{"657965":{"#nid":"657965","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Four Years, Two Degrees","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s challenging enough to complete a Georgia Tech degree in four years. This week, Bryan Gomez will earn two: one in biochemistry and the other in neuroscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Hoschton, Georgia, native has made the most of his time at Tech. Outside of the classroom, he worked as a student pharmacy technician at Stamps Health Services, filling prescriptions, managing inventory, and handling data entry and billing insurance as well as point of sales operations. This work-related opportunity was made available through Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/services\/pharmacy\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/services\/pharmacy\u0022\u003EPharmacy School to Work Learning Program\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs an advocate for mental health reform and improving accessibility to mental health services, Gomez volunteered as a crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line while at Georgia Tech and worked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention\u0026rsquo;s advocacy committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026#39;ve been so fortunate to be surrounded by people who know what they love and how they can equip that love to do something good in the world, and I\u0026#39;m going to miss that fervent passion as I leave,\u0026rdquo; Gomez said. \u0026ldquo;The people at Tech are just so incredibly passionate about their interests and fields and have, what I feel, is an unmatched desire to channel that passion into solutions and innovations.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe was able to use his own knowledge, skills, and passion to do something good during the pandemic by helping with Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s vaccine distribution. In Spring 2021, Gomez assisted Stamps pharmacists and pharmacy technicians by preparing labels, managing inventory, and physically unpackaging hundreds of syringes and needle tips daily. \u0026ldquo;In a week where we were doing over 2,000 vaccinations, that means it\u0026#39;s somebody\u0026#39;s job just to open up thousands of individual wrappers and packages,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;Not glamorous, but necessary and time-consuming.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs he learned more and as summer approached, he began to prepare the vaccines himself \u0026mdash;\u0026quot;thawing vials, inverting solutions, pulling up diluent (a sodium chloride solution that you add to the main vaccine to dilute it to its for-use concentration and volume) and mixing it with the vaccine, equalizing vial pressure, and so on.\u0026rdquo; Gomez estimated that he was personally able to actively mix up hundreds of vaccines during the summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor him, Commencement represents the culmination of years of hard work, but it also marks the beginning of a new chapter. After graduation, he plans to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and a master\u0026rsquo;s in public health at the University of Georgia, and ultimately he wants to work as a clinical pharmacist in in-patient settings or in the field of regulatory affairs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd while his sights are set firmly on the future, he knows he will miss the campus. \u0026ldquo;I am still stunned by the beauty of Georgia Tech every time I walk to class or to meetings,\u0026rdquo; Gomez said. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s Tech Green, the EcoCommons, Tech Tower, Harrison Square, or any number of other sites, \u0026ldquo;There are simply places on this campus that emanate warmth, positivity, and joy, and I\u0026#39;ve come to love them over the past few years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s challenging enough to complete a Georgia Tech degree in four years. This week, Bryan Gomez will earn two: one in biochemistry and the other in neuroscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"It\u2019s challenging enough to complete a Georgia Tech degree in four years. This week, Bryan Gomez will earn two: one in biochemistry and the other in neuroscience."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2022-05-04 18:54:31","changed_gmt":"2022-05-04 19:57:26","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"657966":{"id":"657966","type":"image","title":"Bryan Gomez, Spring 2022 Graduate","body":null,"created":"1651690535","gmt_created":"2022-05-04 18:55:35","changed":"1651690535","gmt_changed":"2022-05-04 18:55:35","alt":"Bryan Gomez, Spring 2022 Graduate","file":{"fid":"249408","name":"Gomez photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gomez%20photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gomez%20photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":530486,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Gomez%20photo.jpg?itok=8WWa2UxO"}}},"media_ids":["657966"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/commencement.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Commencement"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/cap-gown-and-army-commission","title":"A Cap, a Gown, and an Army Commission "},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/reflection-speakers-share-lessons-learned","title":"Reflection Speakers to Share Lessons Learned"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/sixth-times-charm","title":"Sixth Time\u2019s the Charm"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/2021\/10\/27-frames","title":"27 Frames (featuring Bryan Gomez)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"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:stacy.braukman@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EStacy Braukman\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}