Every Columbia College student’s journey toward leadership is unique and builds on their personal experiences and dreams. Read about how the 4Cs of leadership are interpreted by a diverse group of young women, a new generation of leaders who are already making a positive difference.

Angela's Story

Angela Kay Maselli was hiking with her family when the 14-year-old discovered she had lupus, an autoimmune disease that results in pain, inflammation, and damage to various parts of the body. “Eighth and ninth grade were horrible,” Maselli remembers. “When you’re starting high school, you want to fit in. I was 82 pounds.”

It was horrible in another way, too. Maselli was a dancer. She loved tap, ballet, jazz, and now it hurt to move. The problems subsided with steroid treatment, and Maselli danced again. After finishing Evans High School in Evans, Ga., she moved to California to tour for a year with Young Americans. Formed in 1960s, the nonprofit organization sponsors about 200 young people, who sing and dance in performance tours and teach children music in outreach tours. Maselli had applied to and been accepted by New York University and Oklahoma City University, then “I had one of those moments. Young Americans was touring the Southeast, and I auditioned with them and got accepted. My mom didn’t want me to go all the way to California, but it was an eye-opening experience. It was a blast. I had a lot of fun, but I knew if I didn’t go back to school, it would be harder and harder to go back.”

Maselli, born in Pennsylvania in 1985, had moved frequently when she was little, to New Jersey, California, back to New Jersey, then the Florida Keys. But when she was four, her family settled in Evans, Ga., and she made a lasting connection with her dance teacher. So, when a college education seemed the next thing to do, she knew where to go. Her former dance teacher, Cindy Folger of Augusta West Dance Studio, was a Columbia College graduate and brought Maselli to the campus for a tour. “I fell in love, and Cindy said, ‘I told you,’ and I said, ‘I needed to find out for myself.’”
           
Her sophomore year Maselli suffered from avascular necrosis in her knees. The loss of blood supply to the bones can lead to the collapse of bones or joints. So, Maselli used knee braces, crutches, and creativity. She turned to contractual studies, in which a student builds her own major. With the assistance of Susan Haigler, the former chair of the Department of Dance, and Martha Brim, a professor of dance, she created an arts management major, which focuses on the business side of the arts. “It took a while. I had to research arts management at other schools, such as the College of Charleston and New York University. I had to go through an approval process, make corrections, get it approved again, draw up a contract of set classes.”
           
Maselli, her high school’s valedictorian, was chair of the Honors Student Association; treasurer, vice president, and president of the dance company’s executive board; an honors induction leader; chaplain of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society; chair of the Honors Student Association; a presenter at a variety of honors conferences; and an intern with Harvest Talent Agency. She says, “I’ve presented for four years on honors leadership. I’ve been to St. Louis, Philadelphia, Denver, Birmingham, Charlotte, too. I was the student in high school who was scared to death to give a speech. I was petrified to speak to groups. I came to a school where I had the opportunity to serve in different leadership positions, and I said, ‘Okay, maybe I can do this.’ Now, I love it. I don’t know what happened exactly, except I gained confidence to speak in front of large groups.”

Maselli reconsiders, then says, “You have liberty here to do what you want, with boundaries. This gives me the opportunity to create, to think outside the box. I don’t think other schools offer such liberty and freedom. Here you’re allowed to take on a project and own it. There are so many types of leadership opportunities. Leadership experiences have inspired me to say, ‘I can do that.’” Consequently, Maselli has developed clear ideas about leadership itself: “To be a leader, you have to be confident in yourself. Like I said, in high school I wasn’t. You have to interact well with people. You have to be a listener and take people’s ideas into account. You have to be open to new ideas and new ways of thinking; you can’t be close-minded.”
She acknowledges that for many prospective students the leadership opportunities might be countered by the school being single gender. “That’s a whole issue, going to a women’s college. I wasn’t sure it was right for me. But it has given me the ability to do things I couldn’t do and has empowered me as a woman. I want more people to know, it’s been beautiful; it’s been great; you’ll love it.”

           
UPDATE: Angela, a 2008 graduate of Columbia College, recently graduated from Savannah College of Art & Design with a Master of Arts Administration degree. She is currently living in Atlanta, Georgia, still dancing and enjoying being a part of the arts’ scene in the city.