Aloha Yellow Jackets!  I hope the start of the new academic year has been a successful, welcome one so far! After a year without students on campus, the energy that you’ve brought is refreshing and reminds me why it is that I chose to work in higher education and serve students.  

As the inaugural Vice President for Student Engagement and Well-Being, I feel proud and privileged to become a part of the Yellow Jacket family!  And like our newest students, I am meeting lots of new people, discovering Atlanta (one of my favorite cities!), and finding my way around campus. I am beginning my 30th year in a career that has taken me to seven institutions, spanning the entire US – from West Virginia to Hawaiˈi.  I have had the chance to support student success through a broad range of functions, programs and services, including but not limited to equity and inclusion, residential life and dining services, advising and mentoring, health and wellness, leadership and engagement, international engagement and disability access. I have served as an Athletic Director and as a Title IX Coordinator in my past roles.

I am the oldest daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, for whom English is not their first language and spent much of my formative years navigating a bi-cultural existence. I ended up working in the student affairs profession “by accident” when I experienced first-hand the tremendous impact that co-curricular initiatives can have on the student experience. While the academic experience is and should be central, for many students, what happens outside of the classroom can make the difference between remaining until graduation or leaving college prematurely.

Here are just a few “fun facts” about me:

• I enrolled in a computer programming class in the summer before high school and became hooked on PC gaming. Today, I remain an avid gamer: you can find me online at times in the World of Warcraft as a level 60 human warlock.
• I love reading and watching fantasy/science fiction – my current fascination is with the book and television series, “The Expanse.”
• I serve as staff to two felines: an orange tabby named Phoenix and a flame-point Siamese mix named Daario Naharis.
• It took me just under 20 years to pay off all my student loans from undergraduate and graduate school. I danced that day!
• I laugh loudly, love to eat, hate to cook, and changed my major in college seven times.

I also understand first-hand the role of trauma in our lives – it can bring you to your knees, and it can also help forge who you are to become.  I am a survivor of sexual assault during my first-year in college, and I am a widow who lost her life partner of 18 years to suicide. 

The new division of Student Engagement & Well-Being combines the best of what Georgia Tech campus life has to offer. Our programs and services will help facilitate life transitions, enhance and support learning, cultivate leadership and civic responsibility, and respond to students’ holistic needs – while making a mindful effort to recognize that Yellow Jackets represent a multitude of identities and their intersections – whether by race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, country of origin, ability, religion, political beliefs, or veteran status.  Our goal is to provide better synergy and seamless service across all our departments, programs and offices in creating your “home away from home,” challenging you to reach your full potential, as well as providing a “web of support” as you explore new pathways, make mistakes, and pick up again throughout your time here at Georgia Tech.

This reorganization comes at a time when it may be needed the most.  External factors and challenges like the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing concerns related to equity and inclusion, and pervasive economic distress continue to force us to continually pivot in how we deliver programs and services and catalyze opportunities to reimagine how we support you on your academic journey. When this merger is successful, then you as students should experience better health outcomes, enhanced responsiveness and quality of service, and an improved campus climate that supports educational equity.

I encourage you to maximize your potential by taking advantage of all the resources that Student Engagement and Well-Being has to offer.  I also welcome your feedback, input, and reflections as we reimagine how to best serve Yellow Jackets – both undergraduate and graduate - throughout each year of their time with us.  There are several ways you can reach out to me.

• You can connect with me via Twitter (@Luoluo_Hong).
• Be on the lookout for an invitation to participate in an upcoming Town Hall that will be co-hosted in early Fall 2021 by your Student Government Association.
• Make sure your student organization responds to an upcoming invitation to send a representative for the new Advisory Board to the Vice President for Student Engagement & Well-Being, to be convened later this term.
• Send questions to VP_SEWB@gatech.edu.

We may not always immediately have all the answers, and we may not be able to respond individually to every comment, inquiry or question we receive.  And I commit that I and the leadership team of Student Engagement & Well-Being will read, review, and carefully consider all your communications – as ultimately, we are accountable to you as our students. In the meantime, the second week of class is complete, and the semester is well underway. Tech Moving Forward is the best, most comprehensive site to stay informed, stay healthy, and stay well. This Student Services and Resource Guide may also be helpful in identifying a network of support.

Together, we are #JacketsMovingForward!