Undergraduate Senior Ren*e Desing was awarded the Most Enthusiastic Team Leader award for her contributions to the GT1000 program for the fall 2008 semester.

GT1000 is a freshmen seminar class aiming to help first year students adjust to college life. Aided by faculty, upperclassman students mentor small teams of five to six first year students to help make the academic and social transitions typical of the college life easier.

The leaders serve as a bridge between the Georgia Tech community and the first semester students. In addition to transition techniques, the mentors introduce students to career opportunities, ways to become involved in the community, and study skills. Generally guided by a mentor from their chosen major, the first-year students conclude the course with a project that hones team building and time management skills while employing fundamentals from that major. Desing was a mentor for nine new ISyE students.

Desing led her team in a final project that worked to evaluate the inter-working systems in the Student Center Food Court. Specifically, Desing aided her group in making suggestions for improvements at Rosita's Cantina, one of the food vendors in the Student Center Food Court.

Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies Chen Zhou, raves about Desing's performance, "She has been the greatest asset to the class*Her enthusiastic attitude and encouraging words attracted more and higher quality participation from her large team.*

In addition to her GT1000 work with new ISyE students, Desing has also served as a team advisor for the National Student Leadership Conference for Engineering and worked with the M&M Mentorship Program. Her skill set extends beyond leadership into the academic arena as well. Desing is an officer of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honors Society, and Alpha Pi Mu, the Industrial Engineering Honors Society.

The following is an interview with Desing:

What was your favorite part of being a Team Leader?
My favorite part was meeting all of the students and getting to know the new ISyE freshmen. My favorite activity was the final project where students looked at food courts and dining halls to see how they could improve their systems. It was interesting and impressive to see the results the students had.

What was the most rewarding part of being a team leader?
The most rewarding part of being a team leader was to watch how the students interact with each other. On their final project it was amazing to see how well they managed themselves and accomplished everything.

Why did you choose ISyE at Georgia Tech?
I chose ISyE because it is the major that best fits me well and is exactly what I like doing. I chose Georgia Tech because it is a great engineering school and has the number 1 industrial engineering program in the country!

What has been your favorite ISyE class so far?
My favorite ISyE class was 4803 Regression and Forecasting. Professor Vengazhiyil was great, and the information was very interesting and very applicable, especially to my senior design project this semester!

When are you graduating?
I am graduating May 2009! Which is very scary because college has gone by so fast and I can't believe this is my last semester!

What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I have accepted a position with ExxonMobil as an Industrial Sales Engineer, beginning this summer.

What song is queued up on your Ipod?
I uncharacteristically do not own an Ipod, but my favorite song right now is Shattered by OAR.

Weirdest study habit?
My weirdest study habit is probably that I always eat pretzels, drink grape juice, and listen to Enya music.

Best piece of advice to fellow IE undergrads?
Learn as much as you can and make sure you enjoy what you are learning! Also, study abroad if possible, because it is an amazing, unforgettable experience!