{"257401":{"#nid":"257401","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SGA President Picon Wins Marshall Scholarship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENicholas Picon\u2019s aerospace aspirations came to him over the airwaves as he grew up listening to shuttle launches on the radio in Boca Raton, Fla. Now, the fourth-year aerospace engineering major and computer science minor will pursue his passion of aerospace defense through studies in the United Kingdom as a winner of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe award is bestowed annually to intellectually distinguished students from the United States pursuing post-secondary education in the U.K. Picon, who currently serves as president of the undergraduate Student Government Association (SGA), will spend two years overseas, split between studying autonomous vehicle dynamics and control at Cranfield University and international conflict at King\u2019s College London.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe degrees are exactly what I want to do,\u201d Picon said. \u201cKing\u2019s College has a great War Studies department, and I\u2019ve been really excited since the first time I looked it up.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPicon has long held interests in both aerospace and international affairs. His original fascinations had him wanting to be an astronaut, and as a first-generation American, he traveled often throughout childhood, eventually spending four weeks exploring Europe with the Oxford Study Abroad Program. At Tech, he complemented his major with undergraduate research and work experience at Rolls-Royce and Boeing. He spent six weeks studying in Oxford, England, and he also participated in an international fraternity conference in Greece and an Engineers Without Borders project in Honduras.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis desire to apply aerospace skills on an international level led him to pursue opportunities in the policy arena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWorking at Boeing I got to see both how vulnerable and how well-protected our country is,\u201d Picon said. \u201cBeing SGA president, I realized how much I enjoyed talking to people, and that I wanted to find something where I could use my analytical mindset but also interface with people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the Marshall experience, Picon will be on track to do just that, spending two years studying with peers in the U.K. with potentially similar goals in their country and experiencing both sides of U.S. and U.K. relations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think the real benefit of the Marshall versus just studying public policy here in the states will be sitting in classes, talking about how the world views the U.S. military-industrial complex,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe duality of Picon\u2019s studies came as no surprise to Marilyn Smith, professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering and his academic advisor in AE, who heartily recommended Picon for the Marshall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have complete confidence that he will complete this proposed program at the top of his class,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI am impressed by this young man\u2019s integrity and passion to help others. I would vote for him in any political election, and many of our current politicians could learn from him a great deal about the ideals of public service.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELong-term, Picon plans to focus on international conflict and the prevention of war, aspiring to Winston Churchill\u2019s challenge to \u201cmake this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to his studies, Picon hopes to carry over other interests while spending two years abroad, including playing lacrosse and participating in another Engineers Without Borders project. In his recommendation letters, both his athletic prowess and civic engagement were cited repeatedly as assets that made him an ideal Marshall Scholar. Picon, fluent in both English and Spanish, is also working on adding a third language to his repertoire by taking online Mandarin courses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJuggling multiple activities won\u2019t be a change of pace for Picon, who in addition to his SGA involvement has held leadership positions in Sigma Phi Epsilon, President\u2019s Council Governing Board, and Triple Helix Society, on top of being a Georgia Tech Ambassador, member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and member of the men\u2019s lacrosse team. Meanwhile, he has maintained a 3.92 GPA in his major courses as a Stamps Scholar, the highest scholarship awarded to incoming freshman students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe is an amazing young man who epitomizes what students can achieve if they take advantage of all of the opportunities Tech has to offer,\u201d Smith said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/fellowships.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EFellowships Office\u003C\/a\u003E aids students in the process of applying for prestigious awards such as the Marshall. Staff work with students on their applications, read drafts of essays, and arrange mock interviews for those who make it to the interview stage. Often, fellowships present the opportunity to craft a more tailored experience than one might get in traditional graduate school.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMarshall allows you to choose your graduate programs in the U.K., so Nick was able to put together two grad programs that were just the perfect fit for the intersection he\u0027s exploring in his graduate work,\u201d said Kathryn Meehan, director of the Fellowships Office.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThanks to a close network of Tech alumni who have earned Marshall scholarships, and already-extensive research about life in the U.K., Picon eagerly anticipates the stint abroad.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have this very specific thing I want to do, and Marshall is great because it lets me use all of the U.K. to figure out how to do it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPicon will continue in his role as SGA president through the spring, graduate in May, and begin his Marshall studies in October 2014. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAerospace engineering major Nicholas Picon will study autonomous vehicle dynamics and control, as well as international conflict, in the U.K.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Aerospace engineering major Nicholas Picon will study autonomous vehicle dynamics and control, as well as international conflict, in the U.K."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2013-11-26 13:30:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:25","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"257411":{"id":"257411","type":"image","title":"Nicholas Picon","body":null,"created":"1449243856","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:44:16","changed":"1475894938","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:58","alt":"Nicholas Picon","file":{"fid":"198256","name":"mail_attachment.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mail_attachment_1.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mail_attachment_1.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":241482,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mail_attachment_1.jpeg?itok=t85zoA_A"}},"257581":{"id":"257581","type":"image","title":"Nicholas Picon at Rolls-Royce","body":null,"created":"1449243856","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:44:16","changed":"1475894938","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:58","alt":"Nicholas Picon at 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Lacrosse","file":{"fid":"198258","name":"nplacrosse.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nplacrosse_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nplacrosse_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":241519,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/nplacrosse_0.jpg?itok=XTgbZ_AZ"}}},"media_ids":["257411","257581","257421","257431"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\/","title":"Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/fellowships.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Fellowships Office"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.marshallscholarship.org\/","title":"Marshall Scholar"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace 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