Infinite Harmony is Tech’s mixed a cappella group, whose members arrange their own music and perform at events throughout campus. They held their annual spring concert last Friday, where the audience heard a mix of songs with the entire group, solo highlight performances and even collaborations with alumni members from the audience.

Some former members who participated in the alumni song included Maya Assaad, BS ARCH ‘22, Soor Vora, BS CHE ‘20, and Jonathan Choi,  BS ME ‘22. “It’s awesome because as an alum, you hope that every time you come to concerts, it’s just gonna get better and better. Like you hope that, and it really does,” Assaad said.

From medieval Italian choirs to modern Christmas classics, a cappella has maintained its popularity and appeal for centuries. Usually performed in a group, a cappella musicians use a unique choral technique to not only sing but mimic the sound of instruments.

Recently, Infinite Harmony participated in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICAA) for the first time in a few years. This competition required more complex choreographies and added intricacies, like something you might see in the movie “Pitch Perfect.”

“I wasn’t expecting how active they would be while singing. I love how they’re all really in it and it’s very much a group thing and not just one person at a time. How together they are is really cool. They all just look like they’re having so much fun, and it’s contagious too,” said ​​Nichols, Second-year IE, AILS.

Some audience members even returned from previous semesters’ concerts to enjoy the group’s performances once again. Sascha Packard, second-year CS, recounted the evening to be her 3rd or 4th time hearing Infinite Harmony live.

“I came out to [the] first concert just because I had a lot of friends in it that I know and I wanted to support them, but I also found that I really like going to these sorts of events on campus and supporting student groups in general, even if I don’t necessarily know people in them. They’re just great. I love hearing from them,” Packard said.

Despite being a smaller arts club, the group’s tight-knit community made the performances shine brighter. The members displayed their love of music and of each other — even past the boundaries of graduation years or life differences. 

“The community that we formed throughout that time, making friends from the group, are just going to be lifelong,” Vora said. Choi added, “I mean, a lot of us have been alums from different eras of the group but we’re still here, still connected.”

Diya Chutani, third-year NEURO and Music Director of Infinite Harmony, shared similar sentiments with her alumni. 

“I’m a new big music nerd. I do music all the time, whenever I can. But for a capella, it’s really about this community that we create, I think it is very special. Even in today’s concert, it was like I suddenly became aware for a moment, ‘Oh my God, it is the last time I’ll sing these songs with these guys, some of them are leaving.’ And that’s what makes me say amongst a pretty stressful and busy life, well, these are all my buddies and I just love singing with this group of people and having a good time,” Chutani said.

While she has been involved in music ensembles throughout her life, she encourages anyone to join their community. Infinite Harmony holds auditions at the beginning of most semesters, where they assess potential new members’ range and blend with the group. 

“We have so many different backgrounds in our group. We have plenty of people who were in marching bands, played instruments; we had plenty of people who just sang for fun or in musical theater, and lots of different things. I would 100% recommend anybody who’s interested to come out with no worries and you can sing whatever song you want,”  Chutani said.

Even if singing isn’t exactly your forte, coming out to events just as an audience member and supporting fellow Tech students, the arts, and being an active part of the community is more important now than ever.

“I never knew that Tech had anything like this … so totally came in here with no expectations and it was awesome. I just think all these singers are really talented and to think that they’re just college students; they can totally be performing and making money off of that too, but the fact they’re here is really cool, so I’d definitely encourage people to check it out,” Nichols said.

Learn more about Infinite Harmony on their website and Instagram.

The post A Cappella with Infinite Harmony appeared first on Technique.

The Atlanta Science Festival (ASF) made its widely anticipated return to the city with the Celebrate STEAM at Georgia Tech event last Saturday. ASF is a two-week public fair held across the Atlanta metro area, hosting events featuring various scientific concepts and interdisciplinary topics, all leading up to the grand finale — the Exploration Expo at Piedmont Park.

Tech was one of ASF’s original partners when it began a decade ago. This partnership has since stayed strong, with many professors and research faculty participating in many ASF events both on and off campus. The Technique spoke to Meisa Salaita, one of the festival’s co-directors, about this year’s festival.

Salaita was a chemist by trade for many years, with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University. Her shift to educational outreach and business was a decision that allowed her to share her love of science to the world and young people. She aims to provide ways to make science more approachable and accessible to everyone who wants to learn more about the world around them.

This year’s festival has 100+ planned events. Even just the kickoff event featured various booths in a planetary-styled theme. Swarms of visitors, from families with toddlers to high-school students, filed through Kendeda, the Biotech Quad Courtyard, and surrounding buildings for hands-on craft activities, demos and speaker sessions.

In the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, an optoelectronics activity captured the attention of many young kids by squishing blueberries.

“We’re trying to make solar cells out of blueberry juice. Blueberries contain molecules that allow them to take energy from the sun and convert it into electricity. It’s a very simplified version of the solar cells we have in our house to power a house. So we’re trying to also encourage students to engage in more environmentally friendly alternatives to electricity, ” said Amanda Conde Del​​ Moral, MSE Ph.D.

