Fall Forward: Tech Students Move Into the Upcoming Semester
The buzz in the air at Tech Square is almost tangible, with university students settling in for the upcoming semester. At the tail-end of the highly-anticipated move-in days, there were parked cars with blinking headlights, plastic-wrapped dorm accessories, and the last fleet of suitcases hastily rolling into elevators on hold. This was especially true for those of us at Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club, where students spent the majority of last week using The Clubhouse as their check-in site to move into Square on Fifth (SQ5).
Image credit: SQ5 on Instagram
In the backdrop of the back-to-school bustle were stark reminders of the pandemic: mask stations, hand sanitizers, and testing sites around the neighborhood.
“Since I am living at SQ5, they completely revamped how the move-in process would be,” shared Rohan Sohani, a Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering student who is back on campus after spending his spring semester as an intern at NASA. “They stretched out move-in over a couple of days and had time slots for specific apartments throughout the day.”
The unusual move-in experience aside, the first days of the fall semester are finally here. Seemingly for Sohani, it’s exciting to be back at school despite the added steps and routines brought on by health and safety precautions.
“I have already experienced issues with professors not being able to use online video conferencing effectively. It’s a learning curve for sure,” he shared. “But luckily, professors have been pretty responsive and open to communication.”
In a time where the U.S. and other countries are reigniting their interest in outer space exploration, Sohani’s enthusiasm for his chosen career path has only grown despite the odds.
Tech Square ATL Social Club member Rohan Sohani with ISS Astronaut Chris Cassidy.
“I am looking forward to really taking a deep dive into my major, and getting into the nitty gritty of what it means to be an aerospace engineer,” Sohani shared. “Through [aerospace engineering], I hope to be a part of projects that help the U.S. establish its presence as a multi-planetary nation,” he beamed. “I also am really excited to see my friends again! Due to my spring internship, I haven’t seen some of them since 2019.”
Did You Know?
NASA astronauts learn to fly a jet before they fly a spacecraft. Though the controls of the T-38 aren't the same as a spacecraft, astronauts say the need to think quickly in changing situations is critical preparation for spaceflight and spacewalks.
When it comes time to focus, the added adjustments that come with the throes of a pandemic can make it even more challenging to get back into the swing of things. But just like it was seemingly impossible to launch humans into space, we did it by persevering past the obstacles together.
What are you looking forward to in the upcoming months despite the odds? Let us know in the comments below.