{"681176":{"#nid":"681176","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Exchanging Waves for Wavelets: Meet Leah Clark \u2013 This Californian Became the First Female Student to Attend Georgia Tech-Europe.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELeah Clark\u2019s path to Georgia Tech-Lorraine was serendipitous. Armed with a BSEE from Stanford University, she started applying to graduate schools in the U.S., but none of her options felt quite right.\u0026nbsp;Fate intervened when her father handed her a tiny clipping from the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) newsletter. The article spoke of a\u0026nbsp;new graduate program in France, and Clark\u2019s curiosity was piqued.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe reached out to Dr. Hans \u201cTeddy\u201d P\u00fcttgen, the director of a new Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate program in France at\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech-Lorraine\u0026nbsp;(\u201cGTL,\u201d now known as\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech-Europe). Dr. P\u00fcttgen sought students for Georgia Tech-Lorraine\u2019s inaugural cohort in 1990, and Clark seized the opportunity to specialize in Digital Signal Processing\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithin ten days of applying to Georgia Tech, Clark was accepted into the new graduate program in Metz, France!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Pioneering Spirit\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClark stood out as the\u0026nbsp;sole woman\u0026nbsp;among the first cohort of six graduate students at GTL. The group included two PhD students and four master\u2019s students. Her enrollment marked a significant milestone: she became both the\u0026nbsp;first woman to study at GTL\u0026nbsp;and the\u0026nbsp;first woman to graduate from the master\u2019s program\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EHer dual-degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech and Sup\u00e9lec (now CentraleSup\u00e9lec) would shape her future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClark\u2019s journey was made even sweeter by a\u0026nbsp;full scholarship\u0026nbsp;covering tuition and housing. She landed in a comfortable two-room suite at the Sup\u00e9lec dorms, where she requested a French roommate. Caroline, her roommate, not only helped Leah navigate life in Metz but also contributed to helping her improve her French language skills.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBridging the Cultural and Language Divide\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe initial months at Georgia Tech-Lorraine posed challenges. As Clark noted, \u201cThe French you learn in school doesn\u2019t help you deal with your emotions.\u201d Fortunately, her fellow GTL students and Caroline worked together to bridge the cultural gap. And when in doubt, a communal meal at the dorms accompanied by a bottle of wine worked wonders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFellow student, Bertrand Boussert, now Georgia Tech-Europe\u2019s Deputy Director of Academics, and a lecturer in Tech\u2019s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the only native French speaker in that first cohort. He helped his peers with everything from learning how to shop at the local grocery store to explaining the nuances of the French and American educational systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne-third of the classes were taught in English by Georgia Tech professors from Atlanta, who had been recruited to teach at Tech\u2019s new instructional facility on the Metz Technopole. The remaining two-thirds of the classes unfolded in French, courtesy of GTL\u2019s neighboring partner school, Sup\u00e9lec.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe hour-long Georgia Tech courses were as expected, but every graduate student except for Boussert were in for a shock when they learned that the Sup\u00e9lec courses were each three hours long, and of course, in French! \u201cThe courses at Sup\u00e9lec were much more theoretical than what we were used to in the U.S.,\u201d said Clark, adding that, \u201cTo add to the confusion, theorems that we learned about in the U.S. under one name, might have a different moniker in French!\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe greatest drama of the year occurred during finals. The professors distributed the French version of \u201cBlue Books\u201d\u2014the exam booklets used for written assessments. The American students, well-versed in Number 2 pencils, began writing diligently. However, in France, students must inscribe their answers in ink. The entire 1990 cohort, apart from the lone Frenchman, Boussert, faced potential failure from Sup\u00e9lec due to this transgression!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnter Dr.\u0026nbsp;P\u00fcttgen\u2014the savior. With a bit of cross-cultural finessing on his part, all students passed their exams! \u201cWe didn\u2019t know that we were supposed to complete our exams in ink,\u201d Clark recalled, \u201cnor did anyone tell us that French students use erasable ink!\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBreaking Barriers and the Comforts of Home\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClark did not feel as though she was treated any differently than her male peers. There were only a few female students at Sup\u00e9lec, as there were even fewer women studying electrical and computer engineering in France at the time than in the U.S.