Just downstairs, the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS) put on a demonstration using a nanotechnology device. David Tavakoli, a senior research scientist at the IMS Materials Characterization Facility, recounted a favorite moment from the busy day.

“One of the best things was we put a butterfly wing underneath the microscope and just five kids just all went ‘COOOL’ at the same time. Now that was well worth the price of admission,” Tavakoli said.

Over at Kendeda, or “Earth” as it was labeled, the excitement was just as palpable. The Mappin’ the Ocean Floor booth had kids coloring squares to create a topographical map by mimicking sonar data.

“There’ve been a couple kids who are also really into oceanography and sea creatures, and they’ll tell me about their favorite creatures so we’ll gab about turtles and crabs and having that mutual interest is my favorite,” said Aren Russ, Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D.

With all the commotion of the kickoff event, it’s easy to forget the work put in behind the scenes to pull off multiple weeks of such activity. Salaita explained that while there are significant logistical challenges, developing long-term partnerships and getting sponsors were a big reason for their continued presence in Atlanta. Year after year, ASF has drawn crowds of thousands of residents and non-residents for this celebration of science and art. “The success of the festival speaks for itself,” Salaita said.

The IMS lab at Tech was one of the original participants of the inaugural festival over a decade ago.

“We love the outreach. I think for a lot of people, especially from the public, Georgia Tech looks very intimidating, you don’t really know what goes on behind those [lab doors] and we love to open everything up and let people see all of the things we can do and how we can advance society by using science,” Tavakoli said.

Continuous involvement in outreach to the community has inspired and grown the next generation of scientists. “I really like scientific outreach; it made a difference for me as an undergrad and as a high school student to engage in science research, and right now, I’m doing my Ph.D. So it really made an impact for me, and I want to continue encouraging other scientists,” Conde Del Moral said.

These anecdotes motivate Salaita to pursue the growth of this kind of event. While the long-lasting impacts of ASF on young minds are difficult to measure through data, stories showcase the true power of early education and exposure.

Henry Nguyen, fifth-year AE, who was representing Tech’s Design Build Fly club with a model aircraft, had a similar story to share. “When I was younger, the reason I actually came to Tech was because of a program called GT Catalyst. I don’t know if it’s still going, but that kind of outreach program made me want to come here, so that’s the cool thing about it,” Nguyen said.

ASF’s mission with these events is to celebrate both the diverse and unifying ideas of science that are a part of our everyday lives.

“I love just learning for learning’s sake. I think it’s so cool figuring out how things work and breaking things down, understanding the why and the how behind the natural occurrences of the world, ” Russ said.

Visit atlantasciencefestival.org/ to see the full calendar of events and learn more about the 2025 Atlanta Science Festival. Click this link festival.org/gatech/org for a list of all activities, presenters and events related to Tech.

The post Atlanta Science Festival takes off in the solar system of Tech appeared first on Technique.

Is love blind? This age-old question is aimed at determining whether attraction to others is based on emotional connection or initial physical attraction. In 2020, Netflix premiered a reality TV show based around this concept, aptly titled “Love Is Blind,” and last Wednesday, the AfroDance Team, African American Student Union and Black Graduate Student Association brought that same idea to Tech’s campus.

The AfroDance Team was established just under two years ago as a cultural club focusing on sharing African dance through performances at Tech and in the local community. After recently registering as a student organization, the club has branched out to include other events to grow its membership and positively affect the community.

This event, in particular, set out to form a connection — and perhaps romance — between not only Tech students but those from Emory, Spelman and Georgia State University as well. The AfroDance Team strived to stand out and host a unique event that was both interactive and entertaining for the audience, which led them to the “Love is Blind” concept.

John Eseku, third-year CME and the Community Outreach Chair of AfroDance, shared some behind-the-scenes insight into the planning process as one of the hosts and coordinators for this event.

“The biggest inspiration was blind dating videos on YouTube where you slowly reveal the person behind the curtain, and I was like, ‘Okay cool, so this is how we’re going to do the “blind” part of it, and then it’s going to be a love-themed event for February.’… it was a good way to get social interaction, and people love messiness,” Eseku said.

The night featured three main contestants with six potential matches each. Each contestant would ask questions like “If you were a musician, what kind of music would you make and who would you collaborate with?” or even “Do you believe in second chances when it comes to cheating?” in order to get more familiar with each of their potential matches. Based on their answers, the contestant would eliminate one of their matches, stepping out from behind the curtain and revealing themselves to each other. Each round, the curtain would rise, revealing the line-up’s shoes, pants, and then tops, leading to their final “ideal” match at the very end.

AfroDance considered people who filled out an online form before the event to participate, and finding the right candidates to be on stage was not an easy process. 

