GCSU’s first dual-appointment Usery Fellows are ready to learn from accomplished guests

Usery Fellows Bridget Johnson (left) and Kassie Arps, seated in the parlor of the Carl Vinson House. (Photo: Anna Gay Leavitt)

By Ian Wesselhoff

K assie Arps and Bridget Johnson have a lot in common.

The two seniors were both active in Georgia College Leadership Programs, including Leadership Academy, the Leadership Certificate Program and Georgia Education Mentorship Program at Georgia College & State University. In 2024, they studied abroad together in Strasbourg in the Intercultural Leadership Program. They even serve as vice president and president, respectively, of the Georgia College Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society.

And for the 2025-26 academic year, Arps and Johnson became the first pair of Usery Fellows to be named simultaneously. Now, the two are preparing to host their first Usery Forum on Leadership Sept. 15 in Magnolia Ballroom.

"Both Bridget and Kassie were so compelling in their applications that our board wanted to award two fellowships," said Dr. Harold Mock, director of leadership programs at Georgia College.

Bridget Johnson is a psychology major from Tampa Bay, Florida. (Photo: Anna Gay Leavitt)

The Usery Fellowship is awarded to students who embody excellence in leadership for the public good. Johnson and Arps both say their involvement in the programs available at Georgia College helped propel them to the Fellowship and has prepared them for a future in leadership.

"I feel like they offer us a lot of opportunities," Arps said. "So it's great to be able to take those and feel supported while doing it."

Johnson, a psychology major from Tampa Bay, Florida, is co-captain of the GCSU soccer team and a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. She says the leadership programs are "the best thing that's happened to me at Georgia College."

"No matter what major or career I'm looking at, I think these skills will help me in anything," Johnson said.

Arps, a mass communication major, held various leadership positions before the fellowship as well. Back home in Alpharetta, she worked her way up from a lifeguard to supervising a team of 100 lifeguards across nine facilities. She spent this past summer as a media relations intern for a PR firm in Washington, D.C., and currently works as a communications specialist for Georgia College Leadership Programs.

Usery Fellows are paired with a mentor and assist with leadership events throughout the year, including the Leadership Ideas Festival and TEDxGeorgiaCollege, but they are most heavily involved in the Usery Forum.

What's the Forum for?

On the day of each forum, the Fellows serve as campus hosts to a highly accomplished guest speaker, sitting down over coffee and introducing the guest around campus throughout the day, culminating in the event itself: A Q&A with the guest speaker, hosted by the Fellows, to share insight about leadership that brings people together.

The first speaker this semester is Amanda Rosseter, executive vice president and chief communications and brand officer at the PNC Financial Services Group.

Kassie Arps is majoring in Mass Communication and is from Alpharetta. (Photo: Anna Gay Leavitt) "Developing a leader mindset as a college student only serves as a launch pad into a successful career," Rosseter said. "In other words, walking into a new role with a leader mindset gives every new graduate an advantage from day one."

Rosseter spent nine years leading global external communications for The Coca-Cola Company, and before her foray into corporate communications, she was an investigative journalist with four Emmy Awards, eleven Associated Press Awards and more under her belt.

"To have one or two days of that, and to get to know them, get to listen to them, get to learn from them - that's valuable information that I'll use for the rest of my life," Johnson said.

The Fellows are not the only students that get to interact with the speakers, either. Though Arps and Johnson will lead the conversation on stage, guest speakers will field questions from curious audience members, whether submitted through a QR code on the screen or by raising their hand the old-fashioned way.

Students and community members in the audience can also meet, exchange ideas and network with the speakers during a reception before the forum.

For Arps, Rosseter's journalism background makes her a highly anticipated first Usery speaker.

"I think it's a very surreal opportunity just to be able to meet someone who's so accomplished and is honestly doing exactly what I want to do, just 20 years ahead," Arps said.

Beyond her many accolades, Mock says students will recognize Rosseter as accessible, kind and generous.

"When they see somebody who is so well-accomplished, so highly credentialed, they perceive this enormous gap between where they are and where this speaker is," Mock said. "And then they will meet Mrs. Rosseter and immediately be able to identify with her, to see elements of themselves in her."

After Rosseter, the next Usery Forum guest will be Walter M. "Sonny" Deriso Jr. Nov. 11, and there will be two more forums held in spring 2026.

Through its unique liberal arts mission - which encourages students to collaborate across disciplines in a wide array of experiential learning opportunities - GCSU is training the next generation of leaders to create a better world by solving the systemic challenges that cause societal pains. Read about recent projects and success stories.