Georgia Frost graduated in 2022 from James Madison College with a degree in political theory and constitutional democracy, and international relations. She is from Dexter, Michigan and now resides in Ann Arbor working for Rep. Debbie Dingell in Michigan’s 6th Congressional District. Georgia served as ASMSU president from 2021-22.
The following content is part of a larger series titled "Eight years of ASMSU."
As you reflect on your time as ASMSU President, what are you most proud of?
I’m most proud that I never stopped trying to figure out how best to support people. I worked in a massive organization alongside folks with incredibly diverse leadership styles, personalities and things on their plates. I tried to set aside my personal beliefs on how a student government should function and made room for the highly varied priorities and methodologies in our organization. Supporting people internally helped make the organization healthier, and it made our student advocacy better.
In what ways did your time as president prepare or inform the work you have done since graduating?
Though I might have been “top dog” during my tenure at ASMSU, I learned that you absolutely can lead from anywhere. Being a leader doesn’t need a title.
I doubt I’ll ever be a President or CEO again, but I learned the soft skills that I use everywhere I go. From constantly juggling conflicting opinions and stakeholders, I became more thoughtful, more innovative and more respectful. From interpersonally managing a close team and a broader 100+ member organization, I also learned how to become a better friend, girlfriend, daughter and sister. Being ASMSU President might have been a professional endeavor, but it taught me a lot more than that.
Is there a particular Madison professor and/or class that really stands out as having been instrumental in shaping your ideas and values?
I’ll never forget Professor Kirstin Brathwaite and her impact on me. In college, I was very interested in national and international security, but I couldn’t help but feel intimidated by it. There was some kind of assumption that security studies was a field for men.
As my courses became more technical in the security field, my classes were filled with more and more men and were rarely led by women. I struggled to find role models. Women were allowed to like politics and government, but that encouragement seemed largely confined to social justice issues, humanitarian work and the environment. I could find women there, but not in the field I cared most about.
As a highly educated, confident, persuasive, and impressive educator for security studies, Professor Brathwaite showed me that women belong anywhere they want to be. After all, women have opinions on the F-35 fighter jet, too. When Professor Brathwaite spoke, people listened. Intently. I rarely saw that kind of respect given to someone. She wasn’t just an excellent educator, though. Professor Brathwaite cares deeply about her students’ successes.
How has Madison prepared you for where you are today?
There is no doubt in my mind that my education at James Madison College is what made me such a critical thinker. As an IR and PTCD grad, I feel like I spent most of my time in college asking “Why?” I do that now, too – perhaps to others’ annoyance.
James Madison taught me that we always have more than the cards we’re dealt.
I became educated in what the scholars in my field thought, sure, but I was equally encouraged to question them and push the discourse further.
I was very motivated by my experience at JMC to find myself in my field, and that kind of motivation will keep me pressing forward my whole life.