In 2014, I attended an event in a rural county in Georgia. I met a young high school graduate and let’s call her Mary because I don’t really remember her name. Other than her name, she was quite memorable: 5’11”, athletic, blonde hair, blue eyes, SMART and articulate. Mary told her story of being raised in a rural county and that her whole universe of possible job options were: working on the farm, working at the gas station, or working at Walmart. Georgia Tech taught a class in genomic engineering online through PeachNet at her high school and she took it. In her words, “I met some Georgia Tech professors and genomic engineers through the course. The most important thing I learned was I am smarter than my professors and I really liked genomic engineering.”
The most important thing I learned was I am smarter than my professors and I really liked genomic engineering.
2014, Mary, a junior at Georgia Institute of Technology
She got accepted Georgia Tech. At the time of the rural county event, she was a junior at Georgia Tech and was considering graduate school. Statewide technology empowered the exponential expansion of her job opportunities and change in trajectory of her life. Great Georgia Tech professors taught her, mentored her, and helped her build self-confidence. Her whole world and identity changed because of technology and higher education.
Students like Mary are why I took the chief information officer job in my home state of Georgia and in higher education. Her, and students like her, are the future of our nation and the world. From my perspective, that future looks quite bright.