Tech is revered as the pinnacle of engineering in the Southeast and one of the best engineering schools in the country. It provides increasingly challenging academics that students must overcome to summit this great, scholastic peak. However, this towering mountain is located in midtown, making finding affordable housing just as challenging as the academics. 

I am not from a wealthy household and recently, my parents became financially incapable of supporting me, especially for living arrangements. On campus housing is incredibly high so I shifted my search for off campus housing, more specifically Home Park. 

Now if you are like me, you have heard that Home Park is not exactly the safest place to live. Rumors involving crime get dramatically hyperbolized, essentially vilifying the neighborhood. But after living here in Home Park for over a year, I know those rumors are very wrong. It is a swirling hodgepodge of architectural and cultural diversity, from the western bungalows of the 1920s juxtaposed to the postmodern houses of today’s market to an international gamer living with a good ole southern boy from middle Georgia. 

My choices of housing were endless. Do I choose the four bedroom that had just been remodeled? Or do I choose the three bedroom on a quiet street near Antico’s? The answer is neither. I went with the slowly decaying, rat-infested, poorly insulated house on Hemphill Avenue, arguably the busiest and loudest street in Home Park. I chose it for one simple reason, it was being rented out by the room, close to campus, two houses down from Rocky and most importantly: it was cheap. 

All eight of us had never met each other until we were all gathered around a strangely placed table staring at the lease agreement. As soon as I lifted the pen from writing my signature, I began a life-changing adventure with these seven other strangers. This adventure helped me develop these rules. 

Rule number one: if you paid for it, keep it in your room. If you are living in Home Park, chances are that you are trying to save a penny. This means there that there will always be a freeloader lurking in the shadows of someone else’s tv, waiting to use your garlic powder or watch questionable shows on your Netflix account. 

Rule number two: do not let the location go to your head. Right outside of our door is the beautiful west midtown where some of the upper echelon shop and spend their Saturdays at. Here you can get lost in the $10 beers and the $7 ice cream scoops, tricking yourself up onto a high horse, believing that you ARE the upper echelon. Do not forget you had to borrow a pack of ramen noodles yesterday and you caught a rat munching on an avocado in your kitchen last week. 

Rule number three: you are living with seven other people. If you think you can reserve the entire house for your convenience, you better submit a work order and hope we get back to you in 5-7 business days with our number. 

Rule number four: turn. The.Lights. Off. For God’s sakes, turn the lights off. If not for the electric bill, do it for the environment. 

Rule number five: Communication. In a household of eight, clear communication is key to surviving this hostile environment. Silent fights over the thermostat or a shelf in the fridge solves nothing. 

Rule number six, the most important rule: be open minded. Here at Tech, we have a rare opportunity to experience a vast amount of diversity in a small space, and in my house, it is no different. We have an eclectic mix of cultures, races, political views and ways of life under this roof that are constantly mixing and colliding, providing incredible learning experiences, if you are open to it. Without this last rule, I would not have been able to form the close bonds I have with my roommates or make the memories of the adventures we have had. 

Navigating the world as a fat person can feel like a constant (sometimes literally) uphill battle. My first year here, I would look around the crowded lecture hall, my stomach pressing up against the extremely tight desk, and feel like I did not belong on a college campus. Everyone seemed so fit, healthy and hot even though we were all basically eating the same subpar dining hall food. 

Most of the free t-shirt giveaways only go up to XXL and are usually printed on shrink prone material. I tell myself I will use all the shirts for a memory quilt later in life. 

My major building sits at the top of one of the most brutal sets of stairs in the history of modern architecture. Sometimes I do not understand how I lived through my freshman year on this campus that seemingly hates fat people. It seems to be ingrained in the architecture (I mean really, how skinny were these engineers back in the day because the lecture hall seats in some of these buildings barely fit a notebook on the desk, much less a whole student in the seat). With something so deeply seeded in society, I obviously cannot call for a fat innovation on this campus, but I can tell you how to be more fat friendly. 

If you are like me, you probably hang around a lot of somewhat skinny people. It just happens. Every friend group needs a fat funny girl and I am here to serve the part. Most of the time, these friends do things that, although not on purpose, make my life as a plus sized person a lot harder. Here are some things to be more considerate while hanging out with your amazing, funny, beautiful fat friends. 