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn an era before helicopter parenting, Leah Clark maintained a weekly connection with her parents using an AT\u0026amp;T phone card. The landline calls bridged the ocean, providing comfort and a sense of home. She was lucky that her parents came to visit shortly after the term began, bearing goodies from home like a US-style comforter and pillow, her favorite shampoo, and lots of reading material - in English!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter leaving GTL, Clark realized that while she had finally mastered speaking French, she hadn\u2019t really had much time to use it. Serendipity (and her dad) struck again with an introduction at a startup in San Diego that was developing a new product with Texas Instruments in Villeneuve-Loubet, just outside of Nice. She was quickly hired to be the on-site technical liaison on a DSP chipset project and spent the next year plus working and playing on the Cote d\u2019Azur before relocating to sunny San Diego.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFast forward to today, and Leah Clark still resides in San Diego, California. As a Senior Architect at Synopsys, Inc., an electronic design automation company (EDA), she continues to shape the world of technology. Her specialty is working with key customers to debug chip implementation issues. Throughout her career she has been able to take advantage of her French language skills, finding and befriending French co-workers at just about every job she has had.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClark stays in touch with her classmates and cherishes the memories of that pivotal year.\u0026nbsp;Leah Clark will always have Metz, and she\u2019ll forever hold the title of the first female student at Georgia Tech-Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInternational Women\u2019s History Month is the perfect time to share Leah Clark\u2019s story as she exemplifies this year\u2019s theme of \u201cMoving forward together.\u201d She may have been the first woman to attend Georgia Tech-Europe, but this past summer, close to 45% of the 397 students who attended Georgia Tech-Europe were women!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELeah Clark made history as the\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Efirst female student\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Eto\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Eenroll at Georgia Tech\u2019s international off-campus instructional site in Metz, France, joining Georgia Tech-Europe\u2019s 1990 inaugural cohort.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Making history as the first woman to attend Georgia Tech-Lorraine, now Georgia Tech-Europe."}],"uid":"28490","created_gmt":"2025-03-17 16:18:44","changed_gmt":"2025-03-18 20:37:58","author":"Andrea Gappell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Metz, France","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676565":{"id":"676565","type":"image","title":"Leah Clark - GTE","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELeah Clark - first woman to attend Georgia Tech-Lorraine, now Georgia Tech-Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742225735","gmt_created":"2025-03-17 15:35:35","changed":"1742226604","gmt_changed":"2025-03-17 15:50:04","alt":"Leah Clark - first woman to attend Georgia Tech-Lorraine, now Georgia Tech-Europe.","file":{"fid":"260370","name":"LeahClark-GTE.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/17\/LeahClark-GTE.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/17\/LeahClark-GTE.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":110430,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/17\/LeahClark-GTE.jpg?itok=B4zOJdjT"}},"676584":{"id":"676584","type":"image","title":"GTL-1990-Opening-Announced-in-The-Whistle.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAn archival snippet from a 1990 article in The Whistle, a GT publication, announcing the opening of GTL in Metz, France.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742330114","gmt_created":"2025-03-18 20:35:14","changed":"1742330114","gmt_changed":"2025-03-18 20:35:14","alt":"An archival snippet from a 1990 article in The Whistle, a GT publication, announcing the opening of GTL in Metz, France.","file":{"fid":"260388","name":"GTL-1990-Opening-Announced-in-The-Whistle.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/18\/GTL-1990-Opening-Announced-in-The-Whistle.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/18\/GTL-1990-Opening-Announced-in-The-Whistle.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1262476,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/18\/GTL-1990-Opening-Announced-in-The-Whistle.png?itok=P2ZF5RnC"}}},"media_ids":["676565","676584"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/europe.gatech.edu","title":"Georgia Tech-Europe"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.centralesupelec.fr\/en","title":"CentraleSup\u00e9lec"}],"groups":[{"id":"54809","name":"Georgia Tech-Europe (GTE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"194248","name":"International Education"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13161","name":"Georgia Tech-Lorraine"},{"id":"191566","name":"Georgia Tech-Europe"},{"id":"3445","name":"Metz"},{"id":"182152","name":"Technopole"},{"id":"1925","name":"Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"id":"2435","name":"ECE"},{"id":"14507","name":"DSP"},{"id":"419","name":"digital signal processing"},{"id":"2050","name":"france"},{"id":"1187","name":"IEEE"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"}],"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:andrea.gappell@europe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAndrea Gappell\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Program Manager, Georgia Tech-Europe\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Andrea.gappell@europe.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}