{"665813":{"#nid":"665813","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meet Jayde Nelson, Director of Civic Engagement ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJayde Nelson is director of Civic Engagement in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/studentengagement.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Student Engagement,\u003C\/a\u003E which is part of the Division of Student Engagement and Well-Being. Before coming to Tech in 2022, she worked in residence life at the University of Georgia for four years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI came here to expand my resources and take that next step in my career,\u201d she said. \u201cThere has been nothing better than understanding the students and meeting their needs. I\u2019ve been excited to do the work that I\u2019ve been doing for the last five months.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENelson\u2019s role is to help students understand that what they\u2019re doing in the classroom has an impact on what is happening outside of it.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m here to help bridge that gap,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to say to students, \u2018This net that you\u2019ve 3D-printed can be used to collect debris in lakes and streams.\u2019 I see them have lightbulb moments when they see an immediate connection between what they\u2019re doing as an engineering or science major and what is needed by nonprofits.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELast month Nelson coordinated Georgia Tech\u2019s MLK Day of Service, with 120 students participating in five off-campus projects and two on-campus projects. Now she\u2019s working on two Alternative Service Break trips \u2014 to New Orleans and the Dominican Republic.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn New Orleans, students will work with a community partner, Merry Green Marvel, on projects addressing environmental issues in a region that is on the front lines of climate change. Students also will have opportunities to participate in fun activities such as kayaking and a New Orleans cooking class.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the Dominican Republic, students will collaborate with 7 Elements, a community partner, to build bottle houses in La Colonia. The houses have a cement foundation and a wooden frame, and the insulation is made of recycled plastic bottles to both reuse waste and protect homeowners during extreme temperatures. Students will also get to explore areas near the work sites and learn about common problems facing the community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are preparing the students with details about the locations so they will know what to expect,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWe have student leaders as well as advisors leading the trips, and we\u2019re super excited about the Alternative Service Break projects.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAway From Work \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENelson\u2019s hobbies include adding mugs to her collection of more than 100 and exploring Georgia\u2019s small-town downtowns. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am a history nerd, so I like to stop and talk to the local residents to learn the town\u2019s history,\u201d she said. \u201cI also like a good festival and a good concert.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENelson, who has a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology from Francis Marion University in South Carolina and a master\u2019s in student affairs and higher education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, is continuing her education at Georgia Southern University. She is pursuing an Ed.D. in educational leadership with an emphasis in higher education, anticipating earning her degree in 2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing in this program is broadening the way that I think because my cohort is half higher education and half P-12,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m gaining an understanding of what students are like before they come to college.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENelson originally wanted to be a physician, but ended up on a different path. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI still want to do something in the medical field, so maybe down the line I would like to work at a medical university in student affairs,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u0027m also looking at access to college, how students in rural Georgia are coming to Tech, and how admissions counselors are really guiding the work of getting those students to attend technology schools. That has been my trajectory thus far.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBetween working and studying, Nelson tries to catch up on her sleep. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI take a mean nap,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I took naptime for granted in kindergarten. I was the student who wanted to get \u2018extra\u2019 recess time while everybody else was napping.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENelson also enjoys spending time with her 4-year-old nephew.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe\u2019s my little chicken nugget and I absolutely love him,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019ll be 5 this year and he\u2019s going to kindergarten. I don\u0027t know where the time went, but I know I\u2019m going to be right next to him, walking him into his classroom. I need that experience.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENelson\u2019s role, as Georgia Tech\u0027s director of Civic Engagement, is to help students understand that what they\u2019re doing in the classroom has an impact on what is happening outside of it.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nelson\u2019s role, as Georgia Tech\u0027s director of Civic Engagement, is to help students understand that what they\u2019re doing in the classroom has an impact on what is happening outside of it. "}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2023-02-16 21:23:14","changed_gmt":"2023-10-06 00:10:47","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"665832":{"id":"665832","type":"image","title":"Jayde Nelson","body":null,"created":"1676478005","gmt_created":"2023-02-15 16:20:05","changed":"1676478036","gmt_changed":"2023-02-15 16:20:36","alt":"Jayde Nelson, director of Civic Engagement ","file":{"fid":"251790","name":"Jayde-015.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-015.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-015.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1020606,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jayde-015.jpg?itok=EGYu7nap"}},"665833":{"id":"665833","type":"image","title":"Jayde Nelson","body":null,"created":"1676478369","gmt_created":"2023-02-15 16:26:09","changed":"1676478409","gmt_changed":"2023-02-15 16:26:49","alt":"Jayde Nelson with a student at the Center for Student Engagement","file":{"fid":"251791","name":"Jayde-016.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-016.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-016.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1288105,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jayde-016.jpg?itok=GsUQhMSJ"}},"665834":{"id":"665834","type":"image","title":"Jayde Nelson","body":null,"created":"1676478600","gmt_created":"2023-02-15 16:30:00","changed":"1676478628","gmt_changed":"2023-02-15 16:30:28","alt":"Jayde Nelson in her office. ","file":{"fid":"251792","name":"Jayde-002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-002.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jayde-002.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":883091,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jayde-002.jpg?itok=OKJrTRXM"}},"671964":{"id":"671964","type":"video","title":"Meet Jayde Nelson","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMeet Jayde Nelson, director of Civic Engagement in Georgia Tech\u0027s Center for Student Engagement.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1696543129","gmt_created":"2023-10-05 21:58:49","changed":"1696543152","gmt_changed":"2023-10-05 21:59:12","video":{"youtube_id":"Wx9yD-8H4bo","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Wx9yD-8H4bo"}}},"media_ids":["665832","665833","665834","671964"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/students.gatech.edu\/","title":"Division of Student Engagement and Well-Being"}],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"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=\u0022http:\/\/victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\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":""}}}