Restaurant booths are one of the biggest frenemies of the plus-sized community. If it is big enough, it can be a glorious dining experience, but if it ends up being too small, it can be an incredibly embarrassing moment for us. One of the worst walks of shame is having to gather our menus and silverware to move to a table big enough to dine comfortably.  To play it safe next time you are out to eat, save us from embarrassment and ask for a table. 

For those sadists out here that enjoy walking up the stairs — newsflash — not every chubby person enjoys feeling extremely lightheaded and out of breath during their daily strolls. I am here to ask you to take the elevators when available because your friends are suffering. I do not even mind walking up the stairs or walking around campus, but when your pace is equivalent to the speed walking olympics, I am going to have to tone it down before my capillaries burst. 

My final, but most important, tip for making your fat friends more comfortable in your presence, is to never mention how fat you supposedly are. Honestly, you should probably stray away from mentioning weight or weight loss in general, but I cannot tell you the amount of times I have had to sit and listen to people half my size complain about how fat they are. If you are fat at 150 pounds, that makes me feel like a monstrosity. 

If you choose to be friends with a fat person, make sure your actions are not harmful towards that person. While most of the time the world makes us feel like we do not deserve to take up space, your friendship and consideration can make a massive difference. 

 On March 2, Iowa State University’s Dr. Amy Bix came to campus to give a lecture on “How Coeds Came to Georgia Tech: A History of Women and Engineering Education.” 

Her lecture discussed the overall history of gender inequality in engineering, as well as the backlash surrounding women’s integration into engineering institutions and the changing roles of women during eras such as World War II and the Cold War. 

Throughout the lecture, Bix included specific examples of the disparity between the genders, including sexist ads and “engineering toys” specifically geared towards young males. 

Bix even made reference to comics from Tech’s old humor magazine The Yellow Jacket  that mocked women in the engineering programs on campus. 

Although the majority of Bix’s lecture focused on the struggles of women’s acceptance and integration into engineering programs, she concluded her lecture by focusing on the overall improvement in the number of female engineers over previous years. 

Bix also noted the more positive sentiment that now surrounds the acceptance of women in engineering, a sentiment the Technique discussed with the co-sponsors of the event from Tech’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

“I really enjoyed Dr. Bix’s talk,” third-year BMED and SWE member Gabrielle Gershon shared. 

“I think what surprised me most was how much backlash there originally was against women in engineering. I thought it was more of a general cultural concept and didn’t realize there were such aggressive ads against women in engineering and that female students were so constantly harassed because of what they were studying. So, yeah, that really surprised me.”

Gershon then went on to connect her own work in women’s outreach to the points Bix made about the significance of encouraging the involvement of younger generations of women.

“I also thought it was really cool how Dr. Bix talked about reaching out to younger generations to get a lot of high school and even younger girls interested in engineering. That’s a lot of what we do in Society of Women Engineers, and I think outreach like that has really helped boost the number of women in engineering.”

Gershon also shared her personal experience as a woman pursuing engineering on campus. 

“In biomedical engineering there are definitely a lot more women than in other types of engineering on campus, but I have definitely been in classes that are filled with a lot more men than women,” Gershon began. 

“Just last year I was in a group project where seven of our nine members were male. But I think the general idea of women being present in the classroom is a lot more accepted now and the situation for women attending school to become engineers has definitely improved. Most people on campus are accepting of women being in engineering classrooms so that has definitely been a big change for the better.” 

Fellow SWE member and second-year EE Salmata Barrie agreed with Gershon and Dr. Bix on the importance of outreach to younger women. 

“I think the best thing about the outreach we do with SWE is that the women we connect with are really able to see themselves at Tech despite things like race, gender and socio-economic status,” Barrie began. 

“In terms of the socio-economic issues which Dr. Bix touched on as well, I think Georgia Tech does a great job and has a lot of resources as a public institution to welcome students despite their financial background so that it isn’t just women who have parents with a background in engineering who can come here.”

Barrie also expressed her personal experience in two different engineering majors on campus, once again emphasizing the drastic change in female acceptance at Tech.

