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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: December 22, 2015
Steven Norris
Social Media Manager, Georgia Tech
Summary Sentence:
Georgia Tech business students use the holidays as a perfect opportunity to thank a security guard who brightens their day.
Full Summary:
Georgia Tech business students hoped to raise $100 to thank a security guard who often brightens their day. They surprised him with an even bigger amount, and showed the true spirit of the holiday season.
Georgia Tech Students Pay It Forward With Holiday Surprise
Georgia Tech Students Pay It Forward With Holiday SurpriseThe holidays provide a great opportunity to pay it forward, and a group of Georgia Tech business students had the perfect recipient in mind.
"He is the most positive person, he brings so much energy to us everyday," Conor Lange says of Marcus Burns, a security guard for the Scheller College of Business.
Lange says Burns knows most of the students by name and brings candy to lift the students’ spirits every Wednesday. They wanted to use the holiday season as an opportunity to say thanks.
Lange and a couple of classmates hoped they could pull together $100 to surprise Burns for the holidays. Once word got out of the plan, money started pouring in.
Students raised $1,600 in just over 24 hours. Dozens of Georgia Tech business students were on hand and the surprise was recorded by cellphone video.
“It’s not about the money,” Lange said, handing a card to Burns. “It’s about how many people donated to show you how much we appreciate you every day."
The video has been viewed over 400,000 times on Georgia Tech’s Facebook page.
It has been shared by @GAFollowers on Twitter. Both the NBC and Fox television stations in Atlanta have shared the video as well, racking up over 2 million more views through those outlets.
On social media, the video prompted more stories of Marcus Burns’s good deeds.
One Facebook comment reads: “I saw this man everyday. Before interviews, before exams, before presentations — he always encouraged me and truly cares about the lives of the students that surround him.”
Another post reads: “Awww I remember him! I got sick one day and he helped me to my car!”
Business student Caroline Cusick says the holiday surprise couldn’t have gone to anyone better.
“I had tears in my eyes. I had goosebumps,” Cusick says. “You see how much someone gives to you and if you can give back you see how it affects them, it’s just really awesome.”
Burns told students that he planned to use the gift to take his family out for a fun night of dinner and bowling for the holidays.
“He’s really a role model,” Lange says. “I just hope I can make an impact on people like he has.”
