Scholarship Brunch Highlights Different Journeys, Shared Opportunities

At this year's Scholarship Brunch held Feb. 14 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, scholarship donors saw firsthand the transformative impact their giving has on students’ lives. Attendees heard from alumni donors Jocelyn Stargel, IE 1982, M.S. IE 1986, and Bob Stargel Jr., EE 1983, and three students whose lives have been shaped by need-based scholarship support. 

Giuli Capparelli Sanabria, a third‑year biology major, described her dream to become a veterinarian, which requires both undergraduate and graduate school. Receiving the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Scholarship has allowed her to attend Tech without incurring student loan debt and keep veterinary school an option. 

Colin Fravel, a fourth‑year industrial engineering student from Massachusetts was prepared to take on significant debt to finish his Tech degree. Before his second year, he opened his tuition bill to find a surprise: a scholarship funded by the Lizanne and Robert A. Milton Scholarship Endowment. “I cried while showing my parents,” Fravel said. “I was able to eat food on the weekends that wasn’t peanut butter and jelly, and I could travel home more than once a semester.”

Andrés Robles Sotomayor, a fifth‑year aerospace engineering student and native of Puerto Rico, shared how Hurricane Maria left his family homeless in 2017, prompting their relocation to Georgia. When he was accepted to Tech, his mother asked, “How are you going to pay for it?” The answer came in the form of the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Scholarship. Robles Sotomayor has interned at Northrop Grumman, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Pratt & Whitney, and will join Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program after he graduates. 

A recap video of the event is available here. Plans are already underway for next year's celebration.