“Who’s really looking for love? Who shows the best interest in actually finding love? Along with that, we looked at hobbies, we looked at some of the answers to their questions, and we were looking, if this person likes this, they could potentially like this, along with this person, kind of making it so everybody had the best opportunity to find love when we paired them with their potential match for the main contestant. We just looked through and fostered a lineup from there,” Eseku said.

The crowd’s energy was dynamic — shouting out different questions to ask, cheering for answers they liked and booing when the contestant eliminated a crowd favorite. One Tech student, Karsten Richardson, third-year CS, was a main contestant. He found his match by asking questions such as “What is your favorite saying or quote?” and eliminating based on the lineup’s shoes and outfits. Once he and his final match saw each other for the first time, the hosts asked if Richardson was her ideal type, followed by an awkward silence and boisterous laughter from the audience.

“When we were creating the lineups, we were like, ‘Okay, these people seem like they have the best opportunity to find somebody in these lineups.’  It [doesn’t] matter how much it pairs well, sometimes, when you get into that final stage, you really feel that they’re just like, ‘Nah, it’s not for me’… I had some predictions, and then I went zero for three last night,” Eseku said.

Whether or not Cupid’s arrow struck the contestants, the event was still a great success with audience turnout and participation. Eseku explained that AfroDance intends to make this an annual spring semester event.

“There were a lot of people who showed out, but also those who did miss out, and then the day of, they were like, ‘Oh, can we get tickets? Can we get tickets?’ So then it’s up to us to really take that initiative and then get the content out from the show, get that out, foster interest for the rest of the semester, and then try to build that hype. We want to do this; we might have to look for similar collaborators, or we’ll see, but we want to do it next year,” Eseku said.

One audience member, Josh Perez, third-year CME, attended to support his friends on stage. 

“They did great. It went smoothly, and a lot of people seemed to enjoy it; I enjoyed it too, so overall, I think it went really well,” Perez said.

As both a cultural and social club, AfroDance is open to anyone interested in learning more about African culture and dance or meeting new people. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance, if you can dance, if you’re an undergraduate, graduate, just show up to the interest meeting where we have it, and then just keep coming to practices. We have an event lined up, if you want to perform, if you have time to perform, but just stand over to the side if you don’t. It’s okay, just keep being here,” Eseku said.

See AfroDance perform next on April 12 for AfroIndependence Day and connect with them @gt_afrodance on Instagram for more events and meeting details.

While they weren’t quite able to find the answer this year, Eseku remains ever more determined to prove that love is indeed blind.

“I do believe love is blind because there were times where you could hear the main contestant be like, ‘Oh, I’m really interested in this person.’ The only thing that we didn’t really get to feel was that the line-up was as interested in the main contestant because there weren’t many opportunities for them to answer questions. I think that’s on us to think for next year so that there can actually be more of a connection,” he said.

The post Finding love with AfroDance: Love Is Blind appeared first on Technique.

At a time when breaking news is available to us constantly, conveniently and faster than ever, it is getting harder and harder to keep up. Every morning, when I check my phone, I have a notification from the New York Times: The Morning, a collection of current news stories from the day or night prior. Scrolling through the headlines, I get a basic overview of world news ranging from political crises, another natural disaster somewhere, the latest international tensions and the newest food-related disease outbreak.  It’s hard not to read another headline or story and feel yourself becoming emotionally distant from the actual events happening and the real people that they are affecting. 

More Americans are straying from traditional news sources like newspapers, TV stations and public radio. The struggles of the journalism industry, especially with print circulation and demand, are well known.. Part of this is attributed to people consuming less news-related media. Another is the shift of the medium itself. 

Bad news is nothing new. Celebrity affairs, political scandals, natural disasters and more have always dominated news cycles. Human nature draws us to where the line between news and entertainment is the most blurred. But the vigor with which news outlets push out these stories to us is like never before. 

A whole genre of short-form social media content emerged of people reacting to or giving unsolicited input into shocking news stories or current events. Plus, there’s an even larger audience of people who religiously consume this type of content, not unlike a network reality show. Of course, there are always national headlines, but including our online social media content, there are hundreds of stories that we consciously and unconsciously consume every day.  

Whether we realize it or not, this constant barrage of primarily negative information is a burden and takes a significant mental toll. When, month after month, we hear or read about one-half of the country flooding and the other half burning down, it gets to the point when it’s just easiest to bury our heads in the sand.

News fatigue isn’t just about information overload or sensationalism but the extra work we now have to put in before we even begin processing the story itself. The sheer volume of misinformation present in our everyday lives makes it difficult to comb through what is factual. The echo chamber of personalized social media algorithms and news feeds has fueled the infamous ideological divide in political news. People tend to believe what people similar to them believe and nothing else. Moreover, the increasing accessibility of AI-generated pictures and videos has made it even more confusing to determine what is real or not. 

