tech more involved in RMHC and vice versa," he added. "It's just extraordinary to get these student-athletes over here and have what I'm hoping is a new beginning of an opportunity for Georgia Tech to be involved in Ronald McDonald House Charities." The visit was the brainchild of Tech starting quarterback Vad Lee, whose first exposure to Ronald McDonald House Charities came a few weeks ago while at his summer internship at Barton Executive Search, during a speech by Chris Marinac, a member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) board. Lee then did what he does best, take the ball and run with it. "[Marinac] just mentioned something for about two minutes," he recalled. "He was talking to us about the corporate world and the business world and instantly my focus went to Ronald McDonald House and how we could connect with them and how it would be special if Georgia Tech really connected with them. So I reached out to him. Within two weeks I met with them and they were ready to get something going." "I have a passion for kids," Lee added, sighting his mother's work aiding autistic children. "I don't know what I want to do after football but I know it has something to do with kids, whether it be a coach, a teacher, just dealing with kids." Georgia Tech Director of Total Person Support Services Leah Thomas knows well about Lee's passion and his willingness to take the initiative. "He's got a heart for service," said Thomas. "He'll text me on a Saturday afternoon randomly, 'Hey, I've got an idea. Here's what I'm thinking,' and it's always related to service, community service and how we can get involved in the community and give back. It's never about him and it's never about sports. It's all about, 'What can we do as an Athletic Department?'" They did plenty. Wednesday night was the fourth and final meeting for the freshmen's summer leadership training as part of the Total Person Program. It turned out to be a heart-warming display of loving support for the residents at Gatewood, kids that are undergoing medical treatment and their families. Inside a conference room, Tech athletes took shifts sitting around a table, equipped with Georgia Tech tee-shirts, pocket football schedules and posters of the 2013 Cheerleading squad to sign. They chatted, shook hands, and took pictures with residents of the house that wandered in. Down the hall, another group of athletes took turns dishing out bowls of ice cream to the eager kids.

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"It means so much," said Caroline Mealor, Volunteer Services Manager for RMHC, Atlanta. "Athletes, to everyone, but especially these kids, are superstars. So to have them be in the House, get their signature, meet them and then see them on TV or at games, that's really important. No matter what a child's interest they'll have an athlete here that they can interact with." "Just to watch it all, watch them interact, the kids and the freshmen and the upperclassmen. It's special," added Thomas. "Watching these freshmen, who have only been here for two months this summer step in, as far as these kids are concerned, they are the superstars." Most parents agreed when it came to bestowing "superstar" status upon the Yellow Jackets. "I think I was more starstruck than anybody else," said Louis Holmes of Memphis, Tenn., whose 14-year-old daughter, Melody, is making progress as she rehabs at Scottish Rite from a brain shear injury suffered in a car accident. "This is special because you don't get an opportunity to see a lot of college football players except on TV. For them to come out here, this is just a wonderful time for us." Most of the athletes, however, felt the true superstars were the kids they met. "I think they're very brave to go through what they do and for them to have such a positive attitude and be living so happily even with the hardships they're going through," said volleyball player Rebecca Martin. "I think that's much braver than anything I've ever done." "[They're] unbelievable," said football player Donovan Wilson. "I'm so happy we're here because we're making a difference. I don't know how it would feel to be like this so I just want to do everything I can to make them happy and make them have a good day. My dad always tells me you have to give back for things that are given to you and this is what we're trying to do. I'm glad to be a part of it." The night held something for everyone. There was good cheer and camaraderie for the kids and their families — not to mention a nice selection of ice cream and toppings (courtesy of Thomas — while the players got a lesson in how powerful their presence can be in the community as well as some inspiration. "[Tonight] inspires me to want to do better at Georgia Tech so eventually one day maybe I can be a volunteer here," said sophomore track athlete and secretary of S.A.A.B., Morgan Jackson. "It inspires me to want to go back to my team and bring them here with me to do other volunteer activities." There promises to be plenty more opportunities like Wednesday night's on the horizon, as Lee recently was appointed to S.A.A.B. as the Community Service Representative. Thomas feels that can only be a positive. "A lot of our service goes under the radar," said Thomas. "But I would say you will be hearing more about it because we have someone as big time as him involved." "I am incredibly impressed with his leadership," added S.A.A.B. President Shayla Bivins. "I'm very excited for him and everything that is in store for him because I know he'll do great things." Lee thoroughly enjoyed the experience with Ronald McDonald House and is eager to expand Georgia Tech's community outreach. "I want to reach out into our community and have a stronger community," he said. "Just being involved in this is phenomenal. "We have a lot of stuff set up," he added. "We want to work with the Salvation Army. This is basically my job to get everybody here and to do more events in the community."

