A Mercer University program is helping freshmen develop their leadership skills through workshops and campus experiences.
The Mercer Leadership Fellows Program, launched in 2023, focuses on building students’ leadership competence across four pillars: personal development, wellness, civic engagement and professionalism.
“Each pillar represents a different area of leadership, and together they help guide students to a more comprehensive approach to leadership,” said Meredith Keating White, executive director of campus life and student involvement. “We think that those four together help build a well-rounded person.”
The Mercer Leadership Fellows Program is open to all freshmen. Students must attend one workshop and participate in one experience from each of the four pillars to complete the program. Everyone who fulfills the requirements will receive a medallion that can be worn at graduation.
The program reached 200 students during the 2024-25 academic year, with 70 successfully completing it. This year, 206 students are participating in the program, Keating White said.
Students may start the program at any time during their first year at Mercer, said Brianna Hamlin, graduate assistant for leadership development. Hamlin earned her bachelor’s in economics from Mercer in 2025 and is currently pursuing her master’s in organizational leadership in the College of Professional Advancement.
Interested students may join the open enrollment course in Canvas or visit Hamlin in the campus life office for more information on how to get started. Students also may just show up at the next advertised workshop.
Each workshop features a community or campus leader who discusses one of the four pillars. Students who miss a workshop may be provided with a packet to complete that part of the requirement.
“If a student has an interest and wants to complete the program, we will help them complete the program,” Keating White said.
Past workshops include Mercer football head coach Mike Jacobs talking about personal development and Macon-Bibb County District 3 Commissioner Stanley Stewart discussing civic engagement. Examples of experiences that pair with these pillars are participation in a student organization for personal development and participating in a MerServe event for civic engagement.
Pairing the workshops with on-campus experiences was intentional. The workshops allow students to learn together as a cohort, and the experiences show students that opportunities for leadership development are all around them, Keating White said.
“It’s showing that leadership is happening 365 days a year,” she said.
Ellen Jones, a junior double-majoring in public health and biology, completed the Mercer Leadership Fellows Program during her freshman year. She said the program helped her grow as a leader, and she now serves on three executive boards for campus organizations.
“This has prepared me for being able to analyze myself and others as leaders and really be able to take more away from those people who I do see as examples (of good leaders),” she said.
Georgia Taylor, a junior majoring in environmental engineering, also completed the Leadership Fellows Program. She said she liked working through the program with classmates and friends and seeing them grow as leaders. She said it helped her find her place on campus, including with organizations like MU Runway and the Society of Women Engineers. She is also one of the captains of the Mercer dance team.
“I would say for any freshmen who wanted to get that experience and try to understand ways that they can be a leader on Mercer’s campus, then this is a really great program for that,” she said. “As Mercerians, we major in changing the world, and I think that program really helped engrave that idea and mindset as a freshman.”