Of course, the irony of an article on this topic is not lost on me. As a writer, reader and person hoping to better understand the world and people around me, I  realize the value of the news and the privilege of a free press. It’s tiring, yes, to keep up with it all until one day, we are the ones in the news and begging people to pay attention. 

As with everything in our lives, balance is key to maintaining sanity while keeping up with the times. Journalism is the historic watchdog of politics, the fourth estate of democracy, and the communicator between people and places all over the world. Keeping up with it is our civic duty, just in moderation.

The post Is ignorance bliss? appeared first on Technique.

The Debate Team at Tech has found new success in the past few years, reaching highs in both club membership and tournament placement. Despite their growth, their purpose at Tech remains the same: to encourage the exploration of facts and ideas through critical thinking and public speaking skills in a social environment. 

The Technique spoke to Debate Team President Nano Suresettakul, third-year IE, and Vice President and Co-debate Captain Emma Poma, second-year PHYS, about the team’s recent growth. Although chartered in 2000, the team was inconsistently active until 2021, when former Debate Team President Andrew Dowdy, CS ‘24, helped revive the club as a Departmental Registered Student Organization sponsored by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

“After [Dowdy] left the club, membership declined a little bit. We were down to probably four members. After that, I took over because I [didn’t] think this was enough for the debate team, and I set us up with an exec board, and now we’re around 15 to 20 members strong,” Suresettakul said.

The club has represented Tech in a variety of debate formats from local to national levels since expanding into a much larger member base.

“We debate a variety of formats [where] we represent Georgia Tech in national, regional competitions, from anything like the Regents Cup, which is local to the University System of Georgia, to things like the ACC, our sports network, and we represent Georgia Tech at that level as well, competing against other schools like Duke,” Suresettakul said. At last year’s ACC Debate, the team placed 5th out of 15 other teams.

The team competes in three main formats: Policy, British Parliamentary and IPDA/NPDA, which all have a very different set of preparation and criteria, requiring members to be fluent in various skill sets.

Policy involves heavy preparation by researching the topic, coming up with different arguments and ensuring strong evidence from articles and studies. On the other end is the British Parliamentary style, where the debate topic is presented to members just 15 minutes before the start of the competition, requiring quick thinking and smooth teamwork. IPDA/NPDA is a balance between the other two styles, where members practice by honing their research skills and responsive thinking.

Recently, two policy debaters from the Debate Team at Tech — Prakhar Gupta, first-year BA, and Sushanth Chunduri, first-year BA — placed in the quarterfinals at Wake Forest’s Franklin R. Shirley Classic tournament. This marked the first time Tech was represented in the prestigious NDT/CEDA circuit that comprises the two top debating competitions nationally.

“[They had] some previous experience in high school, and really wanted to continue doing it in college … and we just got a new faculty advisor who helped us as well. So we helped them for that tournament, sent them and they did really well, as I mentioned before, so we’re really proud of them and how they stepped up and showed off Georgia Tech debate in a good way,” Poma said.

However, not every member comes into the team with such extensive experience. In fact, Poma and Suresettakul emphasize that the club is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about debate, improving public speaking or even just socializing.

“We welcome all kinds of students of all types of experience. We have two tracks for our students. One track is a novice track, where you’re learning different motions, how to write arguments and how to flow as well. And then our more serious track, our varsity track, you’re actually going into deep argumentation theory and practicing from that as well. So we welcome all types,” Suresettakul said.

“We’ve been able to send some new debaters … in August of 2023 and they were able to attend the tournament in March of 2024, and they did pretty well. So we really want everybody, whether they are experienced or not, to just help them practice in a supportive environment,” Poma said.

The Debate Team’s recent growth also comes from their partnership with Ivan Allen College, which provides them with an additional budget for tournaments as well as a designated faculty advisor. The team’s advisor Melissa Ianetta, Class of 1958 Professor in Communication and Executive Director of Writing and Communication, has provided her expertise from her background in writing to the club.

There are still some challenges the team faces, especially in attracting students as a humanities-centered club on a STEM-centered campus. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to recruit people because they’re just so STEM-focused. But debate can help really improve your STEM education and help you become a better thinker. That’s why I really like it; it helps with communication and public speaking, which you need for any type of job,” Poma said.

If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Debate Team at Tech, connect with them on their website, Instagram @debateteamgt, or Discord.

“Just know everyone is welcome to join. We have a really supportive community, and it’s a good way to improve your social skills and wind down by thinking,” Suresettakul said.

The post Club Spotlight: Debate Team at Georgia Tech appeared first on Technique.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) stepped into center stage to celebrate their 16th annual Homecoming Step Show in front of an enthusiastic audience at the Ferst Center for the Arts this past Thursday. The Step Show is an annual tradition for the Divine Nine (D9) organizations at Tech to show off their stepping skills through a choreographed routine in front of their fellow members, alumni and, importantly, a judging panel for a chance to win and bring home $1000 for their organization.

