{"283781":{"#nid":"283781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Affinity Groups Aren\u2019t Just for Alumni","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom military veterans to black alumni, Georgia Tech offers an affinity group for everyone. But there\u2019s one major misconception about the groups \u2014 people think they\u2019re just for alumni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe great thing about our affinity groups is that you don\u2019t have to be a Tech grad to get involved,\u201d said Debra Thompson, senior manager of the Alumni Association\u2019s affinity groups. \u201cAll faculty, staff, and friends of Georgia Tech are invited to participate in the affinity groups.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe groups got their start in 1979 when Tech band alumni decided to form a group to keep them connected to the Institute. Now, there are 23 official groups, including the Military Affinity Group, Black Alumni Organization, the Legal Affinity Group, and the Women Alumnae Network. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cParticipating in an affinity group is an effective way to enhance your professional and social networks, share your expertise with the Tech community, and collaborate on campus events and projects with people who have similar interests to your own,\u201d Thompson said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETina Payne, assistant director of cooperative education in the Center for Career Discovery and Development, has been a member of the Co-op Affinity Group for nine years. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat I like most about being involved with the group is having the opportunity to see co-op alumni interact with current co-op students and share accounts of their respective experiences,\u201d she said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo join, people should contact the representative for the group they are interested in, Thompson said. Some groups meet monthly or quarterly, with gatherings including networking opportunities, speaker panels, golf tournaments, and student mentoring opportunities. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:debra.thompson@alumni.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EThompson\u003C\/a\u003E. For a full list of the groups and their representatives, click \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/1kj3hEb\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom military veterans to black alumni, Georgia Tech offers an affinity group for everyone. But there\u2019s one major misconception about the groups \u2014 people think they\u2019re just for alumni.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From military veterans to black alumni, Georgia Tech offers an affinity group for everyone. But there\u2019s one major misconception about the groups \u2014 people think they\u2019re just for alumni."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-03-14 15:28:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:03","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"283721":{"id":"283721","type":"image","title":"Affinity Groups","body":null,"created":"1449244216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:16","changed":"1475894978","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:38","alt":"Affinity Groups","file":{"fid":"198990","name":"affinity_group_picture1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/affinity_group_picture1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/affinity_group_picture1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":95589,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/affinity_group_picture1_0.jpg?itok=g8e1-VO_"}}},"media_ids":["283721"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/1kj3hEb","title":"Alumni Association\u0027s Affinity Groups"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"89281","name":"Affinity Groups"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"596","name":"Alumni Association"},{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"167018","name":"staff"}],"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:debra.thompson@alumni.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDebra Thompson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlumni Association\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}