Irene Sanders, Student Leadership Johns Creek (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 397)
Where do Johns Creek-based high school students develop leadership capacity in community projects, sharpen public speaking skills through political debate moderation, assemble a personal portfolio of work, a standout LinkedIn profile, and more? It’s through Student Leadership Johns Creek, and Executive Director Irene Sanders joined host John Ray to review the program and its history, current projects, how students can apply, how businesses can become involved, and much more. North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Student Leadership Johns Creek
Student Leadership Johns Creek was created in 2012 because of the success of Leadership Johns Creek.
Student Leadership Johns Creek is a collaborative effort of our business and civic community to provide leadership training to our local youth.
Student Leadership Johns Creek selected its tenth class of students in March of this year. The program begins in August 2021 with a one-day team training event and will conclude in April with an announcement of the upcoming class, a celebration of the first-year students and a graduation for the second-year students who receive graduation cords (which they can wear at their respective school’s graduation) and certificates of completion. Applications will be available to rising sophomores and juniors in December 2021.
Irene Sanders, Executive Director, Student Leadership Johns Creek
Irene Sanders was named Executive Director of Student Leadership Johns Creek (SLJC) in 2014.
SLJC is a highly competitive two-year leadership program open to students that attend Innovation Academy, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview high schools. During the first year of the program the students complete a community group project and learn about city, county and state government through various program days. In the second year the students work more independently producing an on-line portfolio and a shadowing project.
In addition, Irene coordinates nine of these students each year who are members of the Secretary of State Ambassadors program. This is a statewide competition to promote civic engagement. SLJC has won the competition three of the past four years and in 2017 was the first high school team ever to facilitate a mayoral and city council debate in the entire State of Georgia.
They were recognized by the Governor, Secretary of State as well as the City of Johns Creek. Ever since, this revolving group has facilitated every candidate in the city of Johns Creek.
Irene has been a fitness professional for over 40 years; instructing group fitness classes at many area gyms including the Atlanta Athletic Club and the YMCA. When COVID hit, she switched gears and became a Peloton junkie and has not regretted it for a minute. Although her husband played professional football for both the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, she is an avid New Orleans Saints fan.
She and her family have lived in Johns Creek since 1988, prior to it becoming a city.
Questions and Topics
- What is Student Leadership Johns Creek?
- Who are the students in the program – what schools do they come from?
- Tell us a little more about what they learn during the two-year program?
- How did the program get involved with facilitating city and state debates?
- Tell us a little more about the Macedonia Cemetery documentaries that are currently being produced by Student Leadership Johns Creek students.
- Why should students apply for this program?
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray, and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.
