CORNELIA, Ga. — Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera brought his annual summer tour to Cornelia on Tuesday, using the visit to emphasize Georgia Tech’s role in communities across Georgia and its longstanding connections to industries that have shaped Northeast Georgia.
Held at Community Brew & Tap, the gathering drew approximately 50 alumni, students, community leaders and Georgia Tech supporters. Some attendees traveled only a few miles to attend, while others made the trip from much farther away, including South Georgia, to meet the university’s leadership team.
Attendees had the opportunity to meet Cabrera, see the Ramblin’ Wreck and Buzz, Georgia Tech’s beloved mascot, and hear updates on the university’s growth, research initiatives and economic impact.
Back row, left to right: Cornelia Mayor John Borrow and Oaky Dover. (Photo by Habersham News)
For Cabrera, however, the visit was about more than alumni engagement.
Cabrera said Georgia Tech’s responsibility is not limited to educating students on its Atlanta campus. The university, he said, exists to serve the entire state through research, innovation and community partnerships.
“We’re not the Atlanta Institute of Technology. We’re the Georgia Institute of Technology,” Cabrera said, drawing applause from attendees.
The remark underscored a recurring theme throughout the evening: that communities such as Cornelia and Habersham County are just as important to the university’s mission as Georgia’s largest cities.
The Cornelia stop was part of Cabrera’s fifth annual summer tour, an initiative that takes Georgia Tech leaders into communities across the state to meet with alumni, elected officials, business leaders and residents. Cabrera said the tours help the university better understand the needs of communities outside metropolitan Atlanta while reinforcing Georgia Tech’s statewide mission.
“We try to cover as much of the state as we can,” Cabrera said in an interview with Habersham News. “They spend a lot of time thinking about where our alums are, businesses that have connections with Georgia Tech, places where we can learn, where Georgia Tech can learn what happens in the state, how people live in the state, so that Georgia Tech can be more useful.”
Cabrera said those visits serve as a reminder that Georgia Tech’s influence extends far beyond Atlanta.
“It’s way too easy to get into your little bubble, you’re in Atlanta, you think the world is what you see around you,” he said. “No, we have to get out.”
During his remarks, Cabrera highlighted Northeast Georgia’s poultry industry as one example of the university’s impact outside major urban centers. He noted that Georgia Tech has played a role in supporting the industry for decades through research and technological innovation.
Cabrera pointed to Georgia Tech’s longstanding ties to Northeast Georgia, particularly its role in helping support the region’s poultry industry.
“You know how important the poultry industry has been for northeast Georgia,” Cabrera said. “I’ve learned over the years how important a role Georgia Tech played in supporting that industry.”
He said the university continues to serve communities across Georgia through research, workforce development and innovation.
Cabrera told attendees that Georgia Tech received more than 68,000 applications this year, making it one of the most selective public universities in the country. He also highlighted the institute’s position as one of the nation’s leading research universities and its role in helping attract businesses and investment to Georgia.
According to Cabrera, Georgia Tech’s impact can be found throughout the state, from advanced manufacturing and transportation to agriculture and emerging technologies.
“Everywhere we go in the state, we find the same thing,” he said. “The impact that we have is not just in Atlanta.”
The event also showcased the strength of Georgia Tech’s alumni network. Dean Sheehan, president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, said the organization now serves approximately 227,000 alumni worldwide.
“It’s a blessed opportunity for me to be able to represent our alumni family,” Sheehan said.
Among those attending Tuesday’s event were state Reps. Matt Dubnik, Emory Dunahoo and Victor Anderson, as well as local alumni and incoming Georgia Tech students.
Community Brew & Tap event coordinator Susan Wagner said hosting the gathering was an easy decision when Georgia Tech representatives contacted her about the event.
“As soon as I called him back, I was like, I’m going to make this happen,” Wagner said.
Cabrera’s remarks also included an unexpected nod to Habersham News and local history efforts in the community. Speaking to the crowd, he encouraged attendees to follow local historian and Habersham News publisher Peter Madruga’s work documenting the area’s past, including research related to Cornelia’s iconic Big Red Apple.
For Cabrera, the tour remains one of the most important parts of his role as president.
“What keeps me motivated is that it’s core to who we are and what we do,” he said. “Every year, it just forces you to think how deep and wide our mission and our impact is.”
As Cabrera’s summer tour continues across Georgia, he said those face-to-face conversations help ensure the university remains connected to the communities it serves — including places like Cornelia, where Georgia Tech’s influence may be less visible than in Atlanta but remains deeply woven into the region’s economy and history.
