Two Texas Social Work students are a part of the inaugural Texas Trailblazers: Gay Gaddis Leadership Program, a new program that trains undergraduate students for leadership.
The students, Phoebe Cosgrove and Andres Yengel, will spend 14 weeks during the Fall 2025 semester in workshops with accomplished business leaders including founder and entrepreneur Gay Gaddis; as well as developing a lifetime network amongst an ambitious group of peers. They are among just forty student leaders selected from the Forty Acres to be a part of this program.
Gaddis, an entrepreneur and business leader, said she began the program because “the world needs great leaders more than ever.” Texas Trailblazers is a program designed to nurture, train and inspire natural born leaders to reach the pinnacle of success by getting up-close and personal with accomplished leaders willing to share their trade secrets and insights.
“Interdisciplinary work like the Texas Trailblazers program teaches you how to apply social work to the outside world. It helps beyond centers and community – it can be applied everywhere,” said Cosgrove. “I want to apply my social work skills to business, and business skills to social work. This cohort will teach me to exude confidence and give it on to others.”
“Social workers belong in leadership roles and mentorship with other leaders,” said Yengel. “It’s an honor and a blessing to be one of the inaugural Texas Trailblazers, and I know that participating in this transformative program will elevate my skills. We’re called in social work to change the world. I can’t wait to do that by learning from the best leaders on the Forty Acres and beyond.”