When Wil Lutz arrived at Georgia State in the spring of 2012, he was a skinny walk-on football player with braces on his teeth. Since then, he’s gone on to become one of the best placekickers in the National Football League. In 2019, the New Orleans Saints star made it to his first Pro-Bowl. He finished his college career as Georgia State’s leader in games played, field goals and extra points made, and overall points scored. Full story.

Alaina Percival is on a mission. As CEO of Women Who Code, she’s helping women break the glass ceiling in the tech industry. Among the organization’s 167,000 members worldwide, 80 percent report that it has helped them advance in their careers. When Percival talks about Women Who Code’s ultimate goal, her answer is surprising, but makes perfect sense. “We want to put ourselves out of business,” she says. Full story.

After a horrific motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down, Ignacio Montoya began developing one of the most advanced paralysis recovery therapies ever attempted. Montoya is his own patient, and he plans to walk again. After that, he intends to fly — and he’s shooting for the stars. He’s on NASA’s highly qualified applicant list to become an astronaut and he hopes to go to space as soon as this year. Full story.

Cities aren’t born smart. Smart people like Lillie Madali make them that way. Madali is the director of Atlanta’s Smart City Program where she leads efforts to leverage technology for more efficient operations, faster and better services, and governmental transparency. When she’s not working to improve how Atlanta works, she’s a DJ (she once performed for President Barack Obama) and podcast host. Full story.