Stepping is an art form that focuses on percussive movements of the body such as clapping the hands, stomping with feet or other props and of course, stepping. Some routines include vocal shouts or chants to accompany the rhythms and show emphasis on certain movements or uniquely reference their organizations.

This year, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Omega Psi Phi fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority all participated, displaying a unique theme, intro, costumes, music and choreography.

One of Tech’s youngest homecoming week traditions, the Step Show has grown its presence in the past few years. 

“At first, we just used to do what they would call yard shows, or we would have a performance during Black History Month. And then we wanted to broaden it, so we made it a Homecoming step show also so alumni can come back and enjoy it with us as well because a lot of them come back during the Homecoming time,” said Celesté Giddens, 4th-year BA and Vice President of NPHC.

Two Atlantan hosts, KK from KK’s Corner and CEO Tiggy, emceed the night, hyping up the crowd for the performances and leading unified chants for each of the participating organizations. The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the defending champions from last year’s show, opened with a marching band-themed storyline with powerful choreography to match.

Other themes ranged from a rival classmates’ detention and a Men In “Boots” parody, to an asylum abduction story complete with glow-in-the-dark costumes. As the audience was enraptured by the complex routines, the precision of the performances made evident the blood, sweat and tears of months of rehearsals.

“Most people start figuring out their themes and stuff as early as April and May of the school semester before, and then teams start practicing as early as the summertime for step show practice, and then once you get closer and closer to [the] date, that’s when you literally have maybe two hour or more practices every day,” Giddens said.

She added that the step show is a way for members of the Divine Nine and affiliated organizations to connect with each other through shared cultural experiences.

“I definitely think it’s a culture and tradition thing. Step shows have been around in the D9 community for a long time, ever since the D9 first originated in the 1900s from 1906 all the way till for all of them. It’s definitely a cultural thing that brings everybody together,” Giddens said.

Attendees were decked out in house colors and Greek letters, waving pom poms and holding up signs to show their support. After each performance, the chants of the performing organization could be heard around the theater. Giddens said, “It’s very taxing, but seeing the end product of everybody out there, everybody having a good time, the crowd screaming for your performance, that’s my favorite part.”

Natalie Schulz, 2nd-year BME, and Amelia Lemmon, 3rd-year IE, were part of the audience that night. Although not personally affiliated with Divine Nine, they had come out to show support for their fellow classmates. 

“I’ve heard of step shows for Homecoming, but I’d never seen one so I thought it’d be interesting,” Schulz said. “I think supporting within Greek Life, the different councils, is so important and learning about other traditions that are different from the ones we celebrate is a really cool opportunity,” Lemmon added.

At the end of the performances, each fraternity and sorority took turns strolling to different songs and dancing together. Ultimately, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority were declared the winners.

“For Georgia Tech, it’s for the current members and the Black community in general. And even if you’re not in the Black community, if you want to be educated and kind of just see some of the things that we do and learn, it’s a really good way for you to come and do that. [It] brings a lot of people together, from current students to alumni. We know alumni like to come back…so it’s a really good way for everybody to connect and meet the people that came before them,” Giddens said.

To learn more about NHPC, their Homecoming Step Show, and other upcoming events, visit their Instagram page: @gt_nhcp.

The post Homecoming show celebrates Divine Nine appeared first on Technique.

The top three finalist teams for the 2024 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship took the stage on May 21, including Tech student Aaliyah Jakir, third-year CS, and her team with their web-based assistance tool called Roadmap. After winning $50,000 from this competition, Jakir spoke to the Technique about her team’s process, development and future plans for Roadmap.

Roadmap is a web-tool designed for individuals with ADHD and others who struggle with starting tasks and other activities that require executive functioning. Jakir speaks about the inspiration behind her team’s project idea. 

“Initially, the tool was more of a project management tool but … [we] realized there was a critical gap in a productivity tool designed for people with ADHD in specific, and so that’s when we started pivoting and putting your efforts towards a tool and understanding the unique challenges of someone with ADHD,” Jakir said.

Jakir’s teammates include Ever Goldin and Clay Battle, CS majors at Binghamton University. They all met during their first year at Binghamton at a CS club on campus, where they immediately connected as friends and teammates. Upon Jakir’s transfer to Tech, they decided to keep their synergy and passion for projects going together.

“We had such a good team dynamic, and I think everyone realized that we had fun, but we were also very productive building together. So when I transferred to Georgia Tech, I decided this was such a strong team dynamic, so we shouldn’t let it go. We started brainstorming like each week just thinking about what we want to work on next after that, and we realized that we loved working on projects all the time,” Jakir said.

The development of Roadmap began through the Create-X startup launch last summer, which enabled the team to gain funding to travel to the international ADHD conference in December. Jakir describes this period as a critical moment during which they were able to better understand the real problems that people with ADHD face when it comes to task paralysis.

“We learned so much about why our original idea wouldn’t really help solve this issue and then what the real problems were for people that had ADHD. We were focusing on planning and organization, but one of the largest challenges for someone with ADHD is getting started because the ADHD brain works fundamentally differently to the neurotypical brain,” Jakir said.

