Georgia Southwestern State University is currently accepting applications for the prestigious President Jimmy Carter Leadership Program for the 2020-2021 academic year. Incoming freshmen who are interested in the program are encouraged to apply by the Feb. 1 deadline.

Established in 2019, the Carter Leadership Program honors the legacy of GSW alumnus and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The program consists of two pathways, an Undergraduate Research Track and a Service Track, that exemplify Carter’s lifetime of leadership in education, politics and community service.

Twenty students will be accepted and provided with an academic scholarship ranging from $1,500 to $3,500 each year they are in the program. Students who score a minimum 1100 on the SAT or an ACT composite score of 22, hold a high school curriculum grade point average of 3.0 or greater, hold a leadership role in high school, whether on a sports team, a student club, or community organization, and have been admitted to GSW are eligible to apply.

During their first year, students will focus on individual growth and development, and will work to understand their own beliefs and values. In the second year they will explore the role of the group, how to build trust with others and how to work collaboratively towards common goals.

In year three, students will choose between the academically-focused Research Track and the service learning-focused Service Track, and will focus their efforts in these areas. In the fourth and final year, students develop a senior research or service project, dependent upon their track.

Students may have the unique opportunity to meet and work with President Carter on a variety of projects throughout their time in the program.

Guided by the evidence-based “The Social Change Model of Leadership Development,” the four-year Carter Leadership Program allows students to develop their leadership skills both individually and within a group. The program is made possible thanks to generous support from the Charles L. Mix Memorial Fund; therefore, recipients of this scholarship are known as Mix Scholars.

Recipients must meet program requirements, maintain a 3.0 grade point average or higher, and live on campus the first two years in order to extend the scholarship.

Interested students should apply for the Carter Leadership Program before the Feb. 1 deadline at gsw.edu/scholarship.