Not everyone can get home for Thanksgiving, but Georgia Tech is making sure every student has a place to spend the holiday.

Through the university’s growing “Home for the Holidays” program, faculty and staff volunteer to host students who remain in Atlanta during the long weekend. For many, it has become a new and meaningful tradition that bridges cultures, generations, and the campus community in a uniquely Georgia Tech way.

This year, Vice President for External Communications Blair Meeks and his family welcomed a group of students into their Decatur home for their first time participating in the program.

“There’s just so much fun and joy and love,” Meeks said. “It’s a really special time, and the chance for us to share this moment with students is fantastic.”

A family tradition turns into a community celebration

The Meeks family says Thanksgiving has always been their favorite holiday. Now, they’re sharing it — down to the smallest details — with their Yellow Jacket guests. Nine-year-old Tyson Meeks even hand-crafted labels for every dish on the table.

“I’m really thankful for them,” he said. “I would love hosting other people at my house.”

When students began arriving — some from right down the road, others from across the world — the family welcomed them with open arms.

“Welcome! Come on in!” host Shirrell Meeks told each student at the door.

Students shared that the gesture made Atlanta feel a little more like home.

For international students, a first taste of Thanksgiving

For Elena Zhang, an Australian student experiencing her first American Thanksgiving, the day was not just about the food but about connection.

“I was curious to see what a normal Thanksgiving lunch would look like and just meet a few new people,” Zhang said.

Christina Tran, who admits she’s usually nervous meeting new people, said the program pushed her out of her comfort zone in the best way.

“There are just so many nice people,” she said. “I’m so happy I applied.”

For Alex Canedo, this wasn’t his first time; he returned for a second straight year.

“A lot of my friends at other schools don’t have anything like this,” Canedo said. “It’s nice to stay in Atlanta and have a place to go.”

Students told CBS Atlanta they hope other universities begin similar programs – especially for those who can’t travel or don’t have family nearby – because it makes the holidays feel a little more like home.

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ATLANTA – Thanksgiving morning is off to a cold and blustery start across North Georgia, with wind chills dipping into the 30s and breezy conditions expected through the afternoon. Despite full sunshine, temperatures will struggle to climb out of the low 50s — and even then, it won’t feel that warm thanks to persistent northwest winds.

How it’s starting:

At 6 a.m., Atlanta was at 39 degrees with a north-northwest wind near 14 mph, enough to lower the wind chill and make conditions feel several degrees colder. The combination of dry air and gusty winds will continue throughout the day, creating an elevated fire risk and making outdoor burning unsafe.

Across the region, wind chills early Thursday ranged from the upper 20s to low 30s. Carrollton and Blairsville both reported “feels-like” temperatures in the 20s, while Thomaston saw wind chills around 29 degrees. Gusts of 20 to 25 mph are possible through the afternoon before gradually easing on Friday.

Thanksgiving Thursday
☀️ Sunny, breezy, cold
High: 50–52°
Feels like: 40s (wind chills in 30s through late morning)
Wind: NW 15–25 mph
Fire risk: Elevated — avoid outdoor burning

Tonight
🌙 Clear and cold
Low: 28–33°
Breezy early, winds tapering overnight

Friday (Black Friday)
☀️ Sunny, cold start, lighter winds
High: 52–55°
Low: upper 20s to low 30s

Saturday
⛅ Dry during the day; clouds increase
High: 55–58°
🌧️ Light showers possible late night

Sunday
🌧️ Scattered showers; major national travel impacts
High: 58–60°

Early next week
🌦️ More rain chances Monday night and Tuesday
Beneficial rainfall expected

What is coming:

Clear skies tonight will allow temperatures to drop again, setting up an even colder start to Black Friday. The calm conditions ahead of the weekend could break late Saturday night as a large, far-reaching storm system moves across the country. Most of Saturday remains dry, but light showers may begin after dark. The system is expected to bring significant travel impacts nationwide on Sunday, though rainfall amounts in Georgia will be limited.

Additional rain chances arrive Monday night and Tuesday, with higher rainfall totals expected early next week.

AtlantaWeatherNews

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testifies in 2022 before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. On Wednesday, a Georgia prosecutor dropped all charges against President Donald Trump and others accused of election interference based on a call that Trump made to Raffensperger. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 26 (UPI) — The prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump dropped the charges on Wednesday.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, who took over the case when Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis was disqualified, filed a motion Wednesday saying that he’s dropping the case “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality”

“[The case] is on life support and the decision what to do with it falls on me and me alone. But unlike family members who must make the emotional decision to withdraw loved ones from life-sustaining treatment, I have no emotional connection to this case. As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican and now is the Executive Director of a non-partisan agency, this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law,” he wrote.

Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to a racketeering indictment in their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Willis brought the charges after a phone call from Trump to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes needed to give the state’s electoral votes to Trump.

Skandalakis addressed the call to Raffensperger in his motion.

“While the call is concerning, reasonable minds could differ as to how to interpret the call. One interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, without explicitly stating it, is instructing the Secretary of State to fictitiously or fraudulently produce enough votes to secure a victory in Georgia. An alternative interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, genuinely believing fraud had occurred, is asking the Secretary of State to investigate and determine whether sufficient irregularities exist to change the election outcome. When multiple interpretations are equally plausible, the accused is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and should not be presumed to have acted criminally.”

Willis was eventually disqualified because of a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor on the case. After she was disqualified, Skandalakis was tasked with finding another prosecutor to handle the case. When none was found, on Nov. 14 he took on the case himself.

Some defendants in the case — Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall — took plea deals after agreeing to testify. Trump later gave them all federal pardons.