{"667584":{"#nid":"667584","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Discovering Purpose in Service: Jessica Rawls Journey to First Lieutenant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,\u0026nbsp;First Lieutenant\u0026nbsp;Jessica Rawls aspired to play basketball competitively, however, her interest in service opportunities was sparked when she talked with her sister about the Naval Academy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first, Rawls and her sister were hesitant about committing to the military, but their high school teacher\u0026nbsp;encouraged them to take another look, particularly at the United States Military Academy West Point.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAfter looking up some videos online, and going to visit there, we decided that we wanted to go - not only because of the opportunities we would receive as West Point graduates but also being able to figure out our \u201cwhy\u201d of pursuing the military.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis\u0026nbsp;second thought about West Point became an opportunity for Rawls\u0026nbsp;to pursue\u0026nbsp;her bachelor\u2019s degree,\u0026nbsp;while gaining experiencing\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;one of the most prestigious military service colleges\u0026nbsp;in the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Rawls progressed through her program, she\u0026nbsp;recognized\u0026nbsp;that her motivation for serving was to help others, \u201cI didn\u2019t realize that the majority of soldiers in the military are minors, and a lot of times,\u0026nbsp;their only opportunity to get a job\u0026nbsp;with access to things like healthcare,\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;assistance\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;is by going through the military.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHer combined\u0026nbsp;military\u0026nbsp;experience and interest in industrial engineering, led her to\u0026nbsp;choose\u0026nbsp;operations research at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). Throughout the\u0026nbsp;graduate\u0026nbsp;program she started building connections with Associate Dean Damon Williams, and General\u0026nbsp;Ronald\u0026nbsp;Johnson, who provided\u0026nbsp;valuablementorship\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;guidance throughout the program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI can\u2019t even imagine Georgia Tech without Damon Williams, General Johnson, and the industrial engineering\u0026nbsp;program. I was very surprised about how much the department truly cares about their students. Damon and General Johnson really took me underneath their wing and made sure I was succeeding.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a West Point graduate and current faculty member at Georgia Tech, Johnson\u0026nbsp;spoke about his\u0026nbsp;connection with Rawls and\u0026nbsp;efforts to increase diversity in the school\u0027s programs and faculty. Johnson highlights the unique qualities that West Point graduates possess, such as athleticism, leadership, and teamwork skills, that make them valuable additions to Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to her promotion, Rawls was awarded the GEM Fellowship (Graduate Engineering Minority) by the\u0026nbsp;National GEM Consortium, which advances thousands of\u0026nbsp;underrepresented\u0026nbsp;students in the field of engineering. General Johnson believes bringing\u0026nbsp;West Point graduates,\u0026nbsp;particularly those receiving the GEM\u0026nbsp;fellowship, is\u0026nbsp;a critical step when creating a more inclusive and equitable academic environment\u0026nbsp;within\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0027s STEM programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe bridge between West Point and ISyE has become an impactful space to be in, where students like\u0026nbsp;Rawls\u0026nbsp;are given the chance to feel uplifted and supported in the field by diverse faculty members.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter graduation this May, Rawls will be attending a basic officer leadership course in Virginia. Then she\u2019ll be departing to her duty station, with high hopes for placement in Germany or Fort Campbell, Kentucky.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, her goal is to become an operations research systems analyst and return to West Point as an instructor, where she hopes to inspire and guide future students,\u0026nbsp;specifically\u0026nbsp;those who may feel underrepresented.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERawls\u0026nbsp;dedication to her field and her desire to give back to her community make her story a testament to the power of self-discovery,\u0026nbsp;and how exploring different options can lead to unexpected but fulfilling paths in life.\u0026nbsp;\u201cLiving my life\u2026 I\u2019m feeling really good about being by myself and discovering who I am.\u201d\u0026nbsp;says First Lieutenant\u0026nbsp;Jessica Rawls.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGraduate student, Jessica Rawls was promoted to First Lieutenant with the hopes of giving back to her community by investing in future minority students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" ISyE graduate student promoted to First Lieutenant, with hopes of inspiring future minority students to pursue unexpected opportunities in life. "}],"uid":"36284","created_gmt":"2023-05-01 15:35:25","changed_gmt":"2023-05-01 18:28:17","author":"chenriquez8","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-02-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-02-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"670657":{"id":"670657","type":"image","title":"Jessica Rawls, Promoted to First Lieutenant","body":null,"created":"1682690770","gmt_created":"2023-04-28 14:06:10","changed":"1682691034","gmt_changed":"2023-04-28 14:10:34","alt":"Jessica Rawls, Promoted to First Lieutenant","file":{"fid":"253557","name":"IMG_4727-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4727-3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4727-3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1292162,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4727-3.jpg?itok=d_M90lSF"}},"670660":{"id":"670660","type":"image","title":"Jessica Rawls, Damon Williams, General Johnson","body":null,"created":"1682691202","gmt_created":"2023-04-28 14:13:22","changed":"1682691234","gmt_changed":"2023-04-28 14:13:54","alt":"Jessica Rawls, Damon Williams, General Johnson","file":{"fid":"253561","name":"IMG_5373 Large.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_5373%20Large.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_5373%20Large.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":976367,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_5373%20Large.jpg?itok=Esw4fe8f"}},"670659":{"id":"670659","type":"image","title":"Jessica Rawls, Promoted to 1LT ","body":null,"created":"1682691180","gmt_created":"2023-04-28 14:13:00","changed":"1682691195","gmt_changed":"2023-04-28 14:13:15","alt":"Jessica Rawls, Promoted to 1LT ","file":{"fid":"253560","name":"IMG_4729-2_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4729-2_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4729-2_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6944195,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/04\/28\/IMG_4729-2_1.jpg?itok=PMo89TKr"}}},"media_ids":["670657","670660","670659"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.westpoint.edu","title":"United States Military Academy at West Point"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gemfellowship.org","title":"GEM Fellowship"}],"groups":[{"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":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}