{"438041":{"#nid":"438041","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What Are Your Plans This Summer?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cAlumni of the study abroad program often tell me it is the best experience they had at Georgia Tech and later often add, the best summer of their life.\u201d Says Thom Keel, Professor in the School of Building Construction in the College of Architecture, and director of the Study Abroad program for the School of BC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Building Construction Study Abroad kicked off in 2004 with a 12 week program in Paris. Back then, it was two professors and about 20 undergraduate students.\u0026nbsp; The program continued to grow and eventually Thom Keel took over as the sole professor and leader of the BC Study Abroad program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2012, the BC Study Abroad program moved to England. A great relationship with the University of Reading\u2019s Construction Program, along with exciting construction due to the London Olympics, led to the selection of the London area for the new Study Abroad program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program grew and changed. More graduate students were attending, and the program continued to evolve. Now, the majority of the students that attend the program, are graduate students from the School of Building Construction. ( Students from other majors are certainly welcome)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKeel said, \u201cWe are finding a need, and meeting it\u201d as the program adapts to older students, Keel is finding ways to meet the needs of the graduate professional student. He\u2019s shortened the program to 6 weeks for summer 2016, knowing that a busy graduate student, often can\u2019t take off for the entire summer.\u0026nbsp; Keel thinks the international experience is a great fit for the graduate students and will really enhance their academic program. Students are introduced to new companies and organizations they might not meet in their career search on campus. Two attendees even expressed interest in working for one of the companies they met in the UK, and have returned to England after they were hired by this firm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKeel promotes the Study Abroad program and hopes to have a large group for summer 2016. However, he has found that the students are the ones that tell each other. \u201cThey provide the best testimonials and convince others to attend.\u201d Keel has had a brother recruit his younger sister, has had repeat attendees, and even a busy working mom\/graduate student attend. These students then share the experience and convince other students of the quality of the experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents are exposed to behind the scenes buildings and tours- that tourists would not usually see.\u003Cbr \/\u003E Prior to London Olympics, the students toured the Olympic Stadium and Olympic park-both under construction. They have also toured the Shard building while under construction (the tallest building in Western Europe) and rode the construction elevator to the top for a hard hat tour.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKeel is glad the program continues to evolve and grow. He loves introducing the students to exciting international construction projects blended with the unusual construction and history that Western Europe offers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about Study Abroad opportunities in the School of Building Construction, please contact Professor Keel at:\u0026nbsp; \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:thomas.keel@coa.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ethomas.keel@coa.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Study Abroad-An International Experience"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Building Construction Professor, Thom Keel, has been leading the summer Study Abroad program since 2004.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor Thom Keel has been taking students abroad for over 10 years"}],"uid":"27520","created_gmt":"2015-08-20 14:14:04","changed_gmt":"2022-05-26 17:09:36","author":"Brenda Morris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"438031":{"id":"438031","type":"image","title":"Tom Keel","body":null,"created":"1449256162","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:09:22","changed":"1475895176","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:56","alt":"Tom Keel","file":{"fid":"203007","name":"england4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/england4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/england4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2584766,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/england4_0.jpg?itok=epUi8E0O"}},"353381":{"id":"353381","type":"image","title":"Thomas Keel 2014","body":null,"created":"1449245728","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:28","changed":"1475895082","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:22","alt":"Thomas Keel 2014","file":{"fid":"202008","name":"keel_thomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/keel_thomas.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/keel_thomas.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":203484,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/keel_thomas.jpg?itok=y-IDDH7q"}}},"media_ids":["438031","353381"],"groups":[{"id":"1223","name":"School of Building Construction"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1461","name":"Building Construction"},{"id":"166843","name":"Study Abroad"},{"id":"138581","name":"University of Reading"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo Learn More About Study Abroad opportunities in the School of Building Construction, contact Professor Thomas Keel.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["thomas.keel@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}