New leadership bring changes to Women’s Cooperative

This semester’s women’s cooperative took a new direction with the leaving of former leader Keely Beasley and the transition to student leaders.

Keely Beasley, the former director of women’s cooperative,  moved to Pennsylvania with her husband and left the leadership up to a group of young women who have been trained to take over the leading of the program. This year’s leadership team is Lauren Bone, junior physcology major; Ruthie Johnson, junior Christian studies major; Cameron Wilson, senior English major; Erin Sowers, senior art major and Peyton English, senior social work major.

 “It has been hard, but Keely’s absence has prepared the girls to make it their own and they feel prepared overall,” said Bone.

Beasley has been missed among the current leadership team, but the girls said they believe it is good to have this distance from Beasley so they can be encouraged to step up and take over.

“The girls that Keely picked are all amazing and different, but there is a balance,” Bone said. “There is a balance between those personalities to help keep each other grounded.”

With Beasley gone, there is no main staff member taking the role of leader, so instead Melanie Taylor, ministry coordinator, has been with the team this year to help the leaders do the tasks that students can’t do themselves.

“Melanie has been a great help,” Bone said. “She is basically a faculty representative and helps us as she is able.”

Bone said that it is the best experience and it has taught her a lot about the different aspects of ministry, such as what goes on behind the scenes, planning and logistics as well as taught her about relationships with others.

Johnson agreed with Bone. She said being without a set leader is difficult, but not impossible to achieve.

“It’s hard because we started from scratch and nobody had done it before,” Johnson said. “But it’s cool to be able to make it our own. Keely did a good job of choosing girls with different strengths to be able to work well with each other.”

Both ladies agreed being without Beasley is sad, but they have taken trust in the Lord that this semester will go according to plan.

Johnson said her favorite part is having the chance to be able to lead and pour into a group of leaders as they pour into their girls and getting the chance to ask about their lives and encourage them.