Leadership Profile: Jessica McLeod
Discovering Anderson Cooper on CNN in seventh grade gave Bad Axe sophomore Jessica McLeod more than just entertainment after school. It also tuned her in to a future career path.
“Hearing Anderson Cooper talk about the world and politics made me very interested in the government and the way it works,” she says. “I wanted to learn more about the subjects he was talking about. And as I’ve learned more, it has only become more and more fascinating to me.”
McLeod, a self-pronounced avid reader and writer, double majors in political science and English with the hope of attending law school and becoming a politician. The leadership positions that she holds at Alma College will help her in that arena, she says.
“Leadership is such an important skill, and Alma really focuses on giving every student the chance to be a leader,” she says. “We have so many opportunities here to join something we care about and then become a leader in that organization. In that way, it’s easy to be successful at Alma.”
As a member of the Political Science Club, Alpha Phi Omega, Colleges Against Cancer, and the Barrister’s Society, McLeod is quickly adding to her résumé while learning to lead.
“Alma has helped me to open up a lot,” she says. “When I first came here I was very, very shy and thought I wouldn’t have the skills to be a leader. Since coming here, I’ve become a lot more confident in myself and my skills.”
