GMC News

Prep students in GMC’s Executive Leadership Program gain valuable work experience

(Wyatt Spivey, Alex Bradley; LTG William B. Caldwell, IV, President of GMC; Reagan Thornton, Maxwell Hopkins, and Andrew Weimer)
(Not pictured: Andrew Watskins and Annie Benson)
 
Seven Georgia Military College (GMC) Prep students say they are more prepared than ever for the “real world” thanks to their work experience through GMC’s Executive Leadership Program (ELP). This program was created to give graduating seniors from the prep school the opportunity to work a paid fellowship at the institution during the summer after their graduation. This summer was the third group of ELP’s to work for the institution. The students selected for the program this summer were: Alex Bradley, Annie Benson, Maxwell Hopkins, Andrew Weimer, Andrew Watkins, Reagan Thornton, and Wyatt Spivey. The selected students had the opportunity to learn and work under the direction of the College’s senior managers in Human Resources, Athletics, Resource Management, Disability Services, and Marketing. Jill Robbins, GMC’s Vice President of Human Resources, organized the program and says the students did outstanding work this summer.
 
“They were wonderful,” said Jill Robbins, GMC’s Vice President of Human Resources. “The goal of the program is 100% for the institution to give these kids a leg up. When they leave this program we’re hoping that they had a summer full of experiences that they can put on their resumes. The program is also geared towards giving them a 360 view of what it takes to make the institution run.”
 
Wyatt Spivey worked in GMC’s Human Resources department over the summer and says he has a better understanding of what it takes to make GMC run efficiently.
 
“I understood a lot more coming into this program about teamwork and time efficiency when it came to getting things done,” said Wyatt Spivey. “I’m more prepared for college and I feel like I can take a lot of the skills I’ve learned here to college with me.”
 
Reagan Thornton says she’s glad she had the opportunity to take advantage of the program. “I really wanted to do the ELP program because it’s hard as a graduating senior to really get a job and this was a great opportunity because it allows us to get some money before college and I really learned a lot about Human Resources and what it requires to be an employee at GMC,” said Reagan Thornton.
 
Since its inception in 2015, 19 GMC Prep students have graduated from the Executive Leadership Program. GMC’s Human Resources Department has assisted in writing several letters of reference for graduating ELP members who have landed positions or internships at organizations such as the Georgia Aquarium, the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University, and The University of Georgia.