{"49763":{"#nid":"49763","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student Spotlight: Undergrad Senior James Wade","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJames Wade, a senior majoring in industrial engineering, recently returned from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he won the men\u0027s National Championship in whitewater kayaking. This achievement puts Wade closer to his dream of securing the coveted single spot for his event on the U.S. Olympic Team and representing the United States at the 2012 summer games in London. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom rafting trips with his family, Wade developed an interest in kayaking around age fourteen or fifteen, and in his freshman year in high school, left his home in Boise, Idaho, to attend a kayaking school in Vermont. As part of their education and training, the students would spend cold-weather months in countries with warmer climates (for example, Costa Rica in the winter and New Zealand and Australia in the spring). It was here that Wade began competing and developed the goal of joining the Junior National Team, which he did in 2002, followed by the National Team in 2006. When asked the significance of representing his country, Wade shared that \u0022international success in this system is a statement of the American mentality: dedication and determination to reach the highest of goals.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy kayaking?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E Training in kayaking is fun and highly technical. Quite a lot of the training involves improving your technique, and I like that a lot. I like things that are technical. My style is a more technical style, more precise. It\u0027s also a pretty creative sport. You can do things a lot of different ways. You have to be in touch with the feel of the water. All of the best guys have this sort of feeling, but not everyone uses it the same amount. There are guys who are really strong and go toward the being powerful side. Then you have the people who use the feeling more to get their speed. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere do you fit in? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E I\u0027m in the later category, but I am definitely strong. I have a body type that lends itself to being stronger. Still, I go toward the feeling side. Hopefully, the two will come together and I can find the happy medium that will pay off. People tell me they like watching me, which is always a compliment. One of my goals is to be both fast and pleasing to watch. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is unique for you during competition? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E In competition, the hard part is not thinking. During a race, the best runs you don\u0027t know what\u0027s going on. You\u0027re not consciously processing anything. Everything is just kind of happening, and you\u0027re feeling what\u0027s happening, and you see what\u0027s happening, and you know what is happening, but you\u0027re not consciously seeing it, you\u0027re not consciously thinking about it, you\u0027re not consciously feeling. You\u0027re just reacting. It doesn\u0027t even feel like you\u0027re reacting, though you are, because it\u0027s so fast. You\u0027re just doing what is supposed to be done. Really good runs, personally, I don\u0027t even remember anything very specific about them. I remember what it felt like, but don\u0027t remember very specifically what I did in terms of how.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you see being able to translate that kind of experience out of the water, in the present moment? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E I definitely want to be present. In life, you can\u0027t do everything in the here and now, but staying present is vey good, and staying balanced. Between sports and academics, being balanced is important. If you do all one or all the other, it doesn\u0027t go as well all the time.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave  you found that balance?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E It\u0027s a dynamic system. I do okay, I think, most of the time. It gets hard to switch back and forth. You get in one mode, then it\u0027s like having a hill to get over to get back into the other one, but I seem to be able to do it, more or less. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003Cem\u003EYou say that competition is a process of self-discovery. How?\u003C\/em\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E You learn about how you work and the things you need to do to perform. It\u0027s like an inward self-discovery. If you\u0027re willing to look, you get a very clear picture: Am I what I think I am? It\u0027s like a looking glass. You go around saying that you can beat everybody. I\u0027m good at this; I\u0027m fast. But, in the start gate, I\u0027m asking, \u0022Can I prove it? Am I really who I say I am?\u0022 You***re testing yourself. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003Cem\u003EIs every start gate new? \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E Yes. You change every time. Every race is important, but the biggest races have more implications and more challenges. There\u0027s more pressure, more competition. More people are watching. More things are going on that you have to be able to cope and deal with. I don\u0027t know if it\u0027s easier to learn about yourself then or you learn more about yourself because there\u0027s more things going on that you have to deal with.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003Cem\u003EHow is this similar to academics? \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E They\u0027re both tests of \u0022What are you really?\u0022 Are you actually what you think you are? Are you as smart? Are you as good as you think you are?  Are you what you say you are? \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003Cem\u003EHas there been a competitive kayaking experience that stands out as being transformational?\u003C\/em\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E The 2007 U.S. Team Trials, which is the race that determines the national team. Basically how selections work is that you take your best two out of three days. After two days, I wasn\u0027t in the top three, which is required to make the National Team. I could still do it, but I had to win or be close to winning, and I had to beat one other guy by quite a lot. There was a lot of pressure on me, and not so much on him. After the second run, I ended up being second place, but very close to winning, and I beat him by enough that I made the team. The thing about National Team selection is that it is pretty much the highest pressure race there is. That was the first time I really stepped up to the pressure in a big race like that. Obviously I\u0027m much better now than I was then, so all of that coming together was pretty cool. I wouldn\u0027t say magical, but it was definitely an empowering feeling. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do competition and academics mix?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E Training and school are definitely not easy to do. When you\u0027re training full time and going to school full time, you really don\u0027t have any time for other things. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYour Senior Design Project focused on the World Food Programme. What impact has working on that project had on you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E It was the first big project I worked on, and I definitely learned a lot. For me, Senior Design is the difference between Tech and a lot of other programs. You learn so much, and we challenged ourselves significantly with the project. You learn things scholastically. You learn how to write reports. You have to interact with people. You have to do public speaking. Since then I\u0027ve had to give more presentations, and I\u0027ve definitely gotten a lot better. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE: \u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho has been your most inspiring teacher?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJW:\u003C\/strong\u003E My dad. He\u0027s teaching me how to grow up, how to be a man. Honestly, if I could do as well as he has done in life, I\u0027d be more than happy. If I can raise my kids as well as my parents have done, I\u0027d be very happy. I understand enough to know it\u0027s not a simple or easy thing. He\u0027s a good individual; he\u0027s instilled a lot of good values in me.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"James Wade, a senior majoring in industrial engineering, recently returned from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he won the men\u0027s National Championship in whitewater kayaking. This achievement puts Wade closer to his dream of securing the coveted single spot for his event on the U.S. Olympic Team and representing the United States at the 2012 summer games in London.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Interview: Undergrad Senior James Wade"}],"uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2009-10-29 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:59","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"49764":{"id":"49764","type":"image","title":"James Wade","body":null,"created":"1449175373","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:53","changed":"1475894453","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:53","alt":"James Wade","file":{"fid":"127052","name":"tes41222.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tes41222_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tes41222_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":53278,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tes41222_0.jpg?itok=Fh7TkjT2"}},"49765":{"id":"49765","type":"image","title":"James Wade","body":null,"created":"1449175373","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:53","changed":"1475894453","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:53","alt":"James Wade","file":{"fid":"127051","name":"tzh70141.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tzh70141_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tzh70141_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":31560,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tzh70141_0.jpg?itok=BVJAic1H"}}},"media_ids":["49764","49765"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7871","name":"James Wade"},{"id":"7872","name":"kayaking"},{"id":"7873","name":"National Championship"},{"id":"167319","name":"senior design"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}