Alexis Leon
How Marywood Shaped Alexis Leon’s Path to Experiential Learning
When Alexis Leon ’04 was searching for the right college, she knew she wanted a small, liberal arts institution close to her family—one with a strong, well-rounded theater program. “Marywood also had a good theater program with a holistic approach to the arts,” she recalls. That combination made Marywood the perfect fit.
During her time at Marywood, Alexis found mentors who deeply shaped her journey. “Dr. Paulette Merchel and Judy Snyder from the theater department,” she notes, “as well as Donna Cadden and Sr. John-Michele Southwick, since I was also a Maxis-Gillet scholar for all four years.”
Her years as a Marywood student helped her develop skills that remain essential in her career today. “I could not manage any of my experiential learning programs had I not learned time management and project management as part of my theater practicum,” she says. “I also learned the importance of a strong work ethic and being a supportive team player. My volunteer service as a Maxis-Gillet only reinforced these ideas. Also, it gave me some of my first opportunities for program development and management, as well as leadership training as part of the SEARCH XIV team.”
Since 2020, Alexis has served as Associate Director for Experiential Learning at Lafayette College’s Gateway Career Center. She stepped into the role during the first year of COVID—an especially challenging time—but has since made an impressive impact. “I have streamlined systems, increased marketing, and recruited application readers to be able to award hundreds of thousands of dollars in summer internship support,” she explains. “This year I was able to distribute nearly three times as much funding support as I had in 2020, my first summer in the position.”
Looking back, Alexis credits Marywood with shaping not just her career but her approach to life. “My work inside the classroom and outside through service projects taught me what it means to be a global citizen, and laid the groundwork for my servant leadership approach anywhere I now dedicate time and energy,” she says.
Outside of her professional role, Alexis continues to follow her passion for the arts. She serves as a stage manager and teacher with Star of the Day, LLC in Emmaus, PA, and continues her long-standing connection with Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA, where she worked for over a decade as a board member and still contracts as a stage manager.
Her advice for current Marywood students is simple but powerful: “Get outside of your silo and always be kind! I was dedicated to theater, but my service work and the friends I made through floormates and other classmates were such an integral part of my experience. Just having one person extend an invitation or be that familiar face helped me experience so much more than I would have just being locked away in the basement of the PAC.”