“My experience in environmental engineering and electrical engineering are both pretty different in terms of the gender distribution in my classes,” Barrie shared. 

“There are a lot more men in electrical than there were in environmental. But I have never felt out of place or isolated at all. We’re all there to learn and I feel like everyone’s pretty accepting of that.” 

The Technique then asked both Gershon and Barrie about women in STEM beyond the scope of Tech’s campus, specifically in regards to Katherine Johnson. 

Johnson, one of the first African American women to work as a NASA employee, died just days before the lecture at the age of 101. She was one of the first three African American students to attend West Virginia University, and her work in orbital mechanics at NASA assisted with the success of many crewed spaceflights, including the first ever. 

Gershon gave her perspective on the media’s portrayal of women in STEM, specifically in reference to the tribute of Johnson’s role at NASA in the movie Hidden Figures. Gershon also connected this idea back into Dr. Bix’s lecture. 

“I think lately the media has been portraying women in STEM like Katherine Johnson in a much more positive and beneficial light such as with movies like Hidden Figures,” Gershon began. 

“Those movies portray women as much more capable than things such as the ‘computer hacker Barbie’ Dr. Bix mentioned where Barbie still needed help from her male friends in the storybook.” 

Before the Democratic senate primary on May 19, the Technique had the opportunity to interview senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Theresa Tomlinson  about their campaign platforms.  

Technique: Why do you think the Republicans of Georgia should vote for you?

Ossoff: I’m reaching out to every voter in this state, regardless of party, with an agenda that serves our shared interests. Every family in Georgia benefits when we lower drug costs. Every family in Georgia benefits when we ensure everyone has the medical care they need. Every family in Georgia benefits when we invest in infrastructure and transit and clean energy and save our environment. 

The problem we have is one of political corruption. Why does my opponent, David Perdue, do nothing to help folks get healthcare? It’s because he takes huge amounts of money from the insurance industry. Why does he do nothing to crack down on drug companies that are charging scandalous prices for medicine? Because he’s been bought by the pharmaceutical industry. Why does he deny climate change and refuse to act on the environment? It’s because he’s been bought by the oil and gas industry. 

Technique: Do you have any action items that you’re planning on using to overcome that voter suppression that we’ve seen in the past? 

Ossoff: What we have to do now in 2020 is raise a grass-roots army of volunteers unprecedented in this state’s history to drive the strongest turnout ever in this state’s history. I can’t do that and my team can’t do that without young people getting involved, so my appeal to the students at Tech who are reading this interview is: if you believe, like I do, that our country is terribly on the wrong path right now, this election is critical. 

I’m asking for help not out of some kind of loyalty to any candidate, not even out of loyalty to any political party, but because elections matter and this election matters hugely and we need folks out knocking on doors and registering voters.

Technique: What solutions do you have for Georgia’s recent grads and older college graduates who are crippled by that debt that follows them. 

Ossoff: So first of all, for folks who are applying to college, I will fight to make public college and public university 100% debt free. For recent graduates and adults who already have crippling student debt, I will fight for aggressive relief, including caps on interest rates, including partial forgiveness. 

Technique: Can you tell me about the other ways your policy plans will impact Tech students and alumni? 

Ossoff: I think we need the most ambitious infrastructure effort in American history. That means historic investments in clean energy, in cutting-edge infrastructure, in research and development, in mitigating environmental impacts across the state and in coastal Georgia.

 All of that requires a young workforce trained in science, technology, engineering and math so that we can really level up our economy and our infrastructure here in this state and build the kind of thriving, resilient, sustainable economic infrastructure that our country needs, our state needs, and I know young people want. I see Georgia Tech as playing an essential role in building that future for Georgia. 

Technique: Is there anything else you’d like Tech’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni to know? 

Ossoff: Last time, my opponent, David Perdue was on Tech’s campus. He stole a cell-phone from a student who was trying to take his picture. 

I can promise the whole Tech community that next time I’m on campus they can take a photo with me and I will not snatch their cell-phone out of their hands because I’m not afraid of the public like my opponent, who hides from voters in bathrooms and hasn’t held a public town hall in all five years he’s served us. He’s pathetic and he’ll be defeated this year in the voting booth. 

