{"541361":{"#nid":"541361","#data":{"type":"news","title":"104-Year-Old Is the Newest Georgia Tech Freshman","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E104-year-old U.S. Army veteran Chester Gryzbowski from Chicago is the newest member of our 2015-16 freshman class, and he\u2019s got the RAT cap to prove it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGryzbowski had hoped to enroll at Georgia Tech to become a civil engineer. But after earning two bronze stars for his heroic service during World War II, life took him on a different path. Financial struggles meant he had to enter the workforce instead of becoming a helluva engineer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEighty years later, and it has still been on his mind. A fellow veteran and volunteer from the group No Veteran Dies Alone contacted Congressman Bob Dold, who got in touch with Georgia Tech about Mr. Gryzbowski\u2019s story. When President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson caught word, we started packing a special shipment for this hero.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the package? A RAT cap, the headgear traditionally worn by all Georgia Tech freshmen since 1915, and a copy of the T-Book that helps any new Yellow Jacket get acclimated to the traditions of Georgia Tech. Also in the package is a letter from President Peterson welcoming Gryzbowski as an honorary freshman in our incoming class.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech would have been honored to have you as a student,\u201d Peterson says in the letter. \u201cI can\u2019t thank you enough for the sacrifices you have made to serve our country and our world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike many of our students, Gryzbowski says he has always been interested in fixing things. He told the Chicago Tribune he once asked a civil engineer what it takes to become one, and he was told, \u201cA lot of figuring.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWell, figuring I like,\u201d Gryzbowski said. \u201cI like fiddling with numbers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with all the freshman must-haves, Peterson included an invitation to campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you are ever in the area, we at Georgia Tech would be honored to have you on our campus,\u201d he wrote.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESee more coverage of this story from \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.today.com\/news\/104-year-old-wwii-veteran-realizes-his-dream-becoming-college-t95421\u0022\u003ENBC\u0027s Today Show\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/suburbs\/lake-county-news-sun\/news\/ct-lns-veteran-honorary-georgia-tech-lovell-st-0530-20160530-story.html\u0022\u003EChicago Tribune\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Army veteran named an honorary member of the incoming class"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChester Gryzbowski of Chicago hoped to study civil engineering at Georgia Tech, but WWII changed those plans. Now, 80 years later the 104 year old has been named an honorary member of the 2015-2016 freshman class.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Chester Gryzbowski hoped to study civil engineering at Georgia Tech, but WWII changed those plans."}],"uid":"28058","created_gmt":"2016-06-01 12:15:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:49","author":"Steven Norris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"541371":{"id":"541371","type":"image","title":"104-Year-Old Is the Newest Georgia Tech Freshman","body":null,"created":"1464876000","gmt_created":"2016-06-02 14:00:00","changed":"1475895331","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:31","alt":"104-Year-Old Is the Newest Georgia Tech Freshman","file":{"fid":"89824","name":"cjzbgsguoaenkr_.jpg_large.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cjzbgsguoaenkr_.jpg_large.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cjzbgsguoaenkr_.jpg_large.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":102966,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cjzbgsguoaenkr_.jpg_large.jpg?itok=1m45kLys"}},"541381":{"id":"541381","type":"image","title":"Letter from Dr. Peterson to Chester Gryzbowski","body":null,"created":"1464876000","gmt_created":"2016-06-02 14:00:00","changed":"1475895331","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:31","alt":"Letter from Dr. Peterson to Chester Gryzbowski","file":{"fid":"89825","name":"13350421_1180308375320898_2254554929432271786_o_0.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13350421_1180308375320898_2254554929432271786_o_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13350421_1180308375320898_2254554929432271786_o_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":282683,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/13350421_1180308375320898_2254554929432271786_o_0.png?itok=SaCWAiOp"}}},"media_ids":["541371","541381"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"172095","name":"104 year old"},{"id":"3336","name":"army"},{"id":"4833","name":"chicago"},{"id":"4223","name":"freshman"},{"id":"246","name":"Georgia Institute of Technology"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"3409","name":"veteran"}],"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\u003ESteven Norris\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Social Media Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["snorris@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}