COLLEGE PARK, Ga. – Fourteen student-athletes completed a year-long AthLeadersTM program this semester, working to achieve and display an understanding of the ‘What, How, and Why’s of Real-Life Leadership.’

“Kennesaw State has never had a leadership program before,” said Kennesaw State Director of Student-Athlete Development Megan Stoltzfus. “A program like this was designed to enhance our student-athlete leadership skills and have a positive impact not only on their teams but out in the workforce.”

Started in the fall of 2024 and led by Chick-fil-A Operator Chris Darley, the program uses nine leadership principles including growth mindset, developing a purpose statement, personal responsibility, core values, conflict management, SERVE/HEART leadership model, knowing self and others, goal setting and effective communication. 

“Our vision is to turn athletes into AthLeadersTM by equipping them to impact the world,” Darley added. “My generation needs to take responsibility for pointing the upcoming generation in the right direction – and I’m excited to see this next group step up.” 

Each month during the 2024-25 academic year, the program had a monthly leadership collaboration, focusing on a specific principle. 

“The topics and skills that Chris covered in the program are all things that future employers look for and that will set our KSU student-athletes even more apart when applying for internships and jobs,” Stoltzfus added.

Another goal of this program was to select one student-athlete from each team at Kennesaw State with the mindset that they would share what they learned with their fellow teammates during the remainder of their time with the Black and Gold.

“The topic that stuck with me the most was learning about yourself first,” Kennesaw State women’s basketball sophomore Trynce Taylor said. “I feel it was important that that was our first lesson because to be able to succeed in life, you must know yourself first – your purpose, why, how, when, etc.”

Kennesaw State men’s track and field student-athlete Trey Geter emphasized one key thing he learned during the program: conflict resolution. 

“Learning how to solve conflict between different personalities really helped me solve conflicts better in my own life,” he said. “Learning how others think really allowed me to expand my thought process on situations. Just because you may think differently from someone doesn’t mean one is wrong.”

For KSU lacrosse redshirt freshman Grace Macnamara, she learned more about not just her own personality, but that of others.

“The personality test we took was my favorite lesson from the program,” Macnamara said. “Not only did I get a chance to learn more about myself, but we also learned how to recognize other people's personality traits and how they might differ from ours. It taught me that being a teach means knowing your teammates and learning that some people respond to things differently than others.”

To celebrate their completion of the program, they were offered a tour of the Chick-fil-A Support Center in Metro Atlanta in April.

“All of the things we talked about during the program, they can see that in action at the Support Center,” Darley said. “You can see vision, good communication and culture – it’s baked into the culture at Chick-fil-A and it’s about the Truett Cathy quote: ‘we’re in the people business, not the chicken business.’”

During the visit, these student-athletes received a tour that showcased Chick-fil-A’s history while learning about the company’s day-to-day operations. The tour also featured visits to the Chick-fil-A’s innovation lab and open workspace environment. 

“I also wanted to show them a corporation that has all different majors,” Darley added. “Accounting, supply chain marketing, law, design and construction, just about everything that there is that these student-athletes are studying.”

Throughout the tour, they learned more about the inner workings of Chick-fil-A from a leadership standpoint and the benefits of the company’s collaborative workspace.

“I really enjoyed how the program itself was personalized to student athletes and was a fun, collaborative space,” Macnamara added.

Even with the success of this program in 2024-25, Darley is already planning on how to raise the bar higher for 2025-26.

“For the next year, we’re going to reinvent continuously, which is a core value of this program,” Darley mentioned. “We’ll make some of the model more engaging and more collaborative.”

Darley stresses the importance of this program and preparing the next generation for life after school. 

“I have a passion for pouring into the next generation. There is a real hope in the next generation that has given me such encouragement – they’re not lazy, they’re not entitled, they’re not all of these things that have been stereotyped,” he explained. “They’re hungry to grow and if we believe in the next generation, that means we need to equip them to be successful,” he concluded.

2024-25 Kennesaw State AthLeadersTM Program

• Wesley Alig – Baseball
• Kyle Bachkosku – Men’s Golf
• Aly Bryan – Women’s Soccer
• Maggie Butkovich – Volleyball
• Rowan Darnell – Football
• Trey Geter – Men’s Track and Field
• Eric Holland – Men’s Basketball
• Grace Macnamara – Women’s Lacrosse
• Alessandra Nagayo – Women’s Golf
• Izabelle Persson – Women’s Tennis
• Madison Seiler – Women’s Cross Country
• Ava Brooke Strickland – Softball
• Trynce Taylor – Women’s Basketball
• Anthony Weingarten – Men’s Tennis