{"247411":{"#nid":"247411","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Living in the Shadow of a College Student","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn Thursday afternoon of last week, DeAndre Wideman took notes in his freshman advanced placement human geography class at Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia. Life couldn\u2019t have been more different on Friday when he sat in an organic chemistry class at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI noticed the big difference between college classes and high school classes,\u201d DeAndre said afterwards.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeAndre was one of approximately 30 metro Atlanta area high school students who participated in Shadow Day on October 18. The event was hosted by FirstGen, a Georgia Tech, student-run organization that focuses on first-generation students (students who are the first members of their family to attend college). The organization was created in 2012 to help current and future first generation college students make the transition from high school, provide extra tutoring and offer support to help the students succeed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShadow Day began with information sessions about admissions, major decisions and a student panel. The high school students then followed a Georgia Tech student to a lecture and around campus on a tour. DeAndre was led by Cassee Cain, a second-year chemical engineering student. The two attended a class in the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, checked out the view on its roof and visited the biomedical quad on the north side of campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe main reason I came to Tech was because a student showed me around,\u201d said Cain. \u201cI enjoyed the personal experience I received and want to share this same experience with a prospective student.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFirstGen, which includes nearly 150 student volunteers, plans to continue expanding its programs and will host future Shadow Days. Alice Lee organized the event and wants to see high school students of all ages participate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think freshmen are a good population to reach out to,\u201d said Lee, a second-year student. \u201cThey can use their experiences from Shadow Day to plan the rest of their four years in high school.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat includes DeAndre. His life will return to normal this week when he returns to Langston Hughes High. He\u2019s only a freshman but is already evaluating colleges. He says Georgia Tech is now his top choice.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe campus is beautiful, the students are nice and the classes are great,\u201d he said. \u201cI look forward to the independence that college offers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten by Institute Communications Student Assistant Meghan Feeney\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New Georgia Tech event focuses on first-generation students"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EApproximately 30 Atlanta metro area high school students participated in Shadow Day. The event was hosted by FirstGen, a Georgia Tech, student-run organization that focuses on first-generation students (students who are the first members of their family to attend college).\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nearly 30 high school students participated in Shadow Day, an event organized by FirstGen."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2013-10-21 09:55:06","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:09","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-10-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-10-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"247401":{"id":"247401","type":"image","title":"Shadow Day Students 2","body":null,"created":"1449243772","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:42:52","changed":"1475894924","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:44","alt":"Shadow Day Students 2","file":{"fid":"197969","name":"img_0401.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0401_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0401_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2327794,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_0401_0.jpg?itok=PkvZUP1P"}},"247381":{"id":"247381","type":"image","title":"Shadow Day Students","body":null,"created":"1449243772","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:42:52","changed":"1475894924","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:44","alt":"Shadow Day Students","file":{"fid":"197967","name":"firstgen-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/firstgen-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/firstgen-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1964215,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/firstgen-1_0.jpg?itok=lLWxbXpI"}},"247391":{"id":"247391","type":"image","title":"Shadow Day Class","body":null,"created":"1449243772","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:42:52","changed":"1475894924","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:44","alt":"Shadow Day Class","file":{"fid":"197968","name":"firstgen-2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/firstgen-2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/firstgen-2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3013763,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/firstgen-2_0.jpg?itok=nmADGy3E"}}},"media_ids":["247401","247381","247391"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.firstgen.gtorg.gatech.edu\/about\/","title":"FirstGen"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"47401","name":"firstgen"},{"id":"167230","name":"Shadow Day"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}