For more information on Ronald McDonald House Charities Atlanta, visit www.armhc.org.

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Community Service Photo Album

Women’s Basketball: Girls on the Run Women’s Swimming/Diving: Girls on the Run

Women’s Basketball: Ronald McDonald House Football: Ronald McDonald House

Leadership Academy: Ronald McDonald House Leadership Academy: Covenant House Collection

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Leadership Academy: Covenant House Collection Donor Appreciation Week

Donor Appreciation Week Michael Isenhour Toy Drive

Michael Isenhour Toy Drive Check Presentation to Atlanta Children’s Shelter

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Women’s Swimming: Tech Beautification Day Basketball: Tech Beautification Day

Softball: Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies Buzz: Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies Caitlyn Coffey: Special Olympics Colleen Darragh: Special Olympics

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Football: Special Olympics Volleyball: Special Olympics

Special Olympics Roller Skating Special Olympics Roller Skating

Football: Canton Cub Scout Camp Football: FCA/Chick-fil-A Field Day

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#TGW: Spring Breakthrough

Georgia Tech proudly hosting Girls On the Run 2014 Spring 5K

April 23, 2014

By Jon Cooper The Good Word

Paramount among the goals of the Girls On the Run program is increasing school-age girls’ self-esteem, to the point that they’ll aspire to make it to college. From there, who knows? They might attend a prestigious university, like Georgia Tech, and even represent one of its athletic teams.

Hayley Keadey heard that growing up.

An Atlanta native who began running at age seven and ran in a Girls On the Run race while in elementary school, Keadey is completing her first season with the Yellow Jackets track team, having also run cross country during the fall.

“I was a little sixth-grade girl just starting track and I just remember my mom used to tell me, ‘Someday you may be there.’ I totally didn’t believe her,” she recalled. “It was really cool to be able to see these college runners and see them being excited about it and congratulating me on my race. It was a lot of fun. I just remember loving seeing the Georgia Tech girls there.”

“I know I definitely struggled with my share of issues with self-esteem,” she added. “I think Girls On the Run portrays running in the sort of way, ‘I love to run to have fun and be fit.’ That’s definitely important.”

On Saturday, participants in Girls On the Run will get to see the entire Georgia Tech campus as the school will host the 2014 Spring 5K, a sort of final exam for the 12-week program that combines the benefits of running and physical fitness with a curriculum of self-confidence, anti-bullying and healthy living.

The 5K race (3.1 miles) begins at 8:00 a.m. on Ferst St., in front of the Campus Recreation Center, and makes a loop of the campus, finishing there as well. There is a cap of 3,000 participants — an estimate of nearly 2,700 already had registered as of Wednesday morning. (Go to http://girlsontherunatlanta.org/gotr-5k/5k-sponsors/ for registration information.). Keadey has become a shining example for the current girls and a benchmark for how far the program has come in the 12 years since its inception in Atlanta (the first GOTR program was founded in Charlotte, N.C., in 1996).

“When we first introduced this program seven years ago, I had to go back and explain what it is and the mission,” said Leah Thomas, Georgia Tech’s Director Of Total Person Support Services, who served as race coordinator and liaison with GOTR. “Hayley’s probably the first one that has come through and this is the first year that we’ve had student-athletes that have had exposure themselves as a child.

