Never Settle: Meet Michelle George

Want some #MondayMotivation? Check out Quinnell’s interview with grad student Michelle, who is pursuing what she loves – no matter what – in her studies and travels while at Georgia Tech-Lorraine.

Michelle George is taking advantage of all Georgia Tech has to offer! As a graduate student at Georgia Tech Lorraine pursuing her Masters in electrical and computer engineering with a concentration in systems and controls, also completed her Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech. Originally from Massachusetts, when Michelle went to Georgia Tech for her undergraduate degree, it was her first time ever being in the south – and therefore the state of Georgia.

Even though her time at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and being abroad while pursuing her Masters has been fun, she hopes to live in the northeast when she begins working full-time in automation controls. With this being Michelle’s first semester at GTL, it was nice to hear her comparison of going to Georgia Tech in Atlanta and in Metz, France, since she has been exposed to both as an undergraduate and graduate student. She says, “At Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the community is huge in comparison to that of GTL. Here there are much fewer students, and even fewer graduate students so I have been able to get tight with a lot of them. It’s also a really different atmosphere than the campus in Atlanta because it’s more personable, and I get to know all the administrators and teachers more personally. It’s really nice.” She emphasized how much more comfortable she is going to office hours to speak with professors. We both shared how before at the campus in Atlanta, how we would usually not go to office hours, while at GTL it feels much more comfortable to do so. We both agreed that since GTL really has a strong community aspect, class feels less impersonal and we feel more connected with our peers as students.

While at GTL, Michelle has had the opportunity to travel to some amazing places, knocking Cologne, Colmar, Brussels, Zurich, and London off of her travel bucket list! Since traveling around France and Europe, she says that it has helped build more confidence in herself and she has become more comfortable with traveling to different places. Before traveling around France, she would be worried about doing something wrong, not knowing the language, or unintentionally disrespecting others cultures. As she has traveled more, she has overcome those fears and now believes that as long as you try your best and get out of your comfort zone, that’s what truly matters. Michelle has become much more confident than when she first came here – even taking a couple solo trips – and remains determined to travel as much as possible.

Michelle enjoying all that London has to offer!

Something really cool that I learned about Michelle is her interest and appreciation of theatre and the arts. When Michelle is in Atlanta, she usually would volunteer her time at theatres in Atlanta. Since Europe is such a rich place to experience and learn about the arts, Michelle has really tried to take advantage of seeing what it has to offer in Europe and in Metz! When she was in Brussels, she went saw the Belgium National Orchestra. “It was incredible,” she sais. “They had this one soloist that’s insanely good, and he played my favorite piece I never heard before live, and it blew my mind!” It was nice to hear that even though she is studying engineering, which isn’t strongly associated with the arts, she tries to enjoy the theatre and arts when she can.

Michelle George is a fun, hard working young woman that truly goes for it, and doesn’t try to take the easy way out of things. She is passionate about what she likes and what she wants, and will not let anyone stop her. When she isn’t practicing her French, watching operas, traveling, or studying, she is working on staying true to what she wants for her future and not settling.