Paxten, Gibbs win Mr. and Ms. GT

At Saturday’s Homecoming football game, the winners of the Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech titles were announced. The honors went to Kirsten Gibbs, a fourth year biology student, and Michael Paxten, a fourth year biomedical engineer.

“I was very shocked,” Gibbs said. “I didn’t expect it at all. At first I didn’t even realize that they had called my name...It was a very exciting day.”

The naming of the new Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech takes place every year, and Kirsten Gibbs explained the process.

“Any student organization can nominate you, then from there you submit an application, which is basically your GPA, your activities and the honors you’ve received. You also write a paragraph about your career aspirations,” Gibbs said.

“From there you have your picture taken [to be displayed in the Student Center], and then you have an interview. The panelists that interview you typically consist of previous Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech winners, a dean or professor and an alumni...so the panel represents different aspects of campus.”

“From your interview [the panelists] narrow it down from the initial twenty people to ten, and then the students vote based on the bios that are posted in the Student Center and also just on how well they know you,” Gibbs said. “Then it is narrowed down to five people, which is announced at the [Homecoming] talent show, and those are the five people that get to go out on the field escorted by their family and friends.”

"[The decision is based on] half your interview and half student vote. I think that having clear career aspirations and always working towards those made a big difference in my interview portion. Most of the things I’ve been involved with directly relate to what I want to do, and other than that, I would say that trying to be around a diverse group of people. I think in the end that’s what makes a difference in the student vote.”

Paxten had a similar view about the importance of being involved with people, as well.

“In organizations you meet a lot of different people, and being involved in all those different things can help to span you across campus,” said Paxten.

“Don’t limit yourself,” said Pax-ten. “Try to go out and do the things you want to do-get involved on campus. Being busy actually helps my grades, too.”

“I think that balance is the key,” said Gibbs. “There are a lot of leaders on campus that get overwhelmed with what they do, and I think it’s important to limit your activities to what you’re actually interested in. You can make a broader impact that way...getting to know people while you’re here.”

Gibbs also expressed admiration for her fellow Ms. Georgia Tech participants.

“I was really just honored to be considered in that class of women because I think that most of the people who were nominated are pretty stellar leaders on campus,” said Gibbs.

Gibbs was nominated by her sorority, Phi Mu, while Alpha Chi Omega appointed Paxten. Gibbs will be graduating in spring 2004, and Paxten will follow the subsequentspring. Both are planning to attend medical school.

Gibbs, who has a 4.0 GPA, participates in such clubs and activities as Ambassadors, Executive Round Table and Omicron Delta Kappa. She is a Psych 1000 leader and is president of the Panhellenic Society.

Michael Paxten also actively contributes on campus through activities such as the Executive Round Table, intramurals and Ambassadors and he is the Administrative Vice President of Interfraternity Council, as well as former president of Beta Theta Pi. He currently has a 3.76 GPA.