On behalf of the 40 parents serving on the Georgia Tech Parent’s Advisory Board, my wife and I are honored to welcome you to the Georgia Tech family! Like you, we are Georgia Tech parents. Our son, Ryan, is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering, so we have been in your position just 12-months ago and can easily relate to both the excitement and anxiety that you may be feeling at this point. Be assured however, that it all comes together, for as much as Georgia Tech is known as a world class academic institution, it also provides an equivalent campus life experience for your student.

It is our honor to serve as co-chairs of the Parent’s Advisory Board for the 2012-2013 academic year. As such, we work closely with the staff of the Parents Program and Division of Student Affairs to provide you with information and engagement opportunities so that you may be involved at Georgia Tech in your own right and learn about programs and services that will help your student take advantage of all that Georgia Tech has to offer. Being involved with the Parents Program gives you the opportunity to act as a Georgia Tech ambassador, spreading the word about the amazing experiences that the Institute provides our students. We strongly encourage you to read the ParentNews emails and actively engage in the variety of volunteer opportunities available.

In addition to serving as a volunteer and an ambassador, we can support our student’s experience at Georgia Tech through the annual Parents Fund for Student Life and Leadership.  This fund supports student traditions and programs, providing resources to ensure Georgia Tech students have opportunities for leadership and community service as well as enriching their classroom experience. During this past academic year, parents made gifts which ranged from $25 to $25,000. All gifts, regardless of size, are sincerely appreciated and will have a direct impact on campus life activities available to our students.  Our goal for the Parents Fund in the upcoming academic year is to significantly increase the number of parents participating in the fund – this will translate directly to the support of more student life programs. 

Participate in the Freshman Parent’s Challenge!

In 2010, parents like you launched a new tradition – the Freshman Parent’s Challenge – and made a gift to the Parents Fund during their student’s first year. Since then, each fall the new freshman parents work to exceed the goal from the previous year. As an incentive, all gifts of $100 or more from Freshman Parents will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to the total amount of the challenge grant of $25,000 – doubling the impact of your gift. By making your gift now, you not only take advantage of the challenge grant, but your dollars will immediately impact the availability of  programs this fall as your student arrives on campus. You can make your gift online now at www.parents.gatech.edu.

In closing we wish you and your student a most wonderful and successful first year at Tech. Our best advice is to get involved – be a part of the Georgia Tech community.   

Sincerely,
Scott and Suzanne Doll