Brenau Scholar Allie McConnell, 18, a Forsyth Central High grad from Cumming, Georgia, already has racked up considerable experience working with mentally and developmentally disabled children. She has helped special education children in school, and she spent two high school years helping students with severe disabilities. She volunteered at a hometown gym to teach special needs kids.

She frequently cared for a young girl with a rare neurological disorder. She wants the Women’s College to be a springboard to occupational therapy graduate school and a professional continuation of her work with special needs children.

“So many of them, especially the nonverbal kids, so badly want to be able to do so many things, but they are physically limited,” says the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority member. “Knowing the OT program here is one of the best in the nation, this is where I was supposed to go. I hope to impact as many children’s lives as I can. This school is all about empowering women to be the people they are supposed to be.”