They already know what it did for them in their lives and it’s very easy for them to, in return, get involved and encourage now that they’re at this level. “

“It’s not the only reason that she’s a collegiate runner — and she’s a very good one at that — but it certainly had an impact in her life,” Thomas added. “It’s going to happen more and more that we have girls who were involved in this. We’re going to have all kinds of athletes, not just runners, who were exposed to it as a child and had a positive impact on their lives. It’s been fun to see that coming and now it’s finally here.”

“To have knowledge that one of our former participants took what she learned, that health and wellness and commitment to running, and is able to compete at the collegiate level is just really inspiring and we’re just so pleased,” added Lea Rolfes, executive director for the Atlanta chapter of Girls On the Run. “The story just kept getting better when we learned that a Georgia Tech athlete was a former participant. “

Hayley Keadey ran in the Girls on the Run program and is now a freshman on Georgia Tech's track team.

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Keadey, whose younger sister also began running at age seven and has run in several GOTR events, won’t be at the race, as she’ll be competing for Georgia Tech in the 10,000 meters at the prestigious Penn Relays, but she is proud to have participated as an instructor and is proud of Georgia Tech for its role in putting on the race.

“We’re definitely involved in it and we all love it,” she said. “So many college campuses are so closed off and it’s kind of in a college town. Not that Georgia Tech’s not, but we definitely have an opportunity to reach out and do a lot more community work than most colleges. I think we do a really good job of taking advantage of that.”

While Keadey will not be around, Georgia Tech will still have plenty of representation from its athletic teams at the event.

“I can tell you that any team that is here that morning but isn’t competing, will be there on some level, including some of our male teams,” said Thomas. “If not actually working setting up stuff, they’ll be setting up cheer zones throughout the course. So we should have a really good representation of student-athletes.”

Thomas has been on board with the cause from Day One and is proud of the way the school stepped up when word got out that GOTR needed a host for this year’s event.

“Girls On The Run has become close to my heart, as a former runner and then having two daughters that one day I would like to grow up and be a part of this program,” she said. “It’s something I’ve grown to care a lot about and love and am happy to get our student-athletes as involved in a great program like this as much as possible.”

Rolfes credits Georgia Tech for coming through as the event blew up beyond her wildest expectations.

“Our relationship with them has grown over the years and meanwhile our organization has been growing to where we grew out of our location for our Spring 5K,” she said. “We were sort of scrambling, wondering where we were going to move this race because you can imagine a race with more than 1,200 children, safety and just a good event experience are most important. I reached out to a lot of our partners and asked if they had any ideas and the folks at Georgia Tech said, ‘Why don’t we do it here?’

“It’s great to have an extension of the partnership and it’s also an amazing opportunity for our girls to be on a college campus, to see all these role models that have come visit them sort of on their turf and kind of envision what their future looks like if they are considering going to college,” she added. “Everyone has been so welcoming and they seem genuinely excited to have the race on campus. It’s been wonderful. Everybody has been so positive. We’re really excited about it.”

For more information, including race registration information visit http://girlsontherunatlanta.org/.

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Academic Success

December 14th, 2013 saw 33 current and former Georgia Tech student-athletes participate in the graduation ceremonies: Name Degree Sport Name Degree Sport Corey Alford Mechanical Eng. FB Matthew Barnett Environmental Eng. BA Andrew Booker Mechanical Eng. CH Chris Crenshaw Management FB Euclid Cummings Management FB Clay Dalton Management BA Kelly Delashmit Business Adm. SB Brendan Espey Business Adm. CH Robert Godhigh Management FB James Hess Mechanical Eng. CH Charles Hollman Business Adm. FB David Hotard Industrial Design SW Tyler Jarry Business Adm. FB Isaiah Johnson Management FB Benjamin Kelly Earth & Atm. FB JC Lanier Society, Tech, & Cul. FB Rylan Leary Mechanical Eng. FB Niall Longobardi International Affairs TK/XC Juan Melian Mechanical Eng. TN Kate Riley Int. Affairs/Bus. Adm. SW Ulric Scott Business Adm. FB David Scully Biochem FB Hannah Sheffield Industrial Eng. CH Jade Sims Psychology TK/XC Taylor Sostarecz Industrial Eng. SW Chris

Stephenson-Moe Biomed CH

Jemea Thomas Management FB Brian Tran Biomed CH Alexis Weber Industrial Eng. SW Lauren Young Industrial Design TK/XC Louis Young Business Adm. FB Dennis Davis Masters Business Adm. FB Maurice Duncan Masters Bldg.

