By Yvonne Medina
Nicole Wilson’s journey from HOPE Scholarship recipient to establishing a scholarship in her mentor’s name, the Fred Cook scholarship, is a story about hard work and innovation, but it is mostly one of gratitude.
Wilson grew up in Atlanta’s Toco Hills neighborhood with three siblings and a single mother who opened five local restaurants while her children were in school. Wilson’s mother worked hard to put her children in private schools where they could thrive and be challenged academically, and Wilson’s passion for math and science remained consistent across her primary and secondary schooling. When she was deciding where to go to college, Wilson said she had two options: the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia. With four children planning to attend college, Nicole’s mother told her she needed to go to a state school with a scholarship. Tech was her first choice, and she was elated when she was accepted early with the HOPE Scholarship.
Wilson started at Tech as a chemical engineering major, but after spending her summers in a variety of internships, was discouraged when she realized she was not finding what she was looking for in the chemical engineering program. She thought to herself, “I like clothes; let’s give the textile engineering school a try.” Wilson and her mom met with Professor Fred Cook, now a professor emeritus. After spending some time working with Cook, Wilson was convinced that textiles was the area she wanted to work in, and she joined the School of Polymer, Textile, and Fiber Engineering (predecessor to the School of Materials Science and Engineering). Wilson enjoyed the program’s small community where she could get to know faculty and staff more personally. Furthermore, the School offered abundant scholarship opportunities provided by manufacturers and other stakeholders who wanted to encourage American students to work in manufacturing.
Wilson’s degree in polymer and textile chemistry prepared her well for her role as entrepreneur and president. “Georgia Tech had a huge impact on my life,” Wilson said, giving her technical and research skills to solve problems and make an impact in her community. Her undergraduate research project prepared her to experiment and innovate, which laid the groundwork for developing a successful solution in the water filtration industry. Now Wilson wants to give to the opportunities that come with a Georgia Tech degree to current and future students. To do that, she has funded a scholarship named for the mentor who helped her explore materials science, Fred Cook.
Wilson said, “everyone deserves to have the same opportunity and same education.” Georgia is one of two states in the U.S. that does not offer scholarship assistance to students with limited income. In academic year 2022-23, about 25% of MSE’s undergraduate students needed assistance. While the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship programs continue to support approximately half the cost of attendance for Georgia residents, there remain students in MSE who rely on additional scholarship funding to bridge the gap. This is where help from funds like the Fred Cook Scholarship come in.
At home, Wilson is an advocate for MSE. Every time she meets a high school student who expresses any interest in engineering, she highlights materials science, coming full circle to that impactful meeting she had with her mother years ago in Cook’s office.
To learn more about scholarships and other ways to support students through Transforming Tomorrow: the Campaign for Georgia Tech, please visit: https://development.gatech.edu/