By: Amy Kim
Cassandra Evans says she’s always had a connection to Georgia Tech. So when she returned to campus for a second stint as an employee, it probably was inevitable.
After a few years as a faculty support coordinator in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Evans went to Emory University as an equity and inclusion assistant in the School of Medicine. Yet she couldn’t ignore the pull of Tech and returned to the College of Engineering in September 2022, this time as a project support coordinator in the dean’s office working on faculty affairs and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts.
“I always felt like I would come back, because of the environment and the people I work with,” Evans said.
In the evening, Evans also works as an English teacher, teaching up to three classes a week at the Interactive College of Technology in Chamblee as part of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. She teaches adults who are seeking jobs and promotions.
Evans said she asks each student two questions: “Why are you here? And what is your ultimate goal?”
For Evans, teaching is an innate skill, and what she calls a “yearning” she’s had since she was young. Growing up with an educator mother, Evans got her first taste of teaching as an instructor for the GT 1000 Freshman Seminar.
“My mom is a teacher and I said I would never be one, but I had an itching,” she said. “It’s a little bit in my genes.”
In addition to teaching, Evans is also a self-published author, having released a children’s book in 2019 called A Cache of Cashews.
The book follows a squirrel, Sika, who saves up nuts and helps her community when a big storm comes. “Sika” is a Ghanaian word for money, and Evans hopes to teach young readers about saving money.
“I couldn’t find a children’s book I could read to my daughter about financial planning,” she said. “In 2019, I said ‘I’m going to commit to writing one.’”
Now, Evans is planning her second book, this time inspired by her son. Writing is fulfilling, she said, but never easy.
“I was always good at math and science but writing and reading challenge me because they don’t come naturally,” Evans said. “Writing is something I desire because I know I’m going to have to work for it.”
Wherever she is — whether it’s teaching English or writing about financial literacy or working with her colleagues in the College — Evans said finds herself serving and being inspired by others: “My name, Cassandra, means ‘helper of mankind,’ so I’m always the supporter and helper. I always have a desire to help, and I try to excel in that area.”
Returning to Tech has helped Evans see she was meant to be here.
“There are some environments where it’s just work,” she said. “But at Tech, you get different venues to be yourself and be creative, whatever you’re doing. Your ideas aren’t just on paper, you get to do them in real life.”