Stella was fortunate to secure campus housing, which was awarded by lottery back then. She became a resident advisor and found a sense of community with the other women on campus. At the time, the ratio of men to women at the Institute was 12-to-1, and she was one of just six women to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree in her class.

Though she had a musical background, Stella was adamant that she wouldn’t play in the Yellow Jacket Marching Band. Instead, she threw herself into her studies and responsibilities in the residence hall.

Thirty years later, Margaret followed in her mother’s footsteps. Like Stella, she was drawn to Georgia Tech’s academic reputation and inspired by her parents' experiences.

Margaret began her journey as a physics major but soon switched to nuclear and radiological engineering (NRE). Ironically, the change was motivated by her desire to avoid graduate school, though she would go on to earn her master’s degree at Tech.

When Margaret joined the Woodruff School, the NRE program had one of its highest enrollments, but women remained significantly underrepresented. Similar to her mom, she was one of just five women to graduate with a nuclear engineering degree in her class.

"You get used to it after a little while," said Margaret. "I felt like the spokesperson for the women at times, especially when the male students wanted to use our bathroom when the only bathroom on our floor was the women's."

While on campus, Margaret served as the president of the Georgia Tech student chapter of the American Nuclear Society and was active in student groups like the Christian Campus Fellowship. And when challenges arose, she leaned on a trusted source of wisdom and experience – her mom.

"I was struggling with a course in my senior year, and it looked like I would have to repeat it,” Margaret recalled. “I remember calling my mother in tears, not knowing what to do, and her just telling me it was going to be okay. That yesterday or tomorrow would look the same regardless of this course, and though it would be hard work, it would be okay."

Margaret admits she may not have fully appreciated the sentiment at the time. But, looking back, she sees her mother’s advice as a blend of love and hard-earned knowledge from someone who had walked the same path.

Though their journeys followed similar trajectories, a big difference in their time at Georgia Tech was the band. While Stella stepped away from music to focus on engineering, Margaret found her place in the Yellow Jacket Marching Band, playing the very same trombone her mother once had. She joined after meeting director Chris Moore during orientation and remained involved throughout her time on campus.

Reflecting on their time at Tech, both women agree the Institute was more than an academic stop – it was where they defined their paths and built the confidence to tackle complex challenges.

Margaret saw nuclear engineering as the perfect intersection of her early interest in physics and her family’s engineering legacy. For Stella, mechanical engineering provided the rigorous environment she craved and opened the door to a fulfilling career in manufacturing.

"It was such a defining time of my life and truly shaped the person I became," said Margaret.

"During my whole career, I never felt like there was a problem that I couldn't solve. Georgia Tech taught me how to think on my feet," said Stella.

This Mother's Day, the Sudderth’s story reminds us that paths may change, but the shared grit, laughter, and wisdom passed between generations, painted in Georgia Tech gold, is forever.