Last year the New York Times reported that roughly 40% of students planning of engineering and science majors end up switching to other subjects or failing to get any degree. That staggering statistic is exactly why President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness- with the help of Intel, hosted a Day of Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Stay With It was a chance for students to rub elbows with some of the most accomplished engineers in their fields.
For this event, we partnered with Peachtree Tents and Events to create crowd-catching experiences at the Kessler Campanile and the Ferst Center. These lucky engineering students took a break from their grueling schedules to grab Stay With It water bottles and laptop decals and to win various prizes- including a new Ultrabook computer! We designed lounge areas for students to mingle with the VIP’s, including Intel President, Paul Otellini and NASA Administrator and former Astronaut, Charles Bolden. The GA Tech Pep Band, an exciting DJ, and interactive jugglers helped animate this encouraging event.
When the event at the Kessler Campanile ended, students were ushered into the Ferst Center for the Performing Arts to hear Maria Teresa Kumar host a panel discussion on the importance and versatility of engineering in today’s world. With a video introduction by President Obama, this element of the event was broadcast to multiple campuses across the country using Facebook LIVE . The panelists answered questions posted to the Stay With It Twitter and Facebook pages in real time. After the panel was over, students were treated to chicken sandwiches and popcorn. WM Events helped out by decorating the stage set you see below as well as amping up the greenroom of the Ferst Center.
Thanks again to all our partners who helped us make this happen, and to Patrick Williams for the stupendous images! If you’re dying to see more, check out the Facebook Album!
-William Fogler
WM Events