Georgia Tech

Forrest Cherry and Kennedy Jackson had no idea why they were being called up to the Mays auditorium stage by representatives from Georgia Tech during an early morning assembly for seniors.

Then Georgia Tech’s assistant director of multicultural recruitment, Kevin Dodson, shocked them both by announcing their acceptance into the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Forrest’s mother, Dr. Chainey Cherry, had to dissuade Forrest from taking a mental health day to catch up on school work because she had been holding the secret of his acceptance to his dream school for three days.

“I’m still in shock,” Forrest said. “I know I put in a lot of hard work to get here. It means a lot because for a long time, since seventh or eighth grade, I’ve said Georgia Tech is where I wanted to go.”

Kennedy, who aspires to be a chemical engineering major, almost didn’t apply to Georgia Tech and doubted her chances of getting in. It took some extra encouragement from her mother, Brittney Jackson, to go for it and apply.

“This was the one school that I was not sure that I was going to get into; I’m actually still in shock,” Kennedy said. “I knew that I’ve always wanted to do engineering and that Tech was like the top engineering school in Georgia. I’m just glad that my mom pushed me to apply.”

Dr. Cherry and Brittney were both present to see the surprise on their child’s faces.

“Kennedy is a very driven student, and she really did not think that she would be getting accepted into Tech, so to see the surprise on her face was nice to see, and she accomplished one of the checks off her list,” Brittney said.

“I’m just really proud, not just as a parent, but I’ve been working at Mays for 12 years, and to see my own baby come through now and go through these amazing experiences it’s just wonderful,” Dr. Cherry said. “As an Atlanta native, hearing about how great the school is and having a kid that has the possibility to have a chance to be a student there is just a great experience.”

Georgia Tech presented Forrest and Kennedy with their acceptance letters along with a Georgia Tech knapsack packed with school paraphernalia.

“We want to make sure that we’re connecting with our local schools,” Dodson said. “I’ve been in recruitment for nine years now, and it never gets old seeing students that choose your institution or just have that desire, especially when it’s not necessarily on their radar.”

“Many students forget about some of the great options that we have here in their backyard,” he added. “I wanted Georgia Tech’s name to resonate more throughout the state and have students understand that they have the capability of making it into Georgia Tech and upon graduation being great contributors to not only our nation, but the world.”

Even after the assembly was dismissed, Forrest continued to stare at his acceptance letter as if to make sure it was real, and Kennedy remained shocked at what just happened. But both were excited to know that after graduation, Georgia Tech is a real option for them.

“That’s why we do this work. It’s to make sure that we prepare students for what’s next after high school,” Mays High School principal Ramon Garner said. “To know that the hard work that these students have put in is being rewarded with being accepted into one of the best institutions not only in this state but, in my mind, in the country, is really rewarding, and I feel proud as a principal just to be a part of these kids’ story.”