EMERGING LEADERS

Emerging Leaders

Emerging Leaders is a co-curricular leadership development program for upper-level students that helps them expand and understand their campus, civic, and professional involvement within the context of the Social Change Model of Leadership Development.

To qualify, you must have completed 30 or more credit hours by the time you begin the program and have completed your first year of college. Transfer students, as well as returning students, are invited to participate.

At MGA, we believe that all students have the capacity to learn leadership skills and apply these skills in every situation they encounter.  Leadership isn't just for those elected to executive board positions or those who supervise others at work.  Leadership is for everyone and starts with the relationships you build with others (Kousez & Posner, 2013).

How to Join Emerging Leaders
To let us know you're interested, please complete the application below and attend the first meeting for your closest campus location.  Applicants should be MGA students in Fall 2022 and be at the sophomore, junior, or senior level in the fall.  We will post the fall schedule in August 2022.

Emerging Leaders FAll 2022 application Form - Final Deadline is August 17.

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Questions?  Contact us at  leadership@mga.edu 

Emerging Leaders Experiences & Opportunities
Support for Getting Involved and Leading on Campus. 
Students in Emerging Leaders are challenged to complete the Leadership Tracker, a guide for engaging in all of the opportunities MGA  has to offer.  Opportunities include attending at least one campus organization meeting, completing a career advising and leadership consultation appointment, attending a networking event, learning about SGA and CAB, and much more.

Service Opportunities.  Each semester, Knights LEAD and Emerging Leaders students will join members of the Torch Society to participate in a Student Leadership Service Day with an area non-profit.  Last spring, the group volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.  We also encourage all students in the Student Leadership Programs to participate in the MGA Day of Service in September.

Learning Opportunities.  Although Emerging Leaders is an out-of-class activity, we learn about leadership using a well-known leadership model.  As a participant, you get to attend FREE leadership training sessions based on the Social Change Model of Leadership Development and the Student Leadership Challenge.  

  • Consciousness of Self (Model the Way/Self-awareness)
  • Congruence (Model the Way/Personal values)
  • Commitment (Character and excellence)
  • Collaboration (Enable Others to Act/Teamwork)
  • Common Purpose (Inspiring a Shared Vision/Mission)
  • Controversy with Civility (Challenge the process/conflict management)
  • Citizenship (Encourage the Heart/Giving back to the community and those you lead)

Trainings are led by community and campus leaders.  While some trainings could be virtual, a majority of them will be held in person on the Macon and Cochran campuses.  

Students who complete Emerging Leaders  are recognized at our annual recognition event and receive priority consideration for iLEAD and the Torch Society. 

Questions?  Contact us at

Additional Student Leadership Programs include Knights LEAD for new first-year/freshmen students and iLEAD Peer Educators for returning MGA upperclassmen who want to serve as peer mentors to other students.