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you get from her. So, you want that around your kids at school. You want that around the administration. You want that around the co-workers," Risper said. Before becoming athletic director, Roberson coached boys and girls cross country and girls basketball. She had no idea she was the first female athletic director in Bibb schools. "It doesn't put pressure on me because, you know, I've been watching Coach Spoon for a while and just that I'm a female – that has nothing to do with the position, with the job, with the duties or responsibilities," Roberson said. "It's having the capacity and the ability to fulfill those things. I just happen to be a woman." After watching Risper, Roberson said that the biggest challenge she will face will be becoming less reserved. "I know I'm going to have to take on a lot more phone calls and have to reach out to others more. So, I'm going to have to step outside of my shell and be a more social butterfly type of person," Roberson said. Despite this challenge, Roberson plans to maintain and build upon Risper's strategies for being athletic director while also incorporating her own ideas. Her goal is to have more input from the coaches and to increase participation numbers after the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to hold an athletics fair in the gym during the first week of school and hopes to bring in more coaches in to drive more kids toward athletics. "My vision is to have at least 45 percent to 50 percent of our freshmen in a sport, and then they'll bring in other people. So, it's that word of mouth because I think athletics is a great tool to help academics," Roberson said. Roberson also plans to increase outreach to build sponsorships and communication both within the school and throughout the community. Roberson hopes to sustain what the athletic department has accomplished so far and to leave her fingerprint on something other than basketball. She wants to see what legacy she will leave as Macon-Bibb's first female athletic director. "Being in the position, the title doesn't make you a leader. It's having those individuals following you. It's your vision and your mission," Roberson said. For Roberson, leadership is about having people follow someone regardless of whether it is something they do — or do not — want to do. "If I have something laid out, and it's laid out for them being part of it, and they follow, that's leadership," Roberson said. "So, I've already been in the leadership role in my classroom. I'm already in a leadership role as the cross country and basketball coach. I'm already on the leadership team at school where ideas and suggestions are used. "I was kind of anxious about athletic director, but now that I see that I've already been leading for the last 16 years, it's kind of settling in." As Roberson steps up, Risper advises her to exercise patience in her new role. She has many phone calls, decisions and plans in her future. Whether it be a broken-down bus or a call from a concerned parent, putting the kids first is Roberson's goal. "The most challenging part is trying to solve so many problems, and sometimes at one time," Risper said. "Another challenging thing is sometimes it's hard to live in peace at home because you get so many phone calls after school hours. I mean we work the normal school hours, but you know as well as I do athletics happen after school." Both Risper and Roberson came from humble beginnings and used sports to pursue higher education. They encourage their students to do the same. "I've dealt with doubt all my life. The neighborhood I grew up in, people thought that I wouldn't make it out," Risper said of his life in Thomaston. After graduating from Upson-Lee High School, Risper played college football at West Georgia College for four years before going on to play professionally in the Arena Football League. Roberson was a track and basketball player at Newton High School in Newton, Kansas, and in college at the University of Cincinnati before traveling overseas for a few seasons with the Women's National Basketball Association. 104 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021