Technique: What do you think you can do for Georgia? 

Tomlinson: I was born and raised in Atlanta and went to Chamblee High School. I went to law school at Emory and practiced law here in Atlanta for a while. Then I transferred down to Columbus, Georgia, which was supposed to be temporary. 

I fell in love with the city, and then my husband happened to be from Columbus, so we ended up staying there, and I ended up being the mayor of Columbus for 2 terms. I was planning on going back to the practice of law, which I loved — I specialized in something called complex litigation, which was in the federal court system. 

I worked almost exclusively with federal legislation, and actually enforced it from a private standpoint. As a young person in college, I worked in the U.S. Senate as a summer volunteer. Government touched our lives every single day and it really mattered who ran it. 

This level of dysfunction is not healthy for our system, our citizens, our communities, or our national community, and so I realized that David Perdue had made some very poor choices. He said he was going to run on reducing the deficit, and of course the deficit is now three times more than it was when he got up there.

I see him supporting policies such as putting junk insurance policies back on the exchange, so that people pay good money and end up realizing they don’t have good coverage because they have pre-existing conditions. 

This results in financial ruin of the individual. I knew we could do better, and that’s why I jumped in — to resolve dysfunction as a lawyer and a mayor. 

Technique: What concerns and solutions do you have in terms of the college debt crisis in the U.S.? 

Tomlinson: One of the major causes of the college debt crisis was the federal government refusing to fund secondary education at the levels it had previously. That gave rise to all sorts of predatory lending related to college loans, for-profit colleges and other things that allowed for great abuses of the system. 

I think that first of all, we need to go back to investing in secondary education in this nation. The second thing is that we need to pass legislation that stops predatory lending to students. We need to stop the abuse of for-profit education systems. We need to increase the funding for Pell Grants, which have been drastically reduced through the years, and which is driving folks to these other systems. 

We should bring back Pell Grants so that they can provide for up to the entirety of education cost and in certain circumstances provide for basic living costs. Having free two-year education is also something we need to do. 

That would allow students to get really meaningful associate degrees, or go to a technical college for two years and then transfer to a place like Georgia Tech or another university. 

We should also expand the public service credit for those who get out of work and want to go into areas that have great public and social benefit. 

Technique: Can you tell me about other ways your policy plans will impact the lives of Tech students and alumni? 

Tomlinson: Your generation is changing the world so rapidly that our government system cannot keep up with your innovation. 

We’re going to keep the government as a framework in which we live our most prosperous lives. They’re going to have to re-tool for the entrepreneurial and the innovative spirit of the generations coming along behind us. 

We need to take that innovation and apply it to our civic and financial infrastructures today. One example of this is what’s going on with social media, like Facebook, and the inability of the government to work collaboratively with those businesses to stop the abuses. Another issue is that innovators often don’t have capital. 

Technique: How can we get more students involved with politics? 

Tomlinson: I think the first thing is to make the government interesting to them by explaining how it touches their lives. Explaining the detriment that comes from bad government, like college debt and voter suppression.  

Technique: Is there anything else you’d like Tech studentsto know? 

Tomlinson: This race is truly critical. The decisions being made now can either make life harder or easier. We can only do that with your very loud voices demanding that we respect your future.

Last semester, with the ushering in of Tech’s new president, Angel Cabrera, an all call was put out for students, faculty and everyone in between to share their dream for Tech’s future. Between working sessions, meetings and QR codes spread around campus, over 5,700 people contributed towards a new vision for Tech in the coming years. 

The Strategic Plan was divided into three phases, which include the “Visioning” phase, a “Goal Setting” phase, and an “Implementation” phase. The visioning phase concluded on time, as it was projected to last from Sept. 2019 to Jan. 2020. 

During the visioning phase of the process, the strategic planning team utilized appreciative inquiry to gather data through various sessions and surveys. The appreciative inquiry approach is a method of organizational change that focuses on engaging the stakeholders of the Institute, including students, faculty, alumni and community partners, in definitive goal seeking and change making. In using this data gathering method, the strategic planning team was able to identify common goals, achievements and values that the Tech community wants to strive to work towards and preserve. 

