{"529121":{"#nid":"529121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Xia Ma\u0027s Graduate Student Journey","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EXia (Shemmy) Ma is earning a Master of Science in Building Construction\/Facility Management with a focus in Integrated Facility Management\/Property Management.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe sat down with Ma, who currently interns\u0026nbsp;with GreenbergFarrow, to discuss the path that led her to the School of Building Construction and the milestones in her graduate journey so far.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is Ma\u0027s story, in her own words:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI completed my Bachelor\u2019s in Construction Management in 2014 in China. One of my professors introduced Facility Management and Operations as a growing field. I was interested in the full life cycle of a building, so this really interested me.You might spend two to four years on the design\/construction of a building project, but you can spend 50+ years on a building when discussing usage. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI wanted to come to Georgia Tech. It is a top public institution in America and I love Atlanta. I knew about Atlanta from watching the Olympics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the things that stood out to me was the opportunity to intern on campus with Georgia Tech\u2019s Facility Management Division. I was able to put in practice what I was learning and have good professional mentors. I learned how to be more professional. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith that new confidence, I was able to find an off campus internship with an Architectural firm. I focused on energy modeling. I have a goal and passion for sustainability and want a green, full time position.\u0026nbsp;I also now have friends from all over the world. There are so many successful men and women I met at Georgia Tech. This global experience has broadened my horizons.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI advise future students to be brave, don\u2019t be afraid. I suggest they experience the local culture, be involved, keep an open mind, make friends and make every moment count. Students should find something they love, you have a lot of opportunities here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EVisit our website\u003C\/a\u003E for more information on the School of Building Construction at Georgia Tech. You can contact Xia Ma via \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca title=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/xia-ma-02950452?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic\nCtrl+Click or tap to follow the link\u0022 href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/xia-ma-02950452?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/xia-ma\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EXia (Shemmy) Ma recounts her experience as a graduate student, studying Facility Management in the School of Building Construction.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Xia (Shemmy) Ma recounts her experience as a graduate student, studying Facility Management in the School of Building Construction."}],"uid":"27520","created_gmt":"2016-04-25 15:00:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:28","author":"Brenda Morris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"529031":{"id":"529031","type":"image","title":"Ma","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"Ma","file":{"fid":"214726","name":"img_1199_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_1199_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_1199_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":206313,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_1199_0_0.jpg?itok=_6qPFykW"}}},"media_ids":["529031"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"171954","name":"Graduation; graduate student; facility management"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, please contact:\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrenda Morris\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Brenda.morris@coa.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrenda.morris@coa.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brenda.morris@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}