Construction FB

May 3rd, 2014 saw 53 current and former Georgia Tech student-athletes participate in the graduation ceremonies: Name Degree Sport Name Degree Sport Bo Andrews Management Golf Alex Anghelescu Business Adm. TN Christopher Bailey Business Adm. FB TJ Barnes Management FB Patrick Barron Nuc. & Radio.

Eng. TK/XC Jasmine Blain History, Tech, & Cult. WBB

Megan Breitbach Biology TK/XC Eric Chiu Industrial Design SW Kellie Christian Computer Sci. TK Jennifer Colson Industrial Design CH Kaleigh Colson Business Adm. VB Matt Connors Business Adm. FB Hayley Downs Business Adm. SB Christian Erdman Biomed TK/XC Quinn Evans Business Adm. VB Frida Fogdemark History, Tech, & Cult. WBB Caroline Fore Society, Tech, &

Culture SW Shawn Green Management FB

Austin Gutierrez Mechanical Eng. TK/XC Gary Guyton Business Adm. FB Heidi Hatteberg MS Aerospace SW Kammeon Holsey Society, Tech, & Cult. MBB Elena Hubbard Biomed TK/XC Obiandu Igwe Industrial Eng. TK/XC Jacob Johnson Biomed SW Ben Keith Economics FB Christopher Khosravi Mechanical Eng. SW Ivona Kolak Business Adm. VB Anton Lagerqvist Industrial Eng. SW Patrick Loeffler Biochem CH Dawnn Maye Science, Tech, &

Culture WBB Julienne McKee Business Adm. TK

Daniel Miller Management MBB Jason Morris Management MBB Josh Nesbitt Business Adm. FB Andreas Nilsson Building Construc. SW Chelsea Owen Biomed CH Erica Penk MS DM? TK Jennifer Percy Business Adm. VB Charles Perkins Business Adm. FB Jared Polak Business Adm. FB Sean Poole Public Policy FB

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Seth Reeves Management Golf Cameron Reid Electrical Eng. TK/XC Shawn Roberts Mechanical Eng. TK/XC Sarah Roethel Material Sci. Eng. SW Alysha Rudnik Business Adm. SB Ryan Salmon Mechanical Eng. SW Cameron Smith Computer Sci. CH Bianca Stewart Business Adm. TK Sidni Vaughn Psychology CH Richard

Werenski Management Golf

Anthony Williams Management FB

The following pages are articles that appeared on RamblinWreck.com, highlighting the positive results of the efforts made by the ever growing Academic Support Staff, set up by Associate Athletic Director for Academics, Phyllis Labaw. Both the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Academic Progress Report (APR) are data collected by the NCAA to ensure that focus on academics remains top priority.

Josh Nesbitt, Football

Matt Connors, Football

Alysha Rudnik, Softball

Dawnn Maye, W. Basketball

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Georgia Tech Sets High Marks In Graduation Success Report

Yellow Jacket student-athlete GSR sets new high of 79 percent in most recent data Oct. 24, 2013

THE FLATS - The Graduation Success Report released today by the NCAA reveals that Georgia Tech's student-athlete Graduation Success Rate (GSR) rose to 79 percent, an all-time high for Yellow Jacket athletics.

GSR is the NCAA's metric for measuring graduation rates of scholarship student-athletes. For this most recent score, the 2006-07 student-athlete freshmen class is combined with the three previous years' freshman classes to compile Georgia Tech's Student-Athlete Graduation Success Rate of 79 percent. The Institute's overall Federal Graduation Rate for the same time period for all students is 79 percent. Last year's GSR was 76 percent.

