Meet Our Advisors
Reagan Hicks
Reagan is a third year Biology and Psychology double major, and she dabbles in neuroscience as a Neuroscience 2001 TA. Her official residence is in Macon, Georgia, but she considers herself a citizen of the world, having traveled to 5 continents and plans to hit all of them by her 30th birthday. Reagan enjoys cooking new dishes, cosplaying (badly), and going on hikes - but she is down to try anything new! In the past year, she has gotten SCUBA certified, run a half marathon - with plans to run a full one this coming year! - and went skydiving. Most of the experiences she has gained through the seek discomfort lifestyle have been things she never would have considered doing before, but Reagan is extremely grateful that she got the opportunity, and gumption, to try. Due to this new mindset, Reagan has sought new challenges not only personally but also professionally in giving her the courage to change her life plans by double majoring, having added the Psychology major just this past spring semester. Around campus, you can find her researching neural development genes in tunicates and training to be a Peer Coach (and searching for the campus cats).
Her goals this year are to deepen her current relationships and form new ones - lots of them! She loves to meet new people and is very excited to get to know and grow with this year’s SEEDlings. Her passion for developing connections and encouraging growth drove her to be an officer for the Seek Discomfort Club on campus in her first and second years. She is the only advisor this year to never have been a SEEDling, only having learned about Seek Discomfort through the club, so Reagan will be experiencing the FLO experience for the first time along with this year’s SEEDlings!
Shalini Mehra
Shalini Mehra is an industrial engineering major from Jacksonville, Florida. (Go Jags!! #DUUUVAL) She doesn’t know quite yet what she’ll be doing with that industrial engineering degree but she does plan to have fun. Shalini loves to explore and one of her favorite activities is to roam different parts of Jacksonville or Atlanta and people watch. On campus you can find her trying out a new club, a new food at wednesday market, or on one of her day-long CULC grinds (where she mainly yaps and rarely locks in). At home, Shalini loves to go to the beach for the sunrise, hang out with her family, and share wonderful food with her amazing friends. Overall, Shalini enjoys the work hard, play hard culture at Georgia Tech which inspires her to take on challenges and is so grateful she found some lifelong friendships at a place that is starting to feel like home.
For Shalini, joining SEED was one of the best choices she made at Georgia Tech. It gave her opportunities to do activities that were so fun but also difficult and ultimately led to a lot of self growth. She loves being surrounded by people who are some of the funniest, supportive, inspiring, beautiful, and overall amazing people she knows. They make the late nights in the library fun, the difficult days not as hard, and most importantly, help celebrate each other's wins. With SEED, Shalini is learning to challenge herself in new ways and find new heights to reach.
Taylor Witte
Taylor is a second-year student pursuing degrees in economics & mathematics with plans to continue her studies at the graduate level. Having largely grown up in Colorado, she enjoys all things outdoors, but no, she has never skied or snowboarded (yet). When not on the seventh floor of Crosland, you may find Taylor lifting weights at the CRC, playing the guitar, or giving tours as an Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts student ambassador. She also spends time volunteering with various GT service organizations and researching in the economics department. Since beginning her tenure at Georgia Tech, Taylor has leaned into the rigorous and rewarding student culture, and has challenged herself to achieve in ways she never could have imagined.
In joining SEED, Taylor began to recognize the unique importance and power of cultivating communities of support for first-year students at Georgia Tech. Through this FLO, she made lasting memories, met amazing friends, and truly redefined her limits in several different arenas. With the support of her involvement in this club, she was able to apply the ideals of seeking discomfort in meaningful ways as a student at Tech. In the upcoming year, Taylor is excited to grow alongside and support the next group of Seedlings in their journey of growth at Georgia Tech!
Ateendra Subramanian
Ateendra is a second-year Neuroscience major with a heavy interest in the neural control of movement. He hopes to attend medical school and eventually become a physician. Ateendra is originally from Johns Creek Georgia, a gorgeous suburb just outside of Atlanta, and believes to be an expert of all things Atlanta(He Isn't!). This past year at Georgia Tech, Ateendra has run a half marathon, played in a cricket world cup, traveled to two new continents, and made some of his closest friends. On campus, you can often find him at Crossland (almost never studying), running the Pi Mile, eating at Twisted Taco, or working in his research lab. Next year, you might also see him giving tours, as he just got certified (sort of).
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Joining SEED, Ateendra found confidence and contentment in who he was. SEED provided him with a platform to take on discomforting challenges without worrying about failure or consequences. By continually breaking through his perceived limitations, he gained a greater sense of self-confidence. This transformation wouldn't have been possible without the supportive SEED community, which fostered an environment that allowed him to be himself. Additionally, by breaking boundaries with his peers, he made some of his closest friends, as he believes shared experiences are key to forming lifelong friendships. Over the next year, he is excited to cultivate a community that strives to be inclusive and helps each member become a better version of themselves.
Madhav Gulati
Madhav is a second-year at Georgia Tech studying Electrical Engineering, and lives by the mantra “word hard, play harder”. He was born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of Atlanta, and loves to explore new places around GT and Atlanta. In his free time, he loves to build new gadgets out of whatever spare parts he can find. When he’s not at the library, you can probably find him practicing guitar (he like jazz!), working at GT Solar Racing, researching semiconductors at his research lab, or lifting weights at the CRC. He is also involved at the HIVE Makerspace as a PI, helping others with their builds as well as creating his own top secret (not really) projects. This past year at GT, he’s ran a half-marathon and studied abroad in Metz, France.
Joining SEED was one of the best decisions that Madhav made after coming to Georgia Tech. Not only did it give him a chance to participate in some crazy activities, but it gave him a new mindset on pushing himself to constantly meet new people and try new things – and to redefine failure as improvement. It gave him a newfound confidence in himself and sparked a journey of self-growth. Through SEED, he has met some of his best friends, and joined a close community of individuals from all facets of GT that leans on each other for support and celebrates each other’s successes. In his next year at Tech, Madhav is excited to meet the next group of SEEDlings and help them on their new journey of growth and discomfort.
Stacey Doremus
Stacey Doremus is currently fulfilling her passion of investing in students’ leadership development as an instructor, leadership coach and program director within the Office of Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) at Georgia Tech. Before coming to Georgia Tech, Stacey held a variety of positions within the corporate world focusing on marketing and innovative product design and development. She has a professional affiliation with the International Leadership Association and the Institute of Coaching at McLean, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate (a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring scientific integrity in the field of coaching). She holds a Master’s in Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. How does this apply to her work at Georgia Tech? Aside from sparking her passion for teaching, her MDiv experience taught her the importance of practicing compassion to self and others while seeking to improve the human condition and creating solutions to the world’s social problems. As Mahatma Gandhi once said - “Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use”. She believes it is not enough to show empathy we must take action as well.
Outside of Georgia Tech (or at Tech) you will find her training her “Porkie” (Yorkshire Terrier and Pomeranian mix) puppy, Blitz, and pushing her limits in swimming, weight training and scuba diving. Her training is in preparation for a Great White cage dive off the coast of Australia.
She is beyond excited to work alongside all of you as you step into your discomfort zone, the place where your mind is most open for learning. She hopes that you will join us on this growth journey towards your best self!