A great challenge for the Roadmap team was testing the program. Making sure it truly addressed the issues to serve ADHD-specific needs was a difficult process to finalize. They figured out that the key was to identify the problem clearly and address it in manageable parts, one step at a time.

“Our current market strategy is that we’re working closely with ADHD coaches and their clients where we wanna be able to support the coaching practice with this tool to really get a more tight feedback loop at first … ultimately ADHD coaching is really inaccessible to a lot of students so we want to make this an affordable option for people and so that’s our ultimate goal with this tool,” Jakir said.

This isn’t exclusive to students or anyone else who may not be medically diagnosed with ADHD, however. Jakir makes it clear that the intentions of the Roadmap team are to create a highly accessible tool for anyone who may struggle with executive functioning or task paralysis at any level. Even for just getting started with daily chores, anyone could benefit from this type of interactive assistance.

As many Jackets may empathize with, putting such time and effort into a project outside of the workload from classes was difficult to learn how to balance. Jakir reveals that the greatest resources to her and her team during this time were all found on campus. Clubs that have similar-minded people with the same aspirations and have gone through the same issues can be a strong support system. She also emphasizes perseverance.

“My team and I went for the Inventure prize and that was the golden standard. I remember we were prepping for that and we were trying so hard because we wanted to get to the finals. I remember getting the email where we didn’t get it and that crushed me so much because I’ve been dreaming about it and really pushing forward so it was really difficult because it felt like such a big setback. It’s insane looking back because a few months after that, we were to win $50,000 at this Microsoft championship, but it wouldn’t have happened if I [didn’t] keep pushing,” Jakir said.

However, Jakir emphasizes that informed strategy should always go alongside that ambition. Instead of just persevering for the sake of it, students should try to evaluate next steps by considering what will truly be effective towards the end goal.

“Learning the right things to do is very critical as a student because you don’t have years of experience to lean on, so you need to know how to learn quickly by going to the people who have the most experience. It’s very easy to go the wrong direction in execution so you need to always be thinking, ‘who can I talk to, and how can I make sure I’m self correcting?’ So I think grit but fueled by strategy is the most important kind of sentiment I would give to anyone who’s really trying to make this work,” Jakir said.

Their success at the Imagine World Cup Championship enabled them to work on Roadmap this summer full-time, iterating and working on small improvements. Jakir describes their future plans as working in close collaboration with individuals and organizations in the ADHD community.

Students may check out Roadmap here: https://www.planroadmap.com/ and use ACCESS_STUDENT for a free trial period.

The post Roadmap: A Tech Student’s Journey to the Microsoft Imagine Cup Finals appeared first on Technique.

On the evening of April 4, the whistle broke the silence of its regular schedule with 18 sequential blows, representing the 18 individuals of Tech’s community who have passed away during 2023 for the annual When the Whistle Blows ceremony. The inauguration of When the Whistle Blows in 2001 was in response to a need in the Tech community for a space to collectively mourn, remember and honor the departed students, faculty and administration of the past year. 

The initiative for such an event, introduced by a group of students and faculty, led to this annual campus-wide ceremony where the memories and legacy of deceased individuals who were active parts of Tech’s campus are celebrated. 

This year, When the Whistle Blows took place in the historic Tech Tower, a long lasting and representative campus symbol. A procession with the honorees’ families and friends alongside another one of Tech’s beloved symbols, the Ramblin’ Wreck, started off the ceremony. The solemn sounds of “The Procession” by Henry Frantz on the bagpipes acted as the accompaniment. 

Aimée Ogando, fourth-year CE and 2023-2024 Ramblin’ Royalty, began the ceremony with a brief welcome speech for all in attendance, followed by remarks from President Ángel Cabrera.

President Cabrera explained the only two special occasions in which the whistle is sounded at Tech, one for touchdowns at home football games, and other for this ceremony.  

As the oldest tradition on Tech’s campus, the iconic steam whistle was first installed in 1892. It dates back to the time of Tech when it was still a trade school but it continues to mark the daily schedule and time for students in the present. As a familiar but remarkable sound, it can be heard all throughout Tech’s campus and Atlanta, marking its relevance of the tradition at When the Whistle Blows’ ceremonies. 

“It [the whistle] sounds its final blast in the evening at 15 minutes to 6 [o’clock] and then falls silent until morning. Today we will conclude our memorial service by breaking that silence … When the whistle resumes its regular schedule tomorrow morning, those routine blasts will have a deeper meaning for each one of us,” Cabrera said at the ceremony. 

President Cabrera went on to light the unity candle, symbolizing the collective heart and minds of all the students, faculty and administration of Tech and their participation in this ceremony of remembrance. The Reading of the Names was hosted by Will Jimerson, Staff Council Chair, and Amanda Johnston, fourth-year CHBE and 2023-2024 Ramblin’ Royalty. 