"We are pleased with the continued progress and upward trend of our GSR," athletic director Mike Bobinski said. "The emphasis placed on improving our `retention' and `eligibility' metrics each semester is reflected in these enhanced Graduation results. I am proud of the hard work and effort our student-athletes put into their academic endeavors and the commitment of our coaches and academic support team to their success."

Some details: • Ten of Tech's combined 13 GSR sports saw their GSR increase or remain the same [baseball, men's basketball, men's and women's track/CC, football, golf, men's and women's swimming/diving, women's tennis and volleyball]. • Women's tennis and volleyball joined golf and women's swimming/diving with perfect 100% GSR (four-year average). • Men's basketball more than doubled its preceding GSR and now sits at 40 percent. The previously low GSR was due largely to many of the student-athletes pursuing professional athletics, not meeting NCAA degree requirements and prior to graduating. Look for men's basketball GSR to steadily improve in the next few years as more current players complete their degrees or go professional with stronger academic status. Recent graduates like Mo Miller, Lance Storrs and Mfon Udofia have yet to be included in men's basketball GSR. Forecast: continued increases. • Football scored a new GSR high mark of 63%. Stand-alone, the 2006-07 football GSR freshman class had a graduation success rate of 73%.

GSR Background: GSR definition/explanation: GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes students transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to exclude student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation (ex: go professional, or transfer) as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.

GSR is often compared to the Federal Graduation Rate. The federal rate does NOT factor transfers IN or transfers OUT who leave eligible. Essentially the federal rate treats all transfers out as graduation failures. The NCAA believes the GSR is a more accurate and useful measurement of graduation success.

The period of time for inclusion for both graduation metrics is six years from initial full-time enrollment. - GSR Cohort (4-year average) = Averages four consecutive incoming classes on their graduation success. - Each student has six years from their start date to complete their degree. 2012-13 Cohort consists of GT students who started full time in the follow years: (1)2003-04, (2)2004-05, (3)2005-06, (4)2006-07 GSR is just one part of the NCAA's Academic reform. This three-part system consists of new standards, both initial eligibility and progress toward degree; new metrics, the APR and the GSR; and new consequences through APR penalties. These three taken together are the essential pieces of academic reform.

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APR: Georgia Tech Teams Recognized By NCAA As Tops In Academics

Football, Golf, Women's Tennis and Men's Swimming Teams rank in the top 10 percent nationally

May 7, 2014

THE FLATS - Four Georgia Tech teams rank among the nation's best when it comes to the Academic Progress Rate (APR) -- football, golf, women's tennis, and men's swimming -- doubling last year's count of two nationally-recognized teams.

All four Yellow Jacket teams were recognized Wednesday by the NCAA for producing an APR ranking in the top 10 percent nationally within those sports.

Georgia Tech's football program had improved its APR every year under head coach Paul Johnson and this year matched its score from last year of 983. Wednesday's announcement puts the Yellow Jackets in the top 10 percent nationally for the second consecutive time since the APR originated in 2003-04.

For coach Bruce Heppler's golf team, it is business as usual. Since the APR began, the Yellow Jacket golf program has recorded a perfect 1,000 score every year (although this year's score won't be revealed until May 14).

Not to be overshadowed, women's tennis and men's swimming also rank top 10 percent nationally. This is a first for both sports.

"Our vision is to create a top tier athletic department with excellence not only on the playing fields, but also in the classroom," Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski said. "These recent APR scores are an indicator that we are making good progress towards part of this goal."

"This is a great accomplishment for our school, athletic department, and most importantly these teams and student-athletes. Strong APR directly correlates to good performance in the classroom and ultimately graduation. Graduating our student-athletes is a top priority for this organization."

"Congratulations to all four teams, the student-athletes, coaching staffs and our academic support team," Bobinski said.

Background on APR Public Recognition Announcement: Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.

APR is then measured two ways: 1) Multi-year: Average of 4 cohorts (incoming freshman classes) 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13. (Top 10 rankings) 2) Single year: 2012-13.