With the completion of the visioning phase came the initial working draft of “A Vision for Georgia Tech: 2020-2030.” The strategic plan is meant to serve as a blueprint for the goals the administration wants to work to achieve within the next decade of the Institute’s existence. 

After analyzing all of the data brought in by Cabrera’s strategic planning sessions, a working draft was made available to the public that outlined the Institute’s objectives to tackle within the next ten years. The publication of the draft marked the beginning of the goal setting phase, which is to last from now until June 2020. 

The working draft outlines the values, beliefs and strategic themes that serve as the foundation of the vision. The values and beliefs cited in the draft include excellence, diversity, collaboration, the nurturing of the wellbeing of the overall Tech community, freedom of expression, ethics and the Institute’s responsibility to act as stewards. 

The section titled “Vision 2030” lists the “strategic themes” for the plan, which act as categories for the proposed actions listed later: “In order to achieve this vision, we will amplify impact, champion innovation, connect globally, expand access, cultivate well-being and lead by example”. The working draft emphasizes Tech’s continuing commitment to working in its immediate community, the city of Atlanta and Georgia as a whole. These stated goals include, “be a trusted partner in addressing the most pressing social, economic and environmental issues in our city and state … be the innovation partner of choice for leading companies and organizations in the communities we serve,” and “partner with public schools in Atlanta and across the state to increase enrollment of underrepresented students and support teachers who inspire students to pursue careers in science and technology”.

This strategic plan further narrows a commitment to Tech’s closest surroundings. Dr. Magnus Egerstedt pointed out in Oct. 2019 that, “We are not always as effective as we could be when it comes to partnering with our immediate neighbors and communities, it’s true that every year we get a little better,” in reference to Tech’s incrementally improving inclusivity of local neighborhoods in its economic success, specifically in terms of education outreach. While Tech is known for sending its promising students to local Atlanta businesses such as Lockheed Martin and Coca-Cola, this new vision for Tech aims to include surrounding public schools and bring in promising students from the area, as well.

One notable point may be the intention to “empower and facilitate the mental and physical wellbeing and holistic development of all members of the Georgia Tech community”. Mental health resource quality and availability have been areas of contention for students at Tech for years, and administration has made them high priorities since 2017. President Cabrera has expressed interest in being personally involved with current and future mental health initiatives, which aligns with this stated goal.

With all the goals set out in the working draft, the implementation phase of the project should commence this July. During the current goal setting phase, students, staff and community members can apply to be part of working teams that correspond with the six strategic themes. For more information, visit https://strategicplan.gatech.edu/

The Tech golf team ventured to the Caribbean last week looking for their seventh win in 28 total appearances at the Puerto Rico Classic. Although the Jackets had a strong history at this event, including six team wins and seven medalist honors, the team knew it was going to be a tall task to come out victorious. 15 teams participated in the event, six of whom are ranked in the top 50 by Golfstat, including the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. 

In addition to this, the Puerto Rico Classic, which runs from Sunday to Tuesday and is held at Rio Mar Country Club provides an interesting test to collegiate golfers year after year due to the howling winds and hot ocean air. However, despite the strong field and testy conditions, the Jackets entered the tournament confident as ever. The team was coming off of a fifth place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, and were ranked number three in the nation. The conditions also played in the team’s favor, as the warm, breezy air provided a much needed break from the grueling winter conditions the Jackets have dealt with as of late.  

Despite the tournament’s deep field, the team event quickly proved to be a two horse race between the Sooners and the Jackets. Oklahoma took a one stroke lead after Round 1 on Sunday spurred by solid rounds from Garrett Reband and Jake Holbrook. However, led by Connor Howe and Bartley Forrester’s rounds of 68 and 66 respectively, Tech fired a second-round score of 268 (-20) to take a two-stroke lead into the final day. Howe, a sophomore shared the individual 36 hole lead at 8-under after shooting back-to-back rounds of 68. Forrester, a redshirt freshman, was close behind his teammate after a scorching back nine of 31 on Monday, including an eagle and three birdies. Senior Luke Schneiderjans found himself in the hunt for the individual tournament as well after rounds of 69 and 68.

