Rock, Paper, Scissors, Science!

Science ATL is honored, grateful, (and surprised!) to receive a $50,000 donation from the Kimley-Horn Foundation. This incredible gift came to us because Thomas Glueckert, a civil engineer at Kimley-Horn and an Atlanta Science Festival volunteer, entered his company’s charity RockPaperScissors tournament where his 3rd place finish won him this tremendous donation for Science ATL!!

It all started with a strange phone call one afternoon in December. The person on the other end of the line wanted to know if it was too late for his company to make a donation to support Science ATL. “Sir, it’s never too late…” Apparently, Tom had bested hundreds of his colleagues to win the southeastern region of this wacky charity tournament, qualifying him to win $5000 for his chosen charity. And he chose us! Better yet, Tom was advancing to the national finals against eight of his fellow employees/arch-rivals. His company, Kimley-Horn, had set up this contest as a fun way to engage their employees in corporate social responsibility, allowing employees to have a voice in the company’s charitable giving. Because Tom had had such a good time volunteering at the Atlanta Science Festival a few years ago, and because he believed in our mission, he selected Science ATL as his charity to play for.

“I picked Science ATL because they provide equitable access to STEM outreach programs in the greater Atlanta metro area, and I think it’s really important that we cultivate the next generation of engineers, mathematicians, and scientists for the future.” – Thomas Glueckert

Not a natural expert at Rock, Paper, Scissors, Tom didn’t think much of his chances. But, after reviewing the literature, and instituting a daily training regimen of wrist calisthenics, intimidation tactics, and a key Big Bang Theory episode, he knew he had a fighting chance.

 

Ultimately, Tom finished in 3rd place, winning $50,000 for Science ATL, strengthening our work to build an equitable community of science lovers in metro Atlanta. Thank you, Kimley-Horn Foundation! And thank you, Tom!

If you’d like to follow in Tom’s footsteps, you can get involved with Science ATL now: volunteer, donate, or get your company involved – just reach out to Executive co-Director, Jordan Rose at [email protected].