Georgia Tech Is A Class Act All The Way Around

Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt (9) and wide receiver Quentin Sims (23)
show Flat Stanley around the football offices.

Georgia Tech is scheduled to play in the Orange Bowl tomorrow, so the excitement around here, well at least for me anyway, is high. The Yellow Jackets have had a good season winning the ACC Championship along the way, but it appears they had a little help along the way.

That help came in the form of a fifth grader and a fictional character known as Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley has been around for a while. It is the product of children's book in which the main character was squished by a bullentin and now teachers use it as a tool to help students to learn about foreign cultures or subjects to get children interested in studying. The basic concept is that students create a figure known as Flat Stanley and send it to an organization or person that they wish to learn more about. Included in a Flat Stanley package normally are a notebook or diary for the recipient to write about what they do.

Well one teacher put all of the top 25 college football programs into a hat and one young lady drew Georgia Tech, but the response she has gotten back has been nothing short of fantastic, and all the credit goes to the men and women of the Ramblin Wreck athletic department.

"I just though they might send back Flat Stanley and something written in the journal," Ansley said. "When I got him back it was a really big surprise and I was really happy."

Flat Stanley had dictated his travels, which included helping to fly the plane and leading cheers on the sidelines, to Johnson's secretary, Teri Anton:

"I have gotten to be pretty important around the Tech football office over my time here. The players are always looking for my advice and opinions about things. We like to hang out in the lunch room and eat and eat and eat!"

Anton sent another package on Monday with the journal and items commemorating the Jackets' ACC championship. Another will be sent after the Orange Bowl.

"Even coach's wife will make sure to ask if we have Flat Stanley with us," Anton said.

I think it is important for each of us from time to time to take just a few moments and think about how what may seem like a little thing to us can have a profound impact in the lives of our children. Georgia Tech has certainly delivered on that and are to be commended for their actions.

"By far, this year, Georgia Tech has done more for Flat Stanley that any of our other teams," said Heuer, who has been teaching for the past 35 years.

Heuer said Georgia Tech's kindness has inspired her kids. One student learned he had a family member who went to Tech. Another wants to do better at math so he can apply.

"Georgia Tech is a really nice college. I think I might want to go there when I grow up," said Alex Zarghese, who is a classmate of Ansley's.

I hope the Ramblin Wreck makes a whole lot of Flat Stanley's out of Iowa since they snubbed the student who sent them a Flat Stanley.

In comparison, Iowa hasn't responded to the student who picked that school out of the hat.