The final day of action was pressure packed as the Jackets held a very slim lead over the top-ranked Sooners. However, the Jackets showed they had been at the top of the leaderboard many times before. Forrester played nearly a flawless final round, recording four birdies and just one bogey. Senior Tyler Strafaci recorded a round of 71 and the reigning U.S. Amateur Champion, Andy Ogletree, added a two-under-par round of 70. 

The strong play of the Jackets was too much for the Sooners as Tech captured their seventh ever win at the Puerto Rico Classic with a score of 832 (-32). Also of note, the 19th ranked Georgia Bulldogs finished in third place and the 24th ranked Clemson Tigers finished fifth.

In addition to the impressive team win, Forrester pulled out a share of the individual title with a total score of 207 (-9). In Forrester’s third event as a member of Tech’s golf team he found himself atop the leaderboard amongst many other experienced veterans from some of the nation’s best teams. While it is quite clear how talented Tech’s senior players are, performances like these from the underclassmen show how bright Tech’s future can be. 

Following his win, Forrester remarked, “To see all my hard work pay off with a win is the most gratifying feeling. I hit the ball probably the best I’ve ever hit it, and I made enough putts to get the job done.” 

The Jackets have seen impressive individual performances from every member of the team this season and promise to be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC this upcoming season.

Looking ahead, the Jackets are preparing for the Southern Highlands Collegiate tournament in Las Vegas, NV. The tournament will run from March 1–3. Last year, the Jackets held a 36-hole lead before crumbling in the final round and falling to sixth place. 

Hopefully the Jackets can build off of this week’s performance and bring home another first-place finish from Nevada in early March, where the Sooners will be looking to exact revenge  on the Jackets after their close loss in Puerto Rico.

A year and a half ago, Chelsea Cutler played an intimate show in a small, albeit crowded, room at The Loft. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, she returned to Atlanta. An unrelenting touring schedule, a Billboard charting full length album and a Late Night performance later, her second performance brought the same vulnerable, impassioned energy — except this time to a sold out crowd at the much larger Variety Playhouse. 

The crowd’s anticipation was palpable as the lights cut out, only to reveal a message across the LED screens on stage: “23 years. 8,935 days. 201,480 hours. And I still have a lot of questions.” Videos of highlights of Cutler’s monumental last year played in the background. The montage echoed the unique struggles and beautiful highs of being a young adult in today’s world. The clips highlighted the recurring themes throughout Cutler’s recently released album “How To Be Human.”

Chelsea Cutler’s energy on stage was contagious; she bounced across the floor and involved every part of the audience. Her band’s drummer and keyboardist, Gavin Chops and JT Becker, helped to create a hard hitting intensity on stage that complimented Chelsea Cutler’s ethereal voice. 

Despite the near constant energy, it was the times when Chelsea took a break from the liveliness of her performance that she connected most with the crowd. At one point she took a seat, perched at the edge of the stage and crooned honestly about the ups and downs of a past relationship. This honesty struck a chord and resonated with everyone. Maybe more impressive than Chelsea’s earnest and vulnerable storytelling was when the crowd sang along to every word of a song that was released less than two weeks before the show. 

Halfway through the set, her band exited the stage, leaving Chelsea Cutler with a keyboard, a spotlight, and a barrage of thunderous “woos” and “I love you’s” from the audience. The audience erupted after they recognized the haunting opening piano notes of “you were good to me.” While the album version of the song includes vocals from friend and contemporary Jeremy Zucker, who trades heartfelt barbs back and forth with Cutler, she took the reins in the live solo version. Cutler simply paused where Zucker’s lines should have been, allowing the audience to fill the empty space with the poignant lyrics. After the song, in a moment of absolute graciousness, her voice shook as she thanked the crowd for singing along to every word. 

Candid moments like this accentuated the night and reminded the audience that Cutler is freshly twenty-three; she is living through the same stories as her audience, just with the tact and grace to tell them masterfully through song and performance.

