A GEM of a Partnership

Georgia Power Community and Economic team welcomed students of the Georgia Education Mentorship (GEM) program from Georgia College & State University for a presentation led by Daniel Buitrago, Earnest Johnson, and Shanice McLeish.

The GEM Program is a one-of-a-kind partnership between Georgia College and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce that prepares the next generation of leaders for the public good. The GEM Program matches students with senior state leaders for a year-long partnership that creates mutual benefits between Georgia College and its partners. In addition to frequent meetings and exchanges with their mentors, students enjoy individual consultations, classroom-based learning, and statewide site visits.

"GEM is, first and foremost, a program that serves the future of Georgia,” says Dr. Harold Mock, program director. “In collaboration with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, we are committed to providing our state and its communities with the leadership, ingenuity, and workforce development we all will need across the coming generation.”

Established in 2002, the GEM program was created from a mutual recognition that students at Georgia College could benefit from working and creating relationships with top state leaders and that members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce could benefit from directly investing in the next generation of leaders. Now in its twentieth year, the program has graduated more than 500 students.

Georgia College’s Office of Leadership Programs provides teaching, research, and public service related to leadership, citizenship, democracy, and public affairs. With the support of a distinguished faculty and practitioners, we help educate the next generation of Georgia’s leaders for the public good. Our programs bring together scholars and students, as well as business leaders, non-profit executives, journalists, and public officials, and offer a trusted forum on citizen-leadership and pressing issues of the day.