63 Students Join Huntingdon Freshman Leadership Initiative

Photo caption: Members of the 2023–2024 Freshman Leadership Initiative

Montgomery, Ala.—Huntingdon College has just enrolled one its largest classes since the 1950s, and 63 of those students stepped up to the challenge of the College’s Freshman Leadership Initiative within two weeks of classes beginning.

Freshman Leadership Initiative, or FLI, is a program run through the Center for Career and Vocation that helps student-leaders learn leadership skills, make connections on campus and around Montgomery, learn business etiquette skills and best practices, learn from campus and alumni community leaders, and take the lead in planning a campus-wide event during the academic year. Freshman senators for the Student Government Association are chosen from among those who are part of FLI.

“We offer this program annually, and we allow any new student to be part of it,” said Sherry Leigh Lacey Farquhar, Class of 2013, who serves as director of the Center for Career and Vocation and runs FLI. “Sixty-three participants is our largest group ever, and I think that number reflects the energy, initiative, and drive in this class of students and shows we have an exciting new group of student-leaders! I’m proud of each of them for the time they have put in so far to learn more about leadership and to improve their leadership skills.”

Angelina Mazza of Boca Raton, Fla., said she joined FLI “to further my leadership experience, make new connections, and get a head start on student government programs.”

“Having the privilege and opportunity to listen and learn from other leaders with much more experience is an essential part of leadership development,” said Isaiah Matthews, who serves as a member of the FLI cabinet. “To me, FLI is an opportunity for students who are starting a new journey in a new place, to get a new perspective on how to be a leader. By having a group of freshmen who share the skill of leadership in some way you begin to form connections not only with other members, but also with speakers at events, staff on campus, and even upperclassmen who have been through FLI before.”

Among the group’s members, four were selected for leadership roles on the FLI cabinet by the director of the program and ten were voted upon by their peers as delegates (senators) to the SGA for the freshman class. This year’s group includes:

“FLI is a wonderful training ground for our student-leaders,” said Dr. Anthony Leigh, senior vice president for student and institutional development and dean of students. “The students who go through this program often become the leaders of their sororities and fraternities, student government, and other clubs and organizations. Professionally, the skills they learn in this organization are directly transferable for their professional success and for graduate school leadership, as well.”

Huntingdon College is a coeducational residential liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church offering more than thirty undergraduate programs of study, 21 NCAA-Division III athletic teams, five bands, choral programs, cheer, dance, coed Esports, and more than 50 clubs and organizations. New for fall 2024, Huntingdon will introduce women’s flag football. Generous scholarships are offered through many participatory programs and for academic achievement, the Presidential Scholars program, and the Kingswood Initiative, among other programs. The College also offers the Master of Athletic Training.

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Huntingdon College, in accordance with Title IX and Section 106.8 of the 2020 Final Rule under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, other applicable federal and state law, and stated College policy, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.  Similarly, it prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age and/or national origin in its education program