It is incredible how much changed in a year and a half for Chelsea Cutler. The venues might be bigger, the audience louder but Chelsea Cutler retains the ability to deliver her uniquely sincere brand of pop music in a compelling way that makes massive venues feel just as intimate and personal as a college dorm room. Catch Chelsea Cutler on her “How To Be Human Tour,” or listen to her latest album of the same name across all online platforms and streaming services. 

Tame Impala invites listeners to put on their skates and hit the roller rink with their fourth studio album “The Slow Rush.” The disco-infused record succinctly represents modern day psychedelic pop in just under an hour. Tame Impala is known for their throwback sound that falls smack dab in the middle of seventies bell-bottom pants and eighties perms. 

This album, which was released on Feb. 14, is no different. This record has taken a step away from rock and a step towards a more disco-heavy sound. “The Slow Rush” is indicative of a simpler time and is maddeningly groovy. It is nearly impossible to not nod along to every song. The production of this album is also impeccable. Kevin Parker, Tame Impala frontman and principal producer, manages to create a Russian doll of layers.

The first single released ahead of the album was “Borderline.” The song was an excellent choice to release as a single, but it was not a good indicator of what the album would sound like. This single still had their signature psychedelic ragtime sound but was more pop than the rest of the record. Another song off the album that lends itself more towards that classic pop sound is “Instant Destiny.” This tune is reminiscent of Tame Impala’s second studio album “Lonersim,” and more specifically the track “Mind Mischief.”

“Posthumous Forgiveness” appears as the fourth track off the album and is the perfect song to follow “Borderline.” Overall, it is a stellar song, but the magic happens in the last two minutes. It is the outro that truly makes the song. The following track, “Breathe Deeper,” is a breath of fresh air and highly emblematic of Tame Impala’s evolving sound. This song moves closer to disco while still paying homage to their kaleidoscopic roots. It is funky and has a groove that is
undeniable.

The second half of the album begins with “On Track” which gives way to a slightly more somber mood. The juxtaposing lyrics are uplifting and optimistic despite how the song is initially set up. “On Track” is musically analogous to the song “Eventually” off their earlier album,
“Currents.”

One of the final tracks off the album “Is it True” features a funky bassline and a sound that is house music meets disco. This track seems completely different than any other Tame Impala song and is another example of them stepping out of their comfort zone.

The penultimate track, “Glimmer,” comes across as a disco interlude. It sounds like something that could play as a transition during a house party DJ set. It is minimal in its components but is still a solid track. 

Even though Tame Impala’s sound continues to evolve, they still manage to release hit after hit. Forget growing with the times, they have a sound that defies time. “The Slow Rush” catapults listeners into the stratosphere of discotheques and big hair while still holding onto a hint of psychedelic pop. 

February traditionally provides few films of substance. Sandwiched between awards season and the spring’s offerings, the month typically sees some of the worst output in the movie calendar. “The Assistant” rebuts this pattern.

Written and directed by Kitty Green (“Casting JonBenet”), the new drama takes any of its expectations and wildly exceeds them. The film follows a young woman named Jane throughout her workday as an assistant under an abusive executive, who is meant to resemble a Harvey Weinstein type. Where the subject matter alone seems ripe for intrigue, the exceptional filmmaking and acting set “The Assistant” apart from other comparable social justice stories.

Julia Garner (“Ozark”) plays Jane — a recent graduate from Northwestern University who is trying to rise in a brutal entertainment industry. Despite her age, Garner’s filmography has already been populated by multiple great performances, such as in “The Americans.” Here, she gets a leading role, and the actor puts forward an Oscars-caliber work.

The minutiae of Jane’s daily grind is front and center. The young woman arrives at the office before anyone else, and she methodically prepares it for the day, turning on the lights and starting the coffee. As one of the few women at the workplace, she is even forced to clean up after her peers and bosses.

Inevitably, Jane finds herself caught in the middle of her abusive boss’s personal life. Her phone rings, and he aggressively
berates her.

All the while, Garner presents a steely-eyed gaze. She keeps her face composed but emotes remarkably with her eyes. To say that Garner’s performance is good would be a drastic understatement. She conveys so much without even a hint of showiness or flash.

