{"587489":{"#nid":"587489","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Being Buzz","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Benjamin Chang graduated with his master\u0026rsquo;s degree in electrical and computer engineering in December of 2016, his walk across the stage was both a celebration and an unveiling. Chang had been keeping a secret for the past two and a half years. Unbeknownst to even his closest friends, Chang was the man behind Buzz\u0026mdash;the beloved Georgia Tech mascot.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETradition holds that each student who has been Buzz is carried across the stage by the current mascot during their graduation ceremony, thereby revealing their identity to all.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo what is it actually like to be Buzz? Read on as Chang shares his metamorphosis into the frenetic, silly, spirit-filled bug.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYou were involved in the Ramblin\u0026rsquo; Reck Club as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech. Was that your entry into becoming Buzz?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENot exactly. I joined the Ramblin\u0026#39; Reck Club to help spread my love and passion for Tech. While in the club, I met a retired cheerleader, Allison Oesterle, who helped inform, encourage, and motivate me to try out.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to be Buzz\u0026mdash;i.e. is there an application\/try outs?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne becomes Buzz by trying out! Tryouts are at the end of the spring semester. More information can be found on the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtcheer.com\/buzz\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Cheerleading website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you want to be Buzz? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI wanted to be Buzz because I always had a passion for Georgia Tech and I also wanted to bring happiness to others. After being at Tech for a few semesters, I realized that Buzz would be the best way for me to use my talents to do just that!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat were your duties as Buzz?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Buzz I had to attend morning workouts at 5:30 am, appearances at sporting events, and appearances at various other on-campus and off-campus events.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat kind of schedule did you keep?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy schedule for Buzz was very volatile\u0026nbsp;and varied week by week. Some weeks, due to appearance requests, I was Buzz for 10 hours. Other weeks, I had no appearances at all. Just like Buzz, you never knew what could happen next!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u0026rsquo;s it like inside that costume?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing in the suit is an experience mentally and physically. Mentally, the feeling of Buzz just takes over and I get a rush of euphoria. I get in the mindset that I want to be as entertaining as possible, everyone\u0026#39;s your friend, and have no idea what I\u0026#39;m going to do. Physically, aside from the adrenaline rush, it is a unique experience. You have very limited visibility and you\u0026rsquo;re in a very humid and hot environment. The suit traps heat and vapors so it\u0026#39;s kind of like a mini sauna, but I didn\u0026#39;t mind. I loved being Buzz.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the best part of being Buzz?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe best part of being Buzz for me was just making peoples\u0026#39; days. It\u0026rsquo;s always a nice feeling to cheer people up if they had a rough day or if they just needed that one extra kick of cheer to keep them going. One memory that sticks out to me is one summer I was on my way to an appearance when I high fived someone on my way. The next day I gave someone a hug and it turned out he was the same guy I high fived the day before. He told me that my high five really helped him get through a tough day. Even those small interactions can help make someone\u0026#39;s day better.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the most challenging part of being Buzz?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most challenging part was maintaining the balance between school and Buzzing. Sometimes, I\u0026#39;d have multiple appearances on the same weeks as I had tests. One particularly tricky situation was in the spring of 2016 when I attended a promotional event for the upcoming game against Boston College. We were on location in Dublin, Ireland. I was lucky enough to go abroad as Buzz, but I also had a test during the trip. I got an excused absence and was able to make up the test, but I had to take it the day after I returned, jet lagged and wiped out.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhile playing Buzz, can you describe an event in particular that was special to you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne particular event that was special to me was the ACC men\u0026#39;s basketball tournament in March of 2015. As part of the tournament, the mascots had an appearance in a Greensboro area children\u0026#39;s hospital. It felt amazing to bring just a little bit of fun into the lives of those kids. Seeing the smiles on their faces and hearing their laughter is something I\u0026#39;ll never forget.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENow that he\u0026#39;s hung up his antenna, Chang is taking a break before starting a position as a technical account manager with Microsoft in Austin, Texas.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Benjamin Chang on engineering the perfect high five"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EECE alumnus Benjamin Chang talks about his experience as the Yellow Jackets\u0026#39; mascot Buzz.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ECE alumnus Benjamin Chang talks about his experience as the Yellow Jackets\u0027 mascot Buzz."}],"uid":"27842","created_gmt":"2017-02-15 19:52:40","changed_gmt":"2017-02-15 19:59:24","author":"Ashlee Gardner","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2017-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"587485":{"id":"587485","type":"image","title":"Benjamin Chang graduates with Buzz","body":null,"created":"1487187465","gmt_created":"2017-02-15 19:37:45","changed":"1487187465","gmt_changed":"2017-02-15 19:37:45","alt":"","file":{"fid":"223893","name":"ChangBuzz1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChangBuzz1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChangBuzz1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":435395,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ChangBuzz1.jpg?itok=LS5AQJcf"}},"587486":{"id":"587486","type":"image","title":"ECE M.S. student Benjamin Chang with Buzz","body":null,"created":"1487187566","gmt_created":"2017-02-15 19:39:26","changed":"1487187566","gmt_changed":"2017-02-15 19:39:26","alt":"","file":{"fid":"223895","name":"ChangBuzz2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChangBuzz2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChangBuzz2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":396881,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ChangBuzz2.jpg?itok=JN44MRal"}}},"media_ids":["587485","587486"],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlee Gardner\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nashlee.gardner@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ashlee.gardner@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}