Leadership Academy Program

Janessa Schwallie ’16
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
B.A. in German

“The Leadership Academy taught me how to build confidence in my presence and impact in not only my professional life, but in my personal life as well. I took part in the Academy during a crucial moment in my educational career when I had just begun to think more critically about my future intentions and how to market myself to different engineering industries. I learned how to build camaraderie amongst peers and professionals, how to consider my own ethics and values when faced with difficult decisions, and how to work with like-minded peers to develop and successfully deliver on a project that I cared for deeply, youth education, to create a difference in the local Charlotte community.”

Engineering projects in the real world are complex, involving many disciplines and functions, frequently with scopes that have several possible solutions or approaches.

We start our program with a weekend off campus where students not only get to know each other, but they also learn more about themselves!

Team building and an introduction to leadership are presented through highly active learning led by facilitators from college faculty, industry guests and Academy alumni, all bringing real-world perspectives and examples.