Freshman Faces

This year’s freshman class is the best qualified and most diverse in Tech’s history according to statistics from the president’s office. The Alumni Magazine found eight students to follow from convocation to commencement. We want to see how they evolve over the course of their Georgia Tech careers — and if they still love physics and calculus when they graduate.

Hope Brown
Hope Brown was born in Birmingham, Ala., but moved to Cincinnati at a young age. She graduated from The Seven Hills School, where she was involved in numerous clubs and activities and was an honor roll student. She received a scholarship from the Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization. [Read more]

Anirudh Sundararaghavan
Anirudh Sundararaghavan grew up in Alpharetta, Ga., and graduated from Alpharetta High School, where he was the saxophone section leader in the marching band and a member of the 2009-10 All-Bands. He also was a member of the varsity track and field team. He is a President’s Scholar. [Read more]

Mike Jasper
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Mike Jasper graduated from Allen D. Nease High School. In July, he was pictured in the St. Augustine Record in full scuba gear as he stepped off a boat into the Atlantic Ocean to help a Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program team retrieve an 18th century cauldron. [Read more]

Brandon Lutz
Brandon Lutz grew up in Dacula, Ga., and graduated from the state’s largest high school, Mill Creek, where he had the highest SAT score. He also was named one of only two STAR students at the school for 2009-10. He now is a physics major and marching band member at Tech. [Read more]

Tanner Smith
Born in Atlanta, Tanner Smith grew up in Suwanee, Ga., and graduated from Peachtree Ridge High School, where he was part of the FIRST robotics team. In August, Smith, who earned his pilot’s license at 16, flew his family’s single-engine Piper Cherokee from Georgia to California and back. [Read more]

Lily Ponitz
Lily Ponitz grew up in Sarasota, Fla., and graduated from Pine View School. She was a coxswain for the Sarasota Scullers and captain of the rowing team her junior and senior years. She’s now a member of the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team and Engineers Without Borders at Georgia Tech. [Read more]

Ronnie Foreman
Veronica “Ronnie” Foreman was born in Denver and lived in Littleton, Colo., until she was 8, when her family relocated to Bethesda, Md. A President’s Scholar at Tech, she graduated from Walt Whitman High School. She is majoring in aerospace engineering. [Read more]

Norquata Allen
President’s Scholar Norquata Allen grew up in Chattanooga, Tenn., and graduated from Girls Preparatory School, where she distinguished herself as a leader, serving as student council president, an athlete and a volunteer in the community. [Read more]

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