STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern Department of Athletics Thursday announced the formation and accepted applicants to its new W.E. Lead program, a curriculum designed for female student-athletes to interact with each other, network with women in various professions, and develop relationships that foster the creation of future Women Leaders.

W.E. (Women Eagles) Lead is a comprehensive curriculum intended to prepare our female student-athletes with the appropriate skills to succeed in the workplace. Program participants will attend monthly sessions throughout the fall and spring semesters. Each session will cover a different workplace topic/skill from the female perspective, including but not limited to: professional attire, handling compromising and/or difficult conversations and situations, meeting etiquette, the realities of the workplace, and work-life balance.

The accepted applicants to the program for the upcoming year are:

From rifle, Erin Ballard
From volleyball, Rebekah Farthing
From rifle, Bella Gamez
From track & field, Nichole Harris
From volleyball, Ashlyn Lovett
From rifle, Anna Mayo
From golf, Abby Newton
From soccer, Meghan O'Brien
From track & field, Isabel Ptacek
From track & field, Kellyn Posey
From swimming & diving, Emma Scruggs
From swimming & diving, Emma Sutton
From volleyball, Megan Vickery
And from track & field, Ella Zierdt

"I am beyond grateful to be a part of such an amazing program for female student-athltes in leadership," Ptacek, the 2022-23 SAAC President, said. "I am excited to see what we will learn from each other, our administrators, and guest speakers! I believe this program will pave the way for for fearless female leaders in athletics for year's to come."

"I'm super excited to be a part of the first W.E. Lead program," Mayo said. "This is a group of strong women that are committed to supporting each other and other female athletes. I'm excited to be a part of a group that is committed to developing women's leadership."

The group is led by Senior Woman Administrator Brandy Clouse, Associate AD for Business Openeration Haley Prewett, Executive Administrative Assistant Morgan Shump, Assistant Director for Major Gifts Alisha Erves, Associate Director of Student-Athlete Services Kiara McClendon and head swimming & diving coach Amanda Caldwell.

"We are excited about this new initiative within our department," Prewett said. "W.E. Lead is going to prepare our female student-athletes for life after graduation and give them more tools to be successful when they leave Statesboro and go out into the business world. This initial class of accepted applicants is strong and we look forward to building the base model of this program with them for future W.E. Leaders!"