There’s nothing like watching a high school student light up when she learns she’s been accepted to Georgia Tech — especially when you’re the person telling her.

“It’s great to see the joy on students’ faces when they hear the good news,” said Christopher Briggs, assistant director of Undergraduate Admission. “The feeling you get by being a part of that moment is amazing.”

In 2011, Briggs hand-delivered acceptance packets to students at Atlanta-area high schools who had been accepted to Tech. 

“We coordinated with the guidance counselors at the respective schools to surprise the students — they didn’t realize that we were hand-delivering the packets,” he added. “Moments like these are just one of the many reasons why I love my job.”

Briggs and his colleagues were unable to hand-deliver the packets this year because of changes to the way decisions are released, but they hope to do it again in the future.

Read on to learn more about Briggs and his time at Tech.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?          
I always wanted be a sports agent. But once I got to college, it all became less appealing; I realized that being a sports agent could be a very cutthroat job. Around that time, I was working as a tour guide at Elon University, where I went to school. I got involved with an Elon mentoring program that paired older students with younger, first-generation students. These experiences made me realize that maybe a career in admissions was a good fit for me.

How did you arrive at Tech?       
Actually, this is my first job since graduating from Elon. I started in 2009.  

What is an average day like in your job?      
I’m responsible for coordinating the office’s efforts to recruit African-American students — and I have several average days. This time of year, I stay busy trying to get people who have been accepted to Tech to enroll. I taught GT 1000 this fall, which led to an opportunity to serve as a group leader with Tech’s Oxford program this summer. In this role, I will be in charge of a group of students as they travel around Europe for five weeks. (For more about this program, visit www.oxford.gatech.edu.) During the fall, I do a lot of traveling, as I’m responsible for recruiting in Washington, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. I’ll typically visit about four to five high schools a day when I’m on these trips.

What is one thing you’d like people to know about your job?  
Faculty members are very valuable to the recruiting process. Students often want to speak with them more than they want to speak with us, because faculty members can answer questions related to classes and careers that we can’t.  

What is one piece of technology you couldn’t live without?     
My iPad, because I use it for everything.

Would you rather a world with only Facebook or a world with only Twitter?
Twitter is fun because you can see people discovering things — think the Manti Te’o fake girlfriend incident — at the same time you are.

Where is your favorite campus spot?
North Avenue Dining Hall. You can’t beat the all-you-can-eat cereal available there.

What is the greatest risk you’ve taken — and did it pay off?
Moving to Atlanta for this job was a risk. I didn’t know anyone here at the time. But this has been an amazing place to begin my admissions career. I get to work with people that I respect as colleagues and value as friends.

Where is your favorite place to have lunch?
Ferst Place (in the Student Center) on Thursdays. They serve the most amazing fried chicken, collards, and mac and cheese.

Tell us something unique about yourself.
I only wear bowties.