The Georgia Institute of Technology is the epitome of higher academia in the city. Many great former North Atlanta students have gone or currently go to Georgia Tech, a point of pride for their alma mater. This year, the college experience is looking a little different for the jackets.

Kate Breeden, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, was fortunately able to experience what college would be like without the pandemic. Sadly, North Atlanta seniors from last year don’t have that luck. Breeden has certainly felt the differences in college life during the pandemic.  “It was more fun and less stressful,” she said. “There’s more tension between a lot of the student body because some are going out to parties and causing more cases to happen and some are not and are upset about the people who are going out.”

Starting college is a major change regardless of the circumstances, but North Atlanta’s class of 2020 is further burdened by the pandemic. Many students, like GT freshman Grace McCaffrey, went in without knowing what to expect. “I was very apprehensive about starting college during a pandemic, because I wasn’t sure what the environment would be like,” she said. “I was expecting all of my classes to be online and for campus to be essentially on lockdown. I wanted to go in managing my expectations so that I wasn’t disappointed when I got to college.”

Many students at Georgia Tech have seen a reduction in their social life because of the pandemic regulations. They have begun to notice how Georgia Tech isn’t as social as it would be during a regular school year.  Freshman Jordan Artis is one student who finds the lack of social interaction disappointing. “Georgia Tech has been eerily quiet. Everyone is here but the social aspect has dwindled,” she said. “My classes are online so the only time I really leave my room is to get tested and go get food.”

It’s one thing to go from high school to college, but it’s another to do it while under the threat of a pandemic. It is impressive to see the resilience of these bright new college freshmen, and we cannot wait to see what they do with this unusual time. Cheers to all the former North Atlanta Warriors turned jackets!