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Georgia Tech Sports Nutrition Achieving Optimal Performance through Nutrition

The summer time turns out to be a great time to do some quality work with football, in the area of nutrition. The summer of 2012 focused on grocery store tours. This past summer (2013) focused on cooking classes, conducted by Leah Thomas, Sports Dietitian.

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New this football season, in addition to the normal “supplements” (energy bars or chews, Powerade, etc.) provided at half-time, we added cut up fresh fruit for the team to enjoy as they were coming off the field. For over half of the season, the temperatures are very warm and humid. Under these conditions, one of the biggest concerns is dehydration. Adding fresh fruit certainly adds quickly available “energy” (simple sugars), but it also adds a lot more fluid than one might think. It turned out to be a huge hit.

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Using the Edge Dining Hall not only as our student-athlete dining facility, but also as a “learning lab” is a perfect use for it. Sometimes, educating about food and nutrition during meal time is the most effective way to reach people. Sodexo, the food service company that operates our dining hall, has made a push toward mindful eating and is gradually introducing new menu items and more wholesome, fresh ingredients. Along the way, they have asked for the Leah Thomas’, Sports Dietitian, help in enhancing their efforts. There have been several opportunities for nutrition education displays throughout the year in the Edge Dining Hall that have benefitted both student-athletes and staff.

On Valentine’s Day, there were 4 different menu ideas available for special home-cooked meals to prepare for your significant other. There were samples from the menus available to try as well as a dark chocolate fountain.

Above: March is National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme was Enjoy the taste of eating right. There were healthy samples of Greek Wraps and yogurt parfaits, along with free carrot and banan pens. Left: During finals week, there was an informational handout on eating to fuel your brain, along with samples of nuts and seeds to address long-term brain health.

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Spiritual Growth While campus has plenty of campus ministry opportunities to get plugged in to, and many of our student-athletes do just that, we continue to have a closer relationship with the Georgia Tech FCA. Led by Mark Parker, this program is constantly evolving to accommodate schedule conflicts and make it the most available and convenient to the individuals they are here to serve. Some highlights from the 2013-2014 school year:

Of note, one of our FCA chaplains, Marla Williams is an officer in the Navy's Chaplain Candidate Program. She went through Officer Development School last summer and will continue to train under the Navy's Chaplain Training School. The leadership and ministry principles learned there are beneficial to her work with FCA. It will take her several years to complete all that the Navy requires, and at that point she can 1) discharge, or 2) apply for either active duty or full reserve status.

Launched our new structure in January which featured a Leadership Team that met each Monday evening followed by a weekly meeting open to all.

Our Leadership Team consisted of seven faithful athletes representing football, baseball, w. basketball, w. tennis, m. track, and swimming. The Leadership Team took ownership of our weekly meetings by planning and leading the meetings.

Memorable meetings included a panel discussion on relationships which featured four couples included:

o Kevin Skeens & Krista Klein (engaged - Kevin is a former GT swimmer & Krista is a former Auburn softball player)

o Adriane Lapsley & Cameron Butler (Adriane is a current track coach and both are former GT track athletes)

o Lamar & Lindsey Owens (Lamar is current GT football coach & Lindsey is a former GT track athlete)

o Jay Shoop & his wife (Jay is the current GT head trainer) Other memorable meetings included speakers and topics such as: Leah &

Dwight Thomas on relationships, Lee Jenkins on racial reconciliation and freedom, as well as several of our own athletes sharing their stories.

Home game chapels are led or co-led by FCA staff for volleyball, softball, baseball, and football.

Ministry to the baseball team increased with the offering of chapels to visiting teams (3 of which accepted) and a road trip to Maryland which included chapel for the team, coaches and parents.

FCA staff are regularly present at various team practices as well as around the AA to encourage, help, and be a friend or mentor as needed.

Speaking and volunteer opportunities abound in the Atlanta area. This past year, multiple athletes spoke on the topics of faith and sport at various schools, camps, and clinics. Georgia Tech was also host to a one-day football camp where our athletes served.