Most of us commute to campus from our homes and leave it behind at 5 p.m., but not Troy Whyte. The Georgia Tech campus is a part of his everyday life.

“I live on Marietta Street, within walking distance to campus — so I walk to work,” said the College of Architecture academic advisor. “And I’ll frequently head over to Tech Square for dinner.”

Whyte’s connection to campus isn’t anything new. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Management in 1997.

With a little help from a friend who worked in the College of Architecture, Whyte landed a temporary position in the Industrial Design program about a month after graduating. A little more than a month later, he was offered a position as an academic advisor, where he’s been ever since.

Recently, The Whistle sat down with Whyte to learn more about him and his time at Tech. Here’s what we learned:

What does your job entail?
I advise 190 undergraduate and graduate students and ensure they stay on track for graduation. Generally, I start working consistently with most undergraduate students during their sophomore year, when they’ve figured out what aspect of the designed and built environment they want to pursue.

Because our school is small, I also support our faculty. For example, I might be called upon to answer questions related to everything from Institute policies regarding dealing with a student transgression of the Honor Code to the Institute’s catering policy — it just varies.

What do you enjoy most and least about your job?
I enjoy working with the faculty, because I can tell that they are passionate about their work, and with the students, because they are really engaging. The challenge in this job is that since the school is small, I wear many hats. Thankfully, I can multitask pretty well.

What piece of technology could you not live without?
My iPhone. I even amazed myself by waiting in line from 5:40 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. to pick it up from the Apple store the day it was released. Needless to say, I really bonded with the other people in line.

What are three things everyone should do while working at Tech?
Eat at Junior’s; I think I ate there about three times a week as a student. Use the Campus Recreation Center. Go to a sporting event on campus — go Jackets!  

Where do you like to grab lunch on campus?  
Tin Drum, and I order the curry katsu. I have to admit that I am awful about bringing my lunch from home and not eating it.  

Tell me something surprising about yourself.  
I’m a science fiction junkie and love reading a good sci-fi novel.

What is your favorite place to visit in the city on the weekend?
Centennial or Piedmont Park. But, Piedmont Park is better for people watching.

If you weren’t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?
With my love of history and reading and research, I think I would like to have become an historian.