With the announcement of each name, the family and friends of each honoree walked to the front to light a candle in memory of their loved one. 

Of this tradition, President Cabarea explained, “we know that the light from the contributions that they made to their beloved families, friends and Institute will continue to shine on our campus and in our lives.”

Attendees were then gifted with a small figurine of the whistle, designed and made by the Georgia Tech Research Institute Machine Shop and College of Design’s Digital Fabrication Lab. The figurine’s bases were inscribed with a quote from the 1914 edition of the Blueprint, seen below.

“Blow on, stern Monarch of Tech’s mighty crew, / Be always firm and staid: / To your compelling call we’ll e’re be true / Til each his part has played.”

This simple but sincere ceremony emphasized the life, legacy and importance of each individual and everyone that they impacted, symbolized by the flame of the bright candlelight. Aside from the reading of each name, complete silence filled the room, creating an emotional and heartfelt atmosphere. 

The Treble Choir were then introduced to sing the “Alma Mater,” followed by the 18 blows of the whistle. While the sound of the whistle typically marks the hustle and bustle of campus, its ceremonial meaning as a final, sonorous tribute to the lives of the honorees was celebrated in silent reflection amongst the attendees. 

The open format of this ceremony allows any and all members of the Tech community to participate in this act of remembrance. This serves as an important reminder of community, grievance and the memories of the departed to those close to them. 

For family and friends, it is an assurance that their beloved is honored and respected in a significant way. It also reflects Tech’s commitment to its own community and the recognition of each individual’s values and meaning. 

These nuances are what makes When the Whistle Blows more than just a simple ceremony — it remains a profound tradition of remembrance and unity in the Tech community and all that have had a part in it, past and present. 

For a comprehensive list of those honoted at this year’s cermony, please visit news.gatech.edu/features/2023/04/when-whistle-blows.

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On March 25, the doors of the Rohr Chabad House at Georgia Tech and Georgia State opened to hundreds of Jewish students in the local Atlanta area, along with their friends and family for the annual Shabbat360 event. Shabbat is a day of rest in Judaism, observed from sunset on Friday to the following Saturday evening. While there are many spiritual traditions, a common ritual is the Shabbat dinner, which is what Shabbat 360 is centered around. 

Market style stalls lined the closed-off street with merchandise, baked goods and other foods and drinks. Tables with students, friends and family were full at the accompanying Shabbat dinner that took place after sundown.  

Shifra Sharfstein and her husband, Rabbi Shlomo Sharfstein are the leaders for Tech and Georgia State’s Chabad group. Chabad is an international organization centered on Jewish community and education, with over 300 college campus locations. They, along with their children, host weekly Shabbat dinners and other events throughout the school year including Shabbat360 that all focus on community values.

“We’re here for the Jewish students to make Judaism accessible … We like to consider ourselves like a home for Jewish students, especially those away from home to feel at home, to feel like they’re part of a community. We put on a lot of social events, a lot of cultural events, a lot of learning opportunities, and all those have food involved! A hug and home cooked food is really what it’s all about and our goal really is to be a family and a place where everyone is welcome,” Shifra Sharfstein said. 

Six years ago, Shabbat360 was initiated with that very intent. The goal was to have a larger Shabbat event so that students who may not be familiar with Chabad or other Jewish students on campus could have the opportunity to be welcomed with a large community. Initially, the event was titled Shabbat250, but as the Jewish community has grown, so has the event. 

“We were thinking there are Jewish students that don’t even know that there’s a Jewish community on campus or don’t feel that they’re part of it and need a welcome … It came together and everyone walked around at that first event with their mouths open like, ‘I did not know that there were this many Jews on campus, this is crazy.’ People just realized that there actually was a Jewish community here and ‘I can be part of it and have a place to go that I feel welcome,’” Shifra Sharfstein said.

The event not only brought in new students who were celebrating their first Shabbat at Tech, but also allowed returning students who had enjoyed the event in past years to have a space to reconnect with old friends and celebrate their shared heritage. 

“Everybody’s here, so it’s a great way to see the people you see often but also reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a while. It’s also a great way to share your traditions with everybody and the environment is always uplifting and rejuvenating … It’s very important for everybody that identifies with their culture or heritage to find some way to connect with that”, said Ethan
Klein, third-year CS. 

Maya Kahn, fourth-year BCHM and Chabad student president, spoke about the importance of taking the time to celebrate cultural and religious identity.

“It’s so important. I mean it’s part of who you are really, it colors every part of your life and it’s really good to connect to it and to connect to other people that share that with you,” Kahn said. 

Religious and cultural identity can be defining factors in a person’s life. Having pride in those aspects of life can be especially fulfilling when there are similar people to celebrate that with.

“I think especially this year it’s just so nice to have a space for our entire community to get together … College is a particularly important time for people to explore their identities, [and] have opportunities to connect with people who have similar beliefs and values,” said Talia Segal, fourth-year BMED.

