Dickinson Launches a New Chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success

Dickinson Archway

Forging Future Leaders

by Kandace Kohr

For more than 230 years, Dickinson College has prepared leaders dedicated to making a difference and working toward the greater good. To help carry on this tradition, the college recently established a chapter with the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). 

Working with nearly one million students from over 600 colleges, the NSLS is the nation's largest honor society and collegiate leadership development program. Unlike traditional honor societies, students must complete a step-by-step leadership development program prior to being inducted. Throughout the curriculum, students get the opportunity to develop many in-demand skills such as communication and team building. 

The leadership development program offers the following:

  1. Orientation: New members are introduced to the program through an on-campus event, through which they learn about the steps and future events. 
  2. Leadership training day: Student members are invited to an interactive video training session that helps them identify goals. 
  3. Three speaker broadcast events: Events with leaders, celebrities and best-selling authors are livestreamed at least six times each year. 
  4. Three success networking team meetings: Students are assigned to small groups and meet biweekly to establish goals and hold each other accountable. 
  5. Induction: After completing the program, members receive their Certificate of Leadership Training honoring their achievement and granting lifetime membership into NSLS. 

Sophomore students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible for nomination to Dickinson's NSLS chapter. Those who are inducted can reap the benefits of membership well beyond graduation, with access to scholarships and awards, job and internship placement resources, custom recommendations, professional communication training and an extensive nationwide network. 

Dickinson's chapter advisors are Associate Director of Sorority Life and Leadership Programs Anna Baldasarre and Student Leadership & Campus Engagement (SLCE) Program Coordinator Jessee Vasold. "We chose to offer NSLS to sophomore students because, through opportunities for personal reflection and community involvement, NSLS will help them articulate the value of a Dickinson education as they 'discover what matters' and decide how they will 'deepen their focus,' " says Vasold, noting how the society reflects two key stages in the Dickinson Four, a four-year roadmap to the Dickinson experience.

TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

Published August 14, 2018