{"649653":{"#nid":"649653","#data":{"type":"news","title":"OMED Welcomes Incoming First-Year Students to 41st Challenge Program\u00a0","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 2021\u0026nbsp;Challenge program welcomed\u0026nbsp;incoming first-year Georgia Tech students this summer, representing the\u0026nbsp;41st\u0026nbsp;year\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/omed.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EOMED: Educational Services\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(OMED)\u0026nbsp;has hosted the five-week, summer-intensive academic program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EParticipants resided\u0026nbsp;on campus in\u0026nbsp;Perry,\u0026nbsp;Matheson,\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Hopkins\u0026nbsp;residence halls\u0026nbsp;June 26-July 30\u0026nbsp;while preparing for college life by addressing the \u0026ldquo;7Cs:\u0026rdquo; computer science, chemistry, calculus, communication, career development, cultural competency, and community service.\u0026nbsp;The students\u0026nbsp;attended\u0026nbsp;courses taught by Georgia Tech professors\u0026nbsp;to obtain\u0026nbsp;an academic head start into the Institute\u0026rsquo;s curriculum.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMore than\u0026nbsp;20 years of data reflect\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;students\u0026nbsp;who participate in Challenge graduate\u0026nbsp;from Tech\u0026nbsp;at a higher rate,\u0026nbsp;with superior academic performance,\u0026nbsp;than their non-Challenge counterparts.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026nbsp;are\u0026nbsp;excited\u0026nbsp;to host Challenge\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;slightly\u0026nbsp;re-opened\u0026nbsp;campus\u0026nbsp;environment,\u0026rdquo; OMED\u0026nbsp;Assistant\u0026nbsp;Director of Outreach Initiatives and\u0026nbsp;Director of the Challenge program Jelani Liddell said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Also, tthese student participants\u0026nbsp;are excited to\u0026nbsp;learn\u0026nbsp;in-person again.\u0026nbsp;When you think about it, they\u0026#39;ve had\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;learn\u0026nbsp;virtually for nearly two years now,\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;Liddell continuted. \u0026quot;Their\u0026nbsp;11th\u0026nbsp;and 12th\u0026nbsp;grade development\u0026nbsp;may have been\u0026nbsp;different. That\u0026#39;s why I feel our program is even more\u0026nbsp;critical\u0026nbsp;at this time to give\u0026nbsp;our participants\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;snapshot\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;in-person college life and\u0026nbsp;help\u0026nbsp;them adjust, not\u0026nbsp;only academically, but socially and\u0026nbsp;emotionally\u0026nbsp;as well.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIn addition to the academic\u0026nbsp;rigor, participants\u0026nbsp;made new friends during the opening weekend cookout\u0026nbsp;and scavenger hunt;\u0026nbsp;took part in dinners with corporate partners; performed community service activities; and battled the rapids of the Ocoee River during the annual white water rafting excursion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year included a new team project assignment where students joined in small groups to design and present\u0026nbsp;social equity\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;STEM team projects. Judges rated the projects, which were to include a video and in-person group presentation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe cohort of\u0026nbsp;just over\u0026nbsp;100\u0026nbsp;students\u0026nbsp;included nine Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;Enhancing\u202fScience, Technology,\u202fEnginEering, and Math\u202fEducational Diversity\u0026nbsp;Scholars (ESTEEMED); five\u0026nbsp;National Action\u202fCouncil for Minorities in\u202fEngineering Scholars\u200b; and four Achieve Atlanta\u0026nbsp;Scholars. 20% of eligible incoming underrepresented minority students participated in the program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe program capped with a closing banquet\u0026nbsp;sponsored by Amazon and BP\u0026nbsp;on July 29 in the Georgia Tech Hotel Ballroom.\u0026nbsp;Challenge\u0026nbsp;counselors\u0026nbsp;(former Challenge participants\u0026nbsp;who\u0026nbsp;guide and support current participants throughout the program)\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;student participants offered\u0026nbsp;reflections. Academic awards\u0026nbsp;were presented by course instructors,\u0026nbsp;along with\u0026nbsp;scholarship awards by BP, the\u0026nbsp;National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering,\u0026nbsp;and OMED.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 2021 Challenge program was supported by the following corporate partners: Amazon, BP, Capital One, Eaton, John Deere, Marathon, P\u0026amp;G, PwC.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about the\u0026nbsp;Challenge\u0026nbsp;program,\u0026nbsp;visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/omed.gatech.edu\/programs\/challenge\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eomed.gatech.edu\/programs\/challenge\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOMED welcomed incoming first-year students to its 41st annual challenge program, a\u0026nbsp;five-week, summer-intensive academic program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"OMED welcomed incoming first-year students to its 41st annual challenge program, a\u00a0five-week, summer-intensive academic program."}],"uid":"34932","created_gmt":"2021-08-13 12:02:27","changed_gmt":"2021-08-13 15:03:10","author":"Courtney Hill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-08-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-08-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"649654":{"id":"649654","type":"image","title":"The 2021 Challenge Program Cohort","body":null,"created":"1628857332","gmt_created":"2021-08-13 12:22:12","changed":"1628857332","gmt_changed":"2021-08-13 12:22:12","alt":"","file":{"fid":"246593","name":"COD-948.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/COD-948.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/COD-948.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":813046,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/COD-948.jpg?itok=aSiHJ1M0"}},"649657":{"id":"649657","type":"image","title":"A panel of instructors spoke with parents on move-in day.\u00a0Challenge participants took courses taught by Georgia Tech professors.","body":null,"created":"1628857573","gmt_created":"2021-08-13 12:26:13","changed":"1628857573","gmt_changed":"2021-08-13 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12:23:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"246594","name":"DSC05500.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC05500.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC05500.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2637613,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC05500.jpg?itok=5UvuAFVL"}},"649658":{"id":"649658","type":"image","title":"Students received certificates, rewards, prizes, and scholarships at the closing banquet.","body":null,"created":"1628857667","gmt_created":"2021-08-13 12:27:47","changed":"1628857667","gmt_changed":"2021-08-13 12:27:47","alt":"","file":{"fid":"246597","name":"DSC05722.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC05722.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC05722.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1300813,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC05722.jpg?itok=27OG4WEf"}}},"media_ids":["649654","649657","649656","649655","649658"],"groups":[{"id":"1313","name":"Institute Diversity"},{"id":"1307","name":"Office of Minority Education and Development (OMED)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"4100","name":"challenge"},{"id":"187176","name":"URM"},{"id":"1556","name":"undergraduate"},{"id":"168169","name":"preparation"},{"id":"96","name":"freshmen"}],"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\u003ECourtney Hill\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInstitute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ncourtney.hill@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["courtney.hill@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}