Shifra Sharfstein explained that Tech’s campus does not have a particularly large Jewish demographic, making it all the more important to have this community present and active. 

“After Oct. 7, a lot of Jewish students have felt isolated — have been hurt by some of the talking on campus that was directed towards Jewish students. And our goal is for Jewish students to feel ‘no, you’re not alone, there’s people who love you, we’re here for you, we care for you,’ and that big family picture,”
Shifra Sharfstein said. 

Such a community is significant to students’ social and emotional wellbeing. While college is a time to meet new people and go through new experiences, having a safe space surrounded by familiarity and shared values can be just as important to some. 

“When a student walks in the door on a Friday night at Chabad, there’s always going to be somebody who warmly welcomes them … Being able to have a community that lets you know, not just feel, but makes you know that you are important and that you are part of something [is] so important for a student’s mental health, emotional health and spiritual health,” Shifra  Sharfstein said on how Shabbat has created a community on Tech’s campus.

Shabbat dinners take place every Friday at 7:30 p.m. Those interested can learn about other events hosted by Chabad on Instagram at @chabadgeorgiatech.

The post Chabad House at Georgia Tech hosts Shabbat360 appeared first on Technique.

The Bridge Club at Georgia Tech  (GT Bridge Club) hosted their annual open house event on Feb. 1 in the John Lewis Student Center. 

Bridge is a four-person card game played in competing partnerships of two. 

Known as a trick-taking game, players play one card from their hand into the center area, which is then “won” in a series of finite turns by the other players per game rules. 

At its peak popularity in the 1940s, nearly 44% of all American households played the game. Still, bridge is one the most widely played card games, requiring analytical concentration, flexible strategy and the ability to read others well. 

Leo Xu, third-year CS and the current president, explains the persevering and unique history of the club.

“I know the club was first founded sometime in the 1950s when bridge was really popular back then and my understanding is that the game lost popularity, so it kind of disbanded for a while and then it was rechartered again in 2009 and since then it has been going strong,” Xu said.  

Besides weekly game sessions, the GT Bridge Club competes in various regional and national tournaments throughout the year. Just this past summer, four of the club’s competing members won first place in the teams and pairs championships at the North American Collegiate Bridge Bowl, the premier bridge competition on the college level. 

“Bridge is not the most popular amongst like college students, so it’s also hard to find people in your college, but I think it kind of speaks to our club and that we have a team of really talented individuals all at our school that play under Georgia Tech and so we we have a really good team for that,” Xu said.

The GT Bridge Club not only participates in various tournaments and competitions, but hosts such events as well. As president, Xu has been working on
organizing a tournament next. 

“I mean one thing right now that I feel has been a big success is the tournament that we’re running and so just kind of trying to grow each and every year. Last year we had an attendance record, and this year we’re projecting attendance records with the schools that are attending,” Xu said. 

University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Georgia and University of Wisconsin-Madison are all set to attend the upcoming tournament here at Tech.

While the tournament and club feature of bridge is prominent, many others play bridge as a social activity. The teamwork aspect of it appeals to casual card players of different levels and styles as well. 

“I’m here to have fun and treat it as a social thing. I do think my main goal would be this kind of outreach at Georgia Tech: get more people playing bridge again, get more people coming to our meetings and socializing. Of course I also understand the importance of having a presence in our local community. There’s an Atlanta Bridge Club that we’ll go to every Saturday, we’ll send some members just to play there,” Xu said.

Although Xu is now the president of the club, he started out at Tech without any previous experience in playing bridge.

“For me personally, at home with my family, we like to play a lot of card games … so when I came to college I was specifically looking for a place like a club that was like ‘hey we just play games, to socialize and play through something’ … I didn’t know how to play bridge beforehand, I just showed up, learned how to play, got through kind of like the bumpy part of the beginning and I really enjoyed it, so I kept showing up to the meetings and here we are,” Xu said.

Xu emphasized the open and social nature of card games and the club. Their weekly games are low pressure so no matter one’s skill level, anyone is welcome to stop by to learn, play or meet new people.

“We will absolutely teach anyone who comes in. The rules aren’t the hardest but there’s a lot of nuance behind it … that’ll all come naturally to anyone who wants to join the club and its friendly and relaxed atmosphere. A lot of times we’ll have new players playing and they’ll get stuck and we have people kind of wandering around being like ‘oh let me help you out’ …  I would encourage anyone to at least try it and show up. I think it’s a very friendly environment to just have fun,” Xu said.

Card games are a classic way to socialize and exercise one’s mind in a comfortable and low-stakes setting. Spending an afternoon playing or learning with the GT Bridge Club can be a great space for Jackets looking to try out a new hobby and meet people. 

Meetings for GT Bridge Club normally take place on Thursdays  from 6-9 p.m. and Fridays from 3-6 p.m.  in the Rafael Bras meeting room in the John Lewis Student Center. 

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