Yet, “The Assistant” offers more than just one exceptional acting job. It also features terrific, restrained filmmaking in just about every regard. The production and set designs are perfect, the still cinematography portrays a fitting muted, grey color palette and the editing creates a smooth flow and pace. To make a movie that is so mundane look and feel so beautiful is nothing shy of impressive. Green is just in full control of every aspect of filmmaking.

A worry for a film like this might be that it could become boring. Fortunately, Green’s script holds up well by providing a few emotional plot points scattered throughout the film. At the beginning, Jane’s work proves compelling alone. Then, her coworkers prompt her to take a personal call about their boss, which causes blowback. Visibly upset, she uses a break to call her parents, learning that apparently she missed her father’s birthday amidst the stress.

Most notably, however, Jane becomes wrapped-up in her superordinate’s extramarital improprieties. Unsure of how to respond, she meets with a human resources representative in the film’s climax. Here, the writing genuinely shines as stellar staging and dialogue reveal how masculine workplaces enable such toxic behaviors.

Referring to “The Assistant” as a social justice movie just because of the timeliness of a #MeToo era story is a little unfair, though. Between all the components of the visual storytelling, the film creates a sense of realness to which all viewers can relate. It is easy to empathize with Jane’s struggles in a hostile work environment and feel for her.

Disappointingly, the drama does not seem to be garnering much public attention. However, “The Assistant” is fully deserving of praise and accolades. Garner shines with a restrained but empowering performance, and Green’s filmmaking fails in no regard. As such, “The Assistant” makes a claim for itself as the first truly great movie of 2020.

Although Jesse Simmons graduated from Tech in 2011 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, he now works as a strategy consultant at Ernst and Young.  

Simmons explained how the rigor of Tech fostered a hard work ethic as well as developed problem-solving skills that would allow him to thrive in the professional world. 

“Don’t underestimate Georgia Tech’s renowned prestige,” said  Simmons. “Georgia Tech is recognized for its rigor, and employers are receptive to this.”

Despite his unusual professional track, Simmons gained both technical and nontechnical skills from his engineering background at Tech that has helped him advance his career.

Upon graduating, Simmons immediately pursued civil engineering for the multi-disciplinary Pond and Company. Simmons oversaw the compliance, design, analysis, reporting and system evaluation of oil and natural gas related projects. 

“Engineering is a great industry to craft technical skills,” Simmons said. 

After his eight years of working as a professional engineer, Simmons sought to expand his career options and pursue an MBA at Emory’s Goizueta. 

Simmons explained how this program expedited his professional career and enhanced his soft skills. The network-centric coursework coupled with his extracurricular involvement advanced his connection building skills and also strengthened his confidence. 

His MBA ultimately opened doors to the world of consulting, an industry that would have been much more difficult to explore otherwise. He began in the pre-sales department of BMC Software, and one year later advanced to the much larger company of Ernst and Young. 

Despite only having one year of professional consulting experience, Ernst and Young recognized the value of Simmons’s technical and nontechnical background. He began working there  in the consulting group that managed the transaction services of mergers and acquisitions.

With such a major career pivot, Simmons reflected on the differing characteristics in the scope-work of engineering projects versus business strategy projects. 

“Engineering is structured in that you are isolated to the scope of the project,” said Simmons. “Business projects, however, do not have a predetermined scope.” 

“And so you, as a consultant, have to gather tangible data about the client to determine the problem and then advise their business practices,” continued Simmons. 

Simmons further elaborated on the consultant’s relationship with clients that is necessary for success. 

“This process is ongoing throughout the strategy’s execution and the client puts a lot of trust in you to deliver informative and effective results.”

Simmons also provided insight into the differences in client relationships between the two industries. 

“When working on an engineering project, the client automatically trusts you because you are a certified engineer and have technical experience. However, business projects are not technical so you have to constantly build trust with your client throughout the project’s life-cycle by guiding them successfully,” explained Simmons.

When comparing his experiences between the two industries, Simmons focused on the importance of stepping outside his comfort zone. 

“I wanted to make a larger impact and solve more widespread problems that have out of the box solutions,” said Simmons. 

Simmons encouraged students to likewise step outside of their
own comfort zones to explore alternative career opportunities in  different realms.
In both technical and non-technical careers, he noted the value of his Tech degree.