Posted by James
In the last installment of “Meet Your Wardens” we take a look at our “temporary RA,” Ola Johnson (pictured on the left). Ola is considered the third tier RA and provides assistance to Angel and Lara. This includes filling in for them when they travel, assistance in situations needing extra care, etc.
Ola is a third year Mechanical Engineering Student from Lagos, Nigeria. Speaking to Ola, it is clear to see how his life and personality have affected him. Ola speaks in a very passionate and direct manner, usually with ensuing laughter or smiles all around. From my first days at Georgia Tech Lorraine I kept hearing the name “Ola.” Ola’s so good at Ping Pong, Ola the cool RA, Ola this, Ola that. He was very popular and made friends with everyone early on. Friendships and getting to know people were one of Ola’s many reasons for becoming an RA. He didn’t plan to travel as much and simply wanted to become involved in a community while studying abroad. Working as a PL, or Freshman Experience Peer Leader, at the Atlanta campus every semester, Ola felt it was time to take the next step with more responsibility. Once again, the term community is part of our RA’s vocabulary. The signs bode well for the GTL campus becoming a close-knit group of friends.
Ola has only recently become acquainted with the US, visiting the first time for college in Atlanta. Originally planning to follow his family to London and pursue higher education there, Ola has an interesting story for picking Georgia Tech. The sister of his high school roommate went to Tech and invited him for a visit. After seeing the rankings and visiting, he became a fully-fledged Yellow Jacket. Since then Ola has been completing 2.5 straight years of school or 7 straight semester of Tech. From speaking to Ola it is clear to see he is a very intelligent, driven young man. Midway through the interview the conversation turned as he began asking questions of me and used his inquisitive nature to gain yet another friend. The topics quickly change to our travel plans and where we went in past weeks. This in turn led to bond much stronger than just friendship, but one between soccer fans, one between United – Manchester United – fans!
Eventually getting back to the interview, Ola revealed his reasons for his particular major. He chose Mechanical Engineering to be able to work in any field. He wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to do later in life. Stating “I didn’t want to choose something specific, I knew I didn’t want to be specialized.” This prompted him to choose a field that has very wide applications. However, one thing he is truly interested in is computer science and artificial intelligence. Therefore, he is also pursuing a minor in Artificial Intelligence.
Our second RA who is an international student, and our third who speaks multiple languages, Ola rounds out our already impressive roster of RA’s for this semester. With community being part his motto as well, Georgia Tech Lorraine students can sleep well assured that this semester will be unlike any in Atlanta, and perhaps the rest of college.