MACON, Ga. — Wesleyan College wants to give its students more leadership experience and bring them to the heart of Macon.
The college is opening a new leadership lab on Cherry Street, where they hope to train the next generation of entrepreneurs. It will serve as the hub for the college's new Creating Equal Opportunities Leadership Institute.
President Meaghan Blight says they chose this spot to reaffirm Wesleyan's commitment to its hometown.
"This space has been a year in the making. We wanted to create some programming that would bring us from north Macon downtown to Cherry Street," Blight said.
She says Wesleyan College is Macon. Once near the heart of town, the college's campus is now about six miles from the city center.
"We wanted to be a stone's throw away from businesses and restaurants and startups and art galleries. We wanted a reason for our students to come downtown and be here," Blight said.
So, the lab and institute were born. This year, Wesleyan chose the first-ever group of students for the program. They'll use the space to network, and the program to get valuable experience in their chosen fields.
"Especially as a musician, I really want to get an internship at the opera house, and start my classical music career. And that's really important for me to get those internships and connections in the community," said Anniston Smith, a music major from Warner Robins.
President Blight says the space will also host entrepreneurship seminars for students, but she's excited for other opportunities students and staff create.
On the same block as the lab is Fatty's Pizza, a woman-owned business. They're excited for the students.
"They'll get to experience and see all these other businesses," said Ashley Pardington with the restaurant.
Pardington says she's looking forward to introducing Wesleyan students to the downtown business community.
"We all support each other. We all love each other. And we just want to welcome them," she said.
Pardington says she hopes the new space brings more Wesleyan students and hopeful business recruiters downtown.
To get ready, they're expanding their 10% Mercer student discount to include including Wesleyan and Middle Georgia State.