My Rollins Life: Defining Leadership
February 14, 2022
By Carley Matthews ’22, as told to Adrienne Egolf
![Carley Matthews ’22](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qe2ul2l0/production/1401ca6c3d9e20d00e97a1d024ddaf503f783622-2000x1334.jpg?w=1376&h=918&q=70&fit=max&auto=format)
Carley Matthews ’22 isn’t trying to fit a certain mold of leadership—she’s using her own voice and style to redefine the role.
Carley Matthews ’22 didn’t set out to become a campus leader when she started at Rollins. As a student at Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida, the psychology major says she was shy and introverted and came to college worried about making friends. But she faced her fears and dove headfirst into getting involved on campus. She joined the Black Student Union, became a first-year representative for Rollins’ Immersion program, which pairs students with service learning opportunities, and joined the club volleyball team.
Now the social justice advocate is on the precipice of transitioning from an intern into a full-time team member at the OnePulse Foundation after she graduates, working for the organization’s education program doing outreach to the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando. Hear from Carley in her own words about how living and learning at Rollins has helped shaped her into the person she always wanted to be.
![A grid of images depicting Carley Matthews ’22 on an Immersion experience in Savannah, Georgia, assembling hygiene kits for the homeless, and visiting the Pulse memorial in Orlando.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qe2ul2l0/production/18f4386859e704184290c1ed807617ec8f9a578d-900x600.png?rect=0,0,899,600&w=736&h=491&q=70&fit=max&auto=format)
A Home Base
“Fitting in was definitely at the forefront of my mind coming into a predominantly white institution. But being a part of the EMBARK program really helped. This program at Rollins helps students from underrepresented backgrounds transition to life in college. We got to meet before classes even started our first year. Later, I became a student coordinator so I could help other new students find their way. This experience really gave me the confidence I needed to grow socially, personally, and academically, and the staff in the Student Center for Inclusion & Belonging has become like family to me.”
What Drew Me In
“In high school I was interested in a number of different things, so I wanted my college education to look like that. At Rollins I immediately had these opportunities to get involved with so many different aspects of campus and they’ve ultimately been things I’ve been involved with all four years. I was a first-year representative for Rollins’ Immersion program, shadowing leaders of the program that facilitates service-learning projects. Now I’m an Immersion coordinator. I’m also the president of Black Student Union, which is one of the first clubs I joined when I came to Rollins.”
Seeds of Advocacy
“My first year I was dead set on being a clinical therapist and working with youth. I still want to work with young people, but my goals have shifted to nonprofit work because I’m very passionate about social justice. I want a career where I’m always changing, learning, and growing. Having the interdisciplinary approach at Rollins allowed me to broaden my perspective. I still want to be a therapist—it’s just not the only thing I want to be.”
![Carley Matthews](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qe2ul2l0/production/5b96d0c4cce5c6fe0072d96494b482ff9192ba1e-720x480.jpg?w=736&h=491&q=70&fit=max&auto=format)