{"655594":{"#nid":"655594","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Undergraduate Sydney Mudd Putting her Stamp on ISyE","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESydney Mudd\u003C\/strong\u003E (ISyE \u002724) was working her way through her junior and senior years at Parkview High in Lilburn, Ga., when she started to feel that pressure. It\u2019s the same pressure most high schoolers begin to feel when the first of their friends start to make college selections, setting out plans for their majors and, it felt like, their entire lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou have to choose a school,\u201d she said, thinking back to those formative final years before moving out of her parents\u2019 house and into the great unknown of higher education. \u201cI\u2019m 16 or 17 years old, and I\u2019m supposed to be choosing what I\u2019m going to do for the rest of my life.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEven though she wasn\u2019t ready to lay out a mental itinerary for the next 50 years of her life \u2013 and, really, who is? \u2013 Mudd did something so simple, and yet so difficult for so many.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe asked questions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe spoke to teachers and advisors, older students, anyone with an ear and experience who could offer some direction on how they got into their degrees or professions. When she came to Georgia Tech in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic that made her initial college experience far different than most she had talked to, she still didn\u2019t know exactly what she wanted. But she also knew that part wasn\u2019t as important just yet.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI realized everyone\u2019s journey is different, so I just have to focus on mine,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFlash forward a little over a year and a half. Mudd has transitioned from a Mechanical Engineering major to Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), gone through an internship with UPS, started a club for minority students within Industrial Engineering called Black IEs at Tech, served as the undergraduate representative for ISyE\u2019s Diversity, Equity \u0026amp; Inclusion committee, served as the advisor for Emerging Leaders, a first-year leadership organization, connected with peers through the National Society of Black Engineers, and, most recently, been named a Stamps President\u2019s Scholar.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Stamps Scholar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDamon Williams\u003C\/strong\u003E, a senior lecturer and the director of the Center for Academics, Success, and Equity (CASE) in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), received an email asking if he had anyone to recommend for the walk-on process for the Stamps President\u2019s Scholar program at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEstablished in 1981, the program recognizes the most promising first-year students based upon excellence and potential in scholarship, leadership, progress, and service.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWilliams already had a name in mind.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAfter working with her for a few months, I was already beyond impressed with Sydney\u2019s leadership skills and passion for everything she does,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWhen I was asked for nominees for the scholarship, she was truly the first student I thought of.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMudd met with \u003Cstrong\u003EChen Zhou\u003C\/strong\u003E, an associate professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies in ISyE to discuss the nomination. Despite some nerves as she entered Zhou\u2019s office, where she expected a formal interview, she was quickly treated to an easygoing conversation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe genuinely just wanted to get to know me,\u201d Mudd said. \u201cWe just talked about what I was interested in, things I was passionate about and where I hoped to make a positive impact, specifically with regard to hunger and homelessness.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAfter that conversation, he gave me the nomination.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMore rounds of interviews followed, including with \u003Cstrong\u003EE. Roe Stamps\u003C\/strong\u003E himself.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI almost had a breakdown from nerves,\u201d Mudd said, calmly and with a smile now, long after the decision had been made. \u201cBut it was so smooth.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the end of the final interview, she was told she got the scholarship, which \u2013 in addition to the mentorship, recognition, and academic opportunities \u2013 offers a full-ride scholarship.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cI started crying.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEntrepreneurship and Giving Back\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the Stamps scholarship may arguably be the biggest boost she gets for her college career, her pursuits don\u2019t end at that sizable success. Mudd has always been a bit of a hustler \u2013 she bought and sold high-end sneakers while she was in high school \u2013 and she\u2019s expanded her business acumen during in time in college.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo help fund her education, she and her cousin, who she called a \u201cbusiness partner\u201d in high school, got involved with Turo. Turo is a peer-to-peer carsharing company that allows private car owners to rent out vehicles via an online marketplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe sneakers weren\u2019t really consistent money or anything,\u201d she said, \u201cso we had to find something that\u2019s more stable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, she managers a handful of cars and continues to learn how to deal with customers, maintain cars, and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is helping me lay my foundation,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I see my time here. I\u2019m building a foundation so I have options when I graduate.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe doesn\u2019t see herself going straight into business for herself. That may come later. There may be a stop in industry along the way. One thing she knows is that she wants to give back as much as she can.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne day, I hope to start my own foundation,\u201d said Mudd, who, along with her mom, aunt, and some friends, has helped pack meals for those in need since she was in middle school. \u201cI was given opportunities others weren\u2019t, and I feel a moral obligation to help those who don\u2019t have the same privileges I do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENot bad for someone who wasn\u2019t sure what she wanted to do just a few short years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter struggling to find her direction when she first got to Georgia Tech, Sydney Mudd has lined up numerous accolades including the prestigious Stamps scholarship.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"After struggling to find her direction when she first got to Georgia Tech, Sydney Mudd has lined up numerous accolades including the prestigious Stamps scholarship."}],"uid":"33939","created_gmt":"2022-02-18 17:00:22","changed_gmt":"2023-05-17 16:37:35","author":"David Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"655593":{"id":"655593","type":"image","title":"Sydney Mudd - Stamps Scholarship","body":null,"created":"1645202613","gmt_created":"2022-02-18 16:43:33","changed":"1645202613","gmt_changed":"2022-02-18 16:43:33","alt":"Sydney Mudd","file":{"fid":"248547","name":"MicrosoftTeams-image (4).png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%284%29_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%284%29_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":5257097,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%284%29_0.png?itok=Ti_ljbjp"}}},"media_ids":["655593"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/stampsps.gatech.edu","title":"Stamps President\u0027s Scholars Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"660354","name":"Center for Academics, Success, and Equity"},{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"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\u003EDavid Mitchell\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.mitchell@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.mitchell@isye.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}