In 10 days, Sean Monahan will receive a diploma from an engineering school ranked among the five best in America.

But it's another high-stakes issue that has the Georgia Tech graduate-to-be a little distracted as commencement day nears.

In conjunction with his studies, the St. Thomas More alum has been working as an undergraduate researcher for a group hoping to influence health care legislation in the state of Georgia. Monahan recently helped conduct research for a bill that would increase access to dental-hygiene services for low-income children who are on Medicaid and save the state money through preventative care in return.

The legislation has cleared both the state House and the Senate and is in the hands of Georgia's governor, awaiting approval.

That whole experience — combing through data and recommending policy changes before he has even left campus — has been the highlight of Monahan's college experience. And it has made him a favorite among faculty at the elite Atlanta school, which ranks seventh in U.S. News & World Report's ranking of the nation's top public universities. (Illinois is 10th).

"Since my first encounter with Sean, he has distinguished himself as the type of student who is willing to go above and beyond in pursuit of knowledge," said Nicoleta Serban, Coca-Cola Associate Professor in Tech's  Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. "He is particularly hard-working."

Read more about Monahan's undergraduate research and how he came to Georgia Tech as featured in the News-Gazette (Illinois): http://bit.ly/2qczJn8.