{"673245":{"#nid":"673245","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Life of a Leap Baby","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOnly about 5 million people worldwide \u2014 less than 0.1% of the world\u2019s population \u2014 have been born on Feb. 29. Andy Eichel, senior managing strategy consultant in Strategic Consulting, is one of them.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, Eichel has his 10th birthday \u2014 but perhaps more accurately (or \u201cboringly\u201d as he puts it), he turns 40.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe most common question I get by far is, \u2018When do you celebrate your birthday?\u2019 My answer has always been the same: I was born in February, so I celebrate my birthday on the last day of February,\u201d he said. \u201cSome leap year babies have a different logic; but they are wrong. I don\u0027t usually celebrate on both days but, as I get older, maybe that will change.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEichel has no negative feelings about only seeing his birthday on the calendar every four years. But he does think it makes it harder for him to keep track of others\u2019 birthdays.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy friends and family have it easy with my special day, but how can I be expected to remember, if you were born on a random day in the middle of a random month?\u201d he jokes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHaving the rarest birthday in the world could create a special bond for some. Eichel tells a story of going on a date in high school and finding out they were born on the same day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHalfway through the date we discovered we had the same birthday. We didn\u0027t really have anything else in common, but the novelty of dating a fellow leap year baby kept us together for a few months, which is practically a decade in high school dating,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEichel has been at Georgia Tech since 2016 (also a leap year), when he started as a Brittain Fellow. He then worked as an academic coach in the Office of Undergraduate Education before taking on his current role in 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn nearly eight years at Tech, this is only his second time having his birthday. So, if you see him, wish him a happy one before four more years pass.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOnly about\u0026nbsp;5 million\u0026nbsp;people\u0026nbsp;worldwide \u2014 less than 0.1% of the world\u2019s population \u2014 have been born on Feb. 29. Andy Eichel, senior managing strategy consultant in Strategic Consulting, is one of them.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Only about 5 million people worldwide \u2014 less than 0.1% of the world\u2019s population \u2014 have been born on Feb. 29. Andy Eichel is one of them."}],"uid":"27299","created_gmt":"2024-02-28 18:05:05","changed_gmt":"2024-02-28 18:05:05","author":"Michael Hagearty","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-02-28T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-02-28T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673249":{"id":"673249","type":"image","title":"Andy Eichel and Esa Sofian","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAndy Eichel and Esa Sofian celebrating their engagement while on vacation in Switzerland\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1709143277","gmt_created":"2024-02-28 18:01:17","changed":"1709143594","gmt_changed":"2024-02-28 18:06:34","alt":"Andy Eichel and Esa Sofian on vacation in Switzerland","file":{"fid":"256614","name":"Eichel-Sofian.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/28\/Eichel-Sofian.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/28\/Eichel-Sofian.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":107098,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/28\/Eichel-Sofian.jpeg?itok=NNWj93xp"}}},"media_ids":["673249"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"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\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}