{"675265":{"#nid":"675265","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Get to Know Grad SGA Leadership Kiera Tran and Donglai Yang","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn Spring 2024, Kiera Tran and Donglai Yang were elected the president and executive vice president of the Graduate Student Government Association (Grad SGA). \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKiera Tran is a Ph.D. student studying geophysical glaciology in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. She began her journey at Georgia Tech in her junior year of college. It was at Tech where Tran discovered her passion for earth sciences and the desire to make an impact on global issues. She has been involved in Grad SGA for the past two years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDonglai Yang will be a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences studying the consequences of climate change to the polar regions with radar observations, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence. This is Yang\u2019s first year serving in Grad SGA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe followed up with them to get the scoop on their interests outside of academics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EFavorite Hobbies and Activities\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: I have been involved in music ensembles, playing some jazz music with fellow Georgia Tech students. It has been really fun. I also started a climbing group in our department to organize climbing activities.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKiera: I do small things to get my head out of research and Grad SGA work. I read a lot to make myself think about something else. I also really like journaling, so I journal while I read. Recently, I got into diamond painting. It\u2019s like color by numbers, but you do it with diamonds. I spend hours on it, and I think that would be my new hobby right now.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EFavorite Place on Campus\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: The hammocks on Tech Green.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKiera: The Eco Commons slide\u2013that is where I go to destress, just slide down three times and then go back to my research.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EFavorite Tradition or Event on Campus\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: I\u2019m into music, so the ensemble events.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKiera: Recently, I got into campus sports, so I attend the football, basketball, and volleyball games.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EFavorite Thing about Atlanta\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: I like the diversity\u2013it\u2019s like a melting pot. It feels energetic. That\u2019s what drew me here\u2013it\u2019s a very energetic city and energetic campus.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKiera: I\u2019ve been to a lot of other states, and I think the food in Atlanta is very diverse. One of the things I like to do around Atlanta is just try different cuisine and restaurants.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EFavorite Restaurant in Atlanta\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: Yet Tuh\u2013a charming little family-style Korean restaurant. The staff is always so friendly.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EKiera: Ponko Chicken\u2013the hotdog is delicious!\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECurrent Favorite Song\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: Witness Me by Jacob Collier\u003Cbr\u003EKiera: It\u2019s OK by Imagine Dragons\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECurrently Reading\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: Electrify by Saul Griffith. It has an interesting take on our future path to carbon neutral.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EKiera: I started reading the Foundation book series by Isaac Asimov, and I am currently on the 3rd one.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAdvice to Students\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDonglai: Go explore the campus or the world outside your department and lab. There\u2019s a lot to see and a lot to gain\u2013a lot of opportunities that you would not get otherwise, even money to support travels and other great things. Be open-minded and talk to people and reach out.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKiera: It can be a little bit scary when you come to Georgia Tech because we are all top students; however, everyone is a friend. The moment you start a conversation with someone, you learn a lot from them. That\u2019s what I love about Georgia Tech. It\u2019s a very supportive place. Just talk to anyone you meet on campus, get to know people, and make friends.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn Spring 2024, Kiera Tran and Donglai Yang were elected the president and executive vice president of the Graduate Student Government Association. We followed up with them to get the scoop on their interests outside of academics.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In Spring 2024, Kiera Tran and Donglai Yang were elected the president and executive vice president of the Graduate Student Government Association. We followed up with them to get the scoop on their interests outside of academics."}],"uid":"36249","created_gmt":"2024-06-28 13:55:39","changed_gmt":"2024-08-06 15:47:37","author":"Sara Franc","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674264":{"id":"674264","type":"image","title":"Donglai Yang and Kiera Tran","body":null,"created":"1719583048","gmt_created":"2024-06-28 13:57:28","changed":"1719583048","gmt_changed":"2024-06-28 13:57:28","alt":"Donglai Yang and Kiera Tran","file":{"fid":"257759","name":"GradSGA_2024.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/06\/28\/GradSGA_2024.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/06\/28\/GradSGA_2024.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":137283,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/06\/28\/GradSGA_2024.jpg?itok=UQGo96Ye"}}},"media_ids":["674264"],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sara.franc@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESara Franc\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003EOffice of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}