A day in the life of Nick Picon

Photo Courtesy of Georgia Tech News

Finishing AE and CS homework in the middle of the night, attending the fraternity’s formal, teaching prospective students about Tech. All of these activities on top of being SGA President.

This is the year that Nick Picon has been waiting for since he began as freshman class representative for SGA.

Overall, his daily life is run by one intimidating Google Calendar, packed from beginning to end, and more often than not, overlapping. It’s not easy for him to go to bed around 3 a.m. and then be on point early in the morning, but he gets it done one way or another.

The Florida native’s typical morning begins at 9 a.m. (but sometimes as early as 7 a.m.), where he likes to go into his office, pour a cup of coffee and chow down on his Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit. He frequents the restaurant so often that many students believe that free Chick-Fil-A is a perk you get for being SGA president. Sadly, its not.

Fast forward a few hours, and his inbox is still getting swamped with email after email after email. An “easier” day will entail around 120 emails, but he has received anywhere up to around 150 in just one day.

Once he’s finished his meetings for the day, caught up on his emails, and then, just like a normal student, he has class in less than 20 minutes.

“My absolute favorite class has been High Speed Aerodynamics with Dr. Stephen Ruffin, and the most challenging for sure has been Aircraft and Spacecraft Flight Dynamics. And for some reason, that’s what I will pursue after I graduate,” Picon said.

As soon as he has checked off everything on his to-do list for the time being, instead of holing up in his room, Picon makes a point to go and find a friend or two.

“It’s crucial to build and nurture college relationships, because these people could be your lifelong friends,” Picon stressed. “Some of my favorite moments are spent just sitting on the Sig Ep porch or joking around with people in the SGA office.”

According to Picon, the best thing to do in free time, though, if potentially breaking campus rules doesn’t seem too terrifying, is to look over Tech’s campus from the top of Tech Tower.

“Not everyone can go up there, but it is a gorgeous view if you’re presented the opportunity,” he said. “I’m kind of obsessed with the Atlanta skyline though. I got to go in a helicopter once, and we told him to hover over Bobby Dodd Stadium… seeing that view from a helicopter is indescribable.”

The life of an SGA President is all fun and games though, Picon works diligently to change Tech for the better in as many ways as possible.

His administration has passed more than a few bills, but one of the changes he is most proud of is to the academic calendar. It will be implemented in three semesters or so. The change involves Dead Week consisting of no classes on Monday to Wednesday, with exams beginning that Thursday. Students will then have a weekend in the middle of exams to continue studying.

After dinner and friends, Picon heads off to sometimes upwards of five more meetings. Then Picon begins his homework, hopefully before the clock strikes midnight. As soon as possible, he goes to bed in an attempt to get just enough sleep.

Like so many of his other days as SGA President, Picon wakes up early and lives “the dream” all over again.

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