Hosted by OMED: Educational Services, the event marked the 25^th year the ceremony has celebrated the academic achievements of traditionally underrepresented students at Georgia Tech. Undergraduate and graduate students – including doctoral candidates – were honored. Out of 1,500 academically eligible students, 335 were present to receive their awards.

“This night is about you,” said S. Gordon Moore, Jr., executive director of the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion as he opened the evening ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. “Tonight, we honor your achievements of scholastic excellence,” he continued.

Award categories included Ph.D. Awards, Master’s Awards (graduating GPA of 3.5 or higher), Graduating Senior Awards (cumulative GPA of 3.15 or higher), Sustained Awards (cumulative GPA of 3.15 or higher), Yearly Awards (GPA of 3.15 or higher over the past three semesters), Transfer/Dual-Degree Awards (cumulative GPA of 3.15 or higher), and First-Year Awards (cumulative GPA of 3.15 or higher). Within each award category (except the Ph.D. and Master’s Awards), sub-categories included Bronze (GPA of 3.15-3.49), Silver (GPA of 3.50-3.94), and Gold (GPA of 3.95 or higher).

Also presented were the Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization (GTBAO) Valerie Dial Thomas Unsung Hero Award, the OMED Mentor Award, and the 2019 Lift As You Climb Scholarship by the Jeremy T. Feaster Foundation.

"I grew up looking at my parents’ Tower Awards, aspiring to have one, one day,” said Milan Johnson, an undergraduate biomedical engineering student, Tower Award honoree, and recipient of the GTBAO Unsung Hero Award. “I will always appreciate the Tower Awards for celebrating underrepresented minorities’ hard work in an environment where our accomplishments can often be overlooked."

Part of Institute Diversity’s Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI), OMED is supported by more than 25 corporate partners and sponsors who attended and provided raffle giveaways at the ceremony. OMED corporate partners include 3M, BP, Eaton, General Motors, and Southwire.

To learn more about the Tower Awards, visit the OMED: Educational Services website.