{"663884":{"#nid":"663884","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Smith\u0027s Aerospace Dreams Come True at Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in Plano, Texas, watching \u003Cem\u003EStar Wars\u003C\/em\u003E,\u003Cem\u003E Battlestar Galactica\u003C\/em\u003E, and\u003Cem\u003E Star Trek \u003C\/em\u003Ewith his parents, Jason Smith developed an early interest in all things aerospace. When the time came to apply for college, he knew he wanted to study \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eaerospace engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and he knew he wanted to go to Georgia Tech \u0026mdash; where his uncle, Robert Glenn, graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1994.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, Smith is preparing to wrap up one chapter of his life at this weekend\u0026rsquo;s Commencement ceremony, and begin a new one in Seattle, Washington, at SpaceX as an ion propulsion test engineer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs he looks forward to \u0026ldquo;celebrating everything that my friends and I have been through and achieved,\u0026rdquo; he takes a moment to reflect on how far he\u0026rsquo;s come. \u0026ldquo;Georgia Tech was everything I expected and more,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;It was just as difficult as I anticipated, but people were so incredibly supportive and collaborative that I never felt like I was alone on this journey.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlong the way, Smith seized opportunities outside of the classroom and the lab, from being a member of the men\u0026rsquo;s rowing team to promoting LGBTQ representation in the engineering sector. \u0026ldquo;I try to make any team I\u0026#39;m on a safe space for all identities, realizing that a strong team is a diverse team,\u0026rdquo; he said. One opportunity that eluded Smith as an undergraduate was study abroad. He\u0026rsquo;d signed up for the Aerospace India program for Summer 2020, but Covid-19 made it impossible.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, he credits Tech with \u0026ldquo;pushing me to my academic limits and making me extremely resilient.\u0026rdquo; Just as importantly, he said, \u0026ldquo;I feel like I have the context I need about every corner of the aerospace industry to know exactly what I want to pursue and how to do it successfully.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd, as many graduating seniors do, Smith has advice for students just beginning their own Georgia Tech journeys. \u0026ldquo;Have fun. Tech is tough, but going through it alone is tougher,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;Our time at the Institute really isn\u0026#39;t that long, so I urge you to enjoy it and make as many friends as you can here. The students at Tech are some of the brightest people I\u0026#39;ve met in my life, and I\u0026#39;ve only been enriched by spending time with them and learning as much as I can from them.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in Plano, Texas, watching \u003Cem\u003EStar Wars\u003C\/em\u003E,\u003Cem\u003E Battlestar Galactica\u003C\/em\u003E, and\u003Cem\u003E Star Trek \u003C\/em\u003Ewith his parents, Jason Smith developed an early interest in all things aerospace.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Growing up in Plano, Texas, watching Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek with his parents, Jason Smith developed an early interest in all things aerospace. "}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2022-12-14 20:21:42","changed_gmt":"2022-12-15 20:33:33","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-12-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-12-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"663891":{"id":"663891","type":"image","title":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","body":null,"created":"1671051398","gmt_created":"2022-12-14 20:56:38","changed":"1671051398","gmt_changed":"2022-12-14 20:56:38","alt":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","file":{"fid":"251303","name":"jason-smith-flag copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jason-smith-flag%20copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jason-smith-flag%20copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1543087,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jason-smith-flag%20copy.jpg?itok=Lh726pyZ"}},"663893":{"id":"663893","type":"image","title":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","body":null,"created":"1671051453","gmt_created":"2022-12-14 20:57:33","changed":"1671051453","gmt_changed":"2022-12-14 20:57:33","alt":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","file":{"fid":"251305","name":"Jason Smith photo 2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%202.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%202.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2940551,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%202.jpg?itok=6Hfl7cjv"}},"663892":{"id":"663892","type":"image","title":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","body":null,"created":"1671051433","gmt_created":"2022-12-14 20:57:13","changed":"1671051433","gmt_changed":"2022-12-14 20:57:13","alt":"Jason Smith - Fall 2022 Graduate","file":{"fid":"251304","name":"Jason Smith photo 1.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%201.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%201.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1561974,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jason%20Smith%20photo%201.JPG?itok=t7MvzQNK"}}},"media_ids":["663891","663893","663892"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/commencement.gatech.edu","title":"Georgia Tech Commencement"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/2022\/12\/georgia-techs-fall-2022-commencement-speakers","title":"Fall 2022 Commencement Speakers"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/mission-accomplished-army-veterans-path-commencement-georgia-tech","title":" Mission Accomplished: An Army Veteran\u2019s Path to Commencement at Georgia Tech "},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/balancing-parenthood-and-pursuit-phd","title":" Balancing Parenthood and the Pursuit of a Ph.D. "},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/11\/21\/what-not-wear-commencement-editionand-other-tips-your-graduation-day","title":" What Not to Wear: Commencement Edition\u2026and Other Tips For Your Graduation Day "}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"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\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}