Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1518483
50 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 THE NEXT LEADING LADIES Generations have passed since Wesleyan College made its home on their Forsyth Road campus in North Macon, but it was once based right downtown, as the namesake of College Street. In a signature initiative, President Meaghan Blight decided to reconnect Wesleyannes with their past and link students to Downtown Macon's future with an outpost on Cherry Street. Named the Leadership Lab, the multipurpose flex space mixes public programming led by executive director Alexis Gregg and a student-oriented mission to erase gendered disparities in management roles, called the CEO Leadership Institute. "CEO does stand for Creating Equal Opportunities, and really aims to create a space for students to have more access to mentorship and networking. So as a woman of color, I don't have to fight to be included or work harder to make these connections," noted freshman Simone Russell. In the program, students receive close mentorship through peer, career, academic, and alumnae connection, plus special internship placements to kickstart their futures. The Downtown Macon location is crucial; it takes students into the heart of where companies, small businesses, and government interact. For the CEO cohort, it's changed their stories. "I'm from Leesburg, Georgia, in the middle of nowhere. Just leaving hometown and being the first woman in my family to go off to college and make a career for myself was a really big deal," said sophomore Carley Holland. "I've learned that I'm not who I was back home, and that I am growing to be the woman that I want to become." That's true for freshman Minal Agrawal, coming from India, who says walking down to Little India a block away reminds her of home: "My parents made a very hard decision of sending me literally across the world. I just had to trust what everyone said, because here was no way I could come see for myself. I am so glad that I trusted them. The moment we entered the Atlanta airport, the whole Wesleyan team was there to welcome us. It's been overwhelming, exciting, and just so great." Simone Russell stands by the Cherry Street entrance of the Leadership Lab.