From the president
Axel Hawkins, a sophomore at Georgia College & State University, has distinguished herself as a leader on campus and in the greater Milledgeville community. As a freshman, Axel served as the Chair of the Student Emergency Fund on the Student Government Association, and in her sophomore year, she was elected treasurer. She is currently working to create an organization for first-generation college students that will serve both as a support system for current students and a way to help create more first-generation students by hosting college application workshops in area high schools. Off campus, Axel has canvassed for political candidates and served as a full-time community organizer for Working America, addressing Georgia’s housing shortage and inequality. After graduation, Axel plans to pursue an MPA degree and to start a career in the public sector, focusing on rural economic development and prosperity.
Personal Statement
I spent most of my formative years in a small country town with deep poverty and low opportunity. Affordable housing, good-paying jobs and higher education were hard to come by. I know first-hand what it’s like to live in an underserved community. As I grew older, I realized that the only way to change this situation was to get to work. I spent Summer 2022 as a full-time community organizing fighting for increased housing affordability in Georgia, reaching out to communities both like and unlike my own. Upon returning to college in the fall, I became involved in improving the experience for and increasing the numbers of of my fellow first-generation college students, working to bring more education and wealth to all types of under-served communities.