My advice to young leaders today: Every one of you will go on your own journey. Find beauty in the journey itself and be kind to yourself along the way. Visualize your success. Be bold and curious. Blow up the system if that’s what it takes!
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People say, “Your Network is your Net Worth,” or “Life Moves at The Speed of Relationships” and it couldn’t be more true. I thank 21CL for that and lifelong friendships.
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21CL was my first exposure to any sort of leadership training. Everything that I learned and experienced during my summers as a participant and staff member helped to build my foundation for the style of leader that I have been and am today. 21CL made leadership training fun, interesting, and impactful especially as a high school student.
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Programs like 21CL are important because they prepare students to position themselves as leaders early enough and before they enter their careers and industries
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21CL helped me develop a highly collaborative leadership style. I always solicit input from numerous stakeholders to create a cooperative work environment and help maintain engagement.
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21CL built my confidence to try new things and not limit myself. I was the first in my family to graduate college with a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree. My parents instilled in my core values of giving, but 21CL prepared me to explore new possibilities and new methods to do so.
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For our 35th anniversary, we’ll be sharing the stories of 35 alumni showcasing the leaders they are today and how 21st Century Leaders inspired and impacted their journey. Alumni will represent the 3.5 decades since our founding in 1989 – the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Take a read and be inspired!
90’s Decade
Name: Tavanesha Shepard
H.S. Grad Year: Class of 1998
High School: Kendrick High School (Columbus, GA)
College: Savannah State University
Current Role: Manager, Talent, AFLAC Inc.
How has your career unfolded and how did participating in 21CL help prepare you for your next steps going to college, taking on a new leadership role in community/college and after?
I have always been a leader but very recently became a people leader. I don’t tell people often, but I fought the idea of becoming a people leader for a long time. Even though everyone around me saw the potential and recognized my leadership skills, it’s not a path I proactively pursued. But God has a way of intervening in our lives and placing us where we’re supposed to be in his timing. 21st Century Leaders prepared me for my collegiate journey by helping to expose me to college life when I was a sophomore in high school. By having our leadership programs on a college campus, it literally felt as though we were attending college. I wanted more of that feeling, so there was no question what the next steps were for me after high school. From there, I was not afraid to take on leadership roles in the organizations I was a part of in college. 21CL allowed me to develop and exercise the skills that I needed to lead effectively early on, and I continue to use those skills today.
What’s your memorable or ‘aha’ moment during your time at 21CL? (Particular program, meeting a professional and diverse peer, speaking in public for the first time, etc.)
I remember staying on campus at Middle Georgia State University with a few of my classmates and students from other schools and feeling like, “I’m supposed to be here.” From the team projects that helped me build my collaboration skills to the nuggets of success that I gained from the leaders in attendance, I suspected that leadership was the path that God was steering me towards. The networking and bonding that took place with the students from other schools and learning from their diverse backgrounds is also one of my favorite memorable experiences.
Did 21CL assist you in developing a leadership style that makes you an effective leader? If so, how?
I would say my leadership style is more of a servant leader. I’m of the mindset that I work for my team, and one of my main duties is to explore what they need to be successful in their current and future roles. I believe I adopted the servant leadership style because of the teachings and experiences I encountered at an early age through 21st Century Leaders. The program taught me the importance of humility and empathy in leadership, which are must-have skills for leaders in the 21st century.
Why do you believe programs like 21CL are important? And what advice would you give to a current or future student?
Programs like 21CL are so important because they allow students to experience what’s possible. It’s eye-opening when we encounter seasoned leaders who never really grasped foundational soft skills that are essential to leading others. Such programs allow students to begin developing critical leadership skills and begin putting them into action at an early age. My advice to current or future students is to become a sponge and soak up all the development and leadership experiences that you have an opportunity to engage in, even when it’s an uncomfortable experience. Growth happens in uncomfortable spaces.
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For our 35th anniversary, we’ll be sharing the stories of 35 alumni showcasing the leaders they are today and how 21st Century Leaders inspired and impacted their journey. Alumni will represent the 3.5 decades since our founding in 1989 – the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Take a read and be inspired!
1990’s Decade
Name: Dr. Jyoti Sharma
H.S. Grad Year: Class of 1998
High School: Chamblee Charter High School
College: Emory University
Current Role: Medical Director, Women’s Heart Program at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital
How has your career unfolded and how did participating in 21CL help prepare you for your next steps going to college, taking on a new leadership role in community/college and after?
I grew up in Atlanta and prided myself on going to a high achieving diverse magnet high school. As a young woman of color, I felt like my school and family had taught me a good deal about diversity and understanding others. During my summer with 21CL, I remember how I was struck to spend time with students from rural and small communities that were nothing like mine. 21CL taught me that the concept of diversity encompasses more than just ethnicity and socioeconomic status and helped me to expand my idea of community and instilled in me the importance of seeking to understand others. As a practicing physician, I know that I am doing the right thing for the patient when I first listen and then seek to truly understand their concerns.
What’s your memorable or ‘aha’ moment during your time at 21CL? (Particular program, meeting a professional and diverse peer, speaking in public for the first time, etc.)
One of my most memorable moments at 21CL was leading my first group discussion and actually putting leadership into practice. Being a leader is challenging and takes a lot of work. Spending the week interacting with other young leaders gave me the confidence to stand up and practice my leadership skills, things like- communicating effectively, being an active listener, practicing problem-solving, and building up the courage to speak with authenticity.
Did 21CL assist you in developing a leadership style that makes you an effective leader? If so, how?
