{"595052":{"#nid":"595052","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Walking the Wire: New IC Students Learn to Overcome Struggles at Leadership Challenge Course","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe expressions on the faces of the 14 new \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ic.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E Ph.D. students were varied.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn one, a bright grin spread wide across the face. On others, expressions of concentration. A few faces bore eyes glancing timidly toward the ground, as if afraid it would bite should they take a moment to look away.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThere were 14 separate thought processes as the incoming students took part in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.crc.gatech.edu\/leadership-challenge-course\u0022\u003ELeadership Challenge Course\u003C\/a\u003E on Aug. 15 prior to their official orientation, but one similar goal: Work together to find a way to traverse wire-thin cables, unsteady wood platforms, and other assorted barriers \u0026ndash; not unlike the many challenges they will face in pursuit of their common goal of earning a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s a program current IC Professor and former Chair \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/people\/7080\/annie-antons\u0022\u003EAnnie Ant\u0026oacute;n\u003C\/a\u003E developed to achieve a handful of goals for her students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne, she wanted to challenge them. Like the intense challenges they face over the course of their five or six years in the Ph.D. program, she wanted to force them into an uncomfortable situation that takes patience to overcome.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo, she wanted to build a sense of community with other participants. There is no such thing as a graduating class when it comes to a graduate degree, so the idea was to create an environment where members of the same cohort could meet each other, develop friendships, and feel a sense of belonging during their time in school.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd three, the most important of Ant\u0026oacute;n\u0026rsquo;s goals was to give students an opportunity to share their excitement and concern about the challenge they were embarking on.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;After the challenge course, we get together and discuss what they are most excited about working on their Ph.D.,\u0026rdquo; Ant\u0026oacute;n explained. \u0026ldquo;You get all kinds of answers: I\u0026rsquo;m excited to solve this problem; I\u0026rsquo;m excited to work with this advisor; I\u0026rsquo;m excited to become a professor when I finish. Then we ask what they\u0026rsquo;re scared of. That\u0026rsquo;s when you crack the nut open.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStudents express concerns over things like not getting along with advisors or peers, fears of presenting papers at conferences or that their work won\u0026rsquo;t even be accepted in the first place, worries about passing qualifying exams, and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;But at the end of the day, when we\u0026rsquo;ve gone through that circle, they realize that everyone else has the same concerns,\u0026rdquo; Ant\u0026oacute;n said. \u0026ldquo;More than that, they have strategies and resources to go to within their new community to help them through.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EClick \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ccgatech\/albums\/72157687741036505\u0022\u003EHERE\u003C\/a\u003E for photos of IC\u0026#39;s day at the Leadership Challenge Course.\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher Banks\u003C\/strong\u003E, who is pursuing his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/robotics-phd-program\u0022\u003EPh.D. in robotics\u003C\/a\u003E, was one incoming student who said there was some trepidation in climbing onto the wires on the course.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I am afraid of heights, so I was very wary of the parts of the challenge course that required harnesses,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;Luckily, with the support of my teammates, I was able to complete the course, something I would have never done under normal circumstances. I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe conceded that he likely wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be tightrope walking anytime soon, but enjoyed the camaraderie that was built during the day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThere were also those who had experience in challenging climbing courses, like \u003Cstrong\u003ENathan Hatch\u003C\/strong\u003E, who is pursuing his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/computer-science-phd-program\u0022\u003EPh.D. in computer science\u003C\/a\u003E. Hatch said he enjoys rock climbing, and so the course was not a real challenge for him. But it was an opportunity to learn how to lead and share knowledge with others.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Hopefully, I was able to use my experience to encourage some of the others in my group,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;In any case, these activities certainly built a rapport very quickly. I think they made it much easier to express our worries and hopes during the following group discussion. Everyone felt comfortable being honest in front of each other, which made the discussion very helpful.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the 14 incoming Ph.D. students, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/master-science-human-computer-interaction\u0022\u003EMS HCI\u003C\/a\u003E program also took a sizeable group \u0026ndash; around 50-60 \u0026ndash; to participate in the course the following Saturday.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Leadership Challenge Course is located off of Ferst Drive and is run by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.crc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECampus Recreation Center\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fourteen incoming Ph.D. students learn about overcoming challenges as they embark on their life in the IC Ph.D. program."}],"uid":"33939","created_gmt":"2017-08-25 16:44:19","changed_gmt":"2017-08-25 16:44:19","author":"David Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"595051":{"id":"595051","type":"image","title":"IC at Leadership Challenge Course","body":null,"created":"1503678725","gmt_created":"2017-08-25 16:32:05","changed":"1503678725","gmt_changed":"2017-08-25 16:32:05","alt":"A group of School of Interactive Computing Ph.D. students takes a break on the Leadership Challenge Course.","file":{"fid":"226773","name":"LCC Main.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/LCC%20Main.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/LCC%20Main.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":295265,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/LCC%20Main.jpg?itok=4_yf7U4n"}}},"media_ids":["595051"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/phd-programs","title":"School of Interactive Computing Ph.D. Programs"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.crc.gatech.edu\/leadership-challenge-course","title":"Leadership Challenge Course"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.crc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Campus Recreation Center"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ccgatech\/albums\/72157687741036505","title":"Photos from IC at the Leadership Challenge Course"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1299","name":"GVU Center"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"19441","name":"Leadership Challenge Course"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"27641","name":"annie anton"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Mitchell\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.mitchell@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}