Before I went to 21CL, I had not interacted with students outside my neighborhood and immediate community. It was a great opportunity to meet students with different families, different values, different academic priorities, and meet students who had different ways of imagining what success could look like for them in the future. Learning how to communicate and build bridges with other students that were not like me was one of the most valuable skills that I learned at 21CL. I spend most of my days now communicating with different people across a large healthcare system and aligning members of different groups behind important initiatives. My time at 21CL was foundational for my understanding and practice of how I relate and communicate with others. 
Why do you believe programs like 21CL are important? And what advice would you give to a current or future student?
My advice for a current and future student is to Believe in yourself! So many of us struggle with self-doubt, with imposter syndrome and ask ourselves “Do I belong here? Am I good enough?” The answer is yes! My summer with 21CL was critical in building my understanding of my leadership potential and abilities. It was a place to explore the kind of leader I wanted to be and gave me access to connect with others so I could understand what different kinds of leadership styles looked like in real life. I want to encourage students to stretch themselves, try something hard, stick with it, and believe in themselves.
Share the inspiration!
For our 35th anniversary, we’ll be sharing the stories of 35 alumni showcasing the leaders they are today and how 21st Century Leaders inspired and impacted their journey. Alumni will represent the 3.5 decades since our founding in 1989 – the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Take a read and be inspired!
1990’s Decade
Name: Ben Bryant
H.S. Grad Year: Class of 1999
High School: Chamblee Charter High School
College: Washington & Lee University (BA); The George Washington University (MA, Legislative Affairs); Mercer University (JD)
Current Role: Vice President & Sr. Division Counsel for Financial Services and Marketing, InComm Payments | State Board Member, Technical College System of Georgia
How has your career unfolded and how did participating in 21CL help prepare you for your next steps going to college, taking on a new leadership role in community/college and after?
Professionally, I serve as Vice President & Senior Division Counsel for Financial Services and Marketing at InComm Payments, a global fintech and payments company headquartered here in Atlanta. Prior to joining the legal field, I spent three years working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. I also serve on the State Board for the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), a role I’ve had the privilege of serving in since 2013.
As memory serves, I participated in three summers of the 21CL program back in the mid-to-late 1990s, which at the time was a single week of summer camp offered at Atlanta Christian College. One of the biggest takeaways for me from 21CL was coming to truly understand the importance of networking and the ability to find common ground in the moment with a wide array of individuals. The ability to communicate and make connections with the individuals we encounter daily is such a valuable skill whether it be interviewing for college or for a job, or in the workplace itself. Programs like 21CL serve as excellent incubators for developing these skills in a no-pressure environment.
What’s your memorable or ‘aha’ moment during your time at 21CL?
(Particular program, meeting a professional and diverse peer, speaking in public for the first time, etc.)
One of my favorite memories from my time participating in 21CL was the exercise where students formed teams to run our own small businesses in competition against one another in selling snacks and drinks to program participants. It was an incredibly fun and educational exercise allowing students to develop and hone a variety of skills including business strategy, marketing, and salesmanship. I also have memories of visits to Atlanta-area businesses, etiquette dinners, volunteering, and a talent show or two. Thankfully my time in 21CL predates smartphones, so hopefully no video footage exists from the talent shows – I definitely participated in one of the step shows Kyle Wingfield mentioned in his alumni spotlight and I imagine I don’t look quite as talented as I thought I did at the time (and certainly less talented than my 21CL colleague Carl, who was the drum major at Cedar Grove High School at the time…).
Did 21CL assist you in developing a leadership style that makes you an effective leader? If so, how?
My leadership style is one of collaboration, consensus, and camaraderie. I strongly believe that we’re better when we work together, fostering an environment of inclusivity where everyone not only feels like a part of the team, but is proud of the team and happy to be a part of it. Each of us brings different skills and perspectives to the table based on our backgrounds and experiences, and when we work together to craft solutions to the problems we face, we create better outcomes for all involved. Participating in 21st Century Leaders absolutely advanced my belief in the power of collaboration. This is something I get to put into practice as co-chair of InComm’s DE&I Council, as well as through my involvement in activities outside of my professional career, such as Scouting, TCSG, and various other community organizations.
Why do you believe programs like 21CL are important? And what advice would you give to a current or future student?
Programs like 21CL are important for several reasons. First, they provide an outlet for students who are likely already leaders in their respective schools and communities to grow their leadership skills alongside like-minded peers. Second, they afford students the opportunity to enhance their communication skills, which are critically important to future success in college and beyond. Other than Scouting, I can’t think of another program that helps students develop skills in effectively communicating with adults, a skill which is lacking in many youths that don’t regularly have the opportunity to engage with adults outside of the rigid student-teacher context. Third, these programs help students improve their networking skills, not only among high school peers, but among adults in a business setting. While the old mantra “it’s not what you know, but who you know,” is not entirely accurate, there is certainly some truth to the saying, and you’ll find at every step of your career it helps to know people. The good news for today’s participants, is that you have much more of an ability to stay connected to your fellow participants than we did in the dark ages before social media existed!
Finally, and most important from my perspective (and this echoes what fellow alumni Brandi H. and Kyle W, both of whom I attended 21CL camps with, shared in their spotlights) the program brings together a diverse group of individuals from all across the state, giving participants the opportunity to appreciate, respect, and ultimately learn from the perspective of others. As far as advice, I would encourage current and future students to step outside of their comfort zones and place themselves in situations that afford the opportunity to learn and grow alongside a diverse mix of individuals at every step of their educational and professional careers.
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