National Society Provides New Leadership Opportunities to JSC Students

September 29, 2016

About 150 Johnson State College students – undergraduates, graduate students and adult learners – have been selected this semester to participate in a new program on campus that builds leadership skills.

The students have invaluable opportunities to network, make career connections and build professional development skills through the College’s new chapter in the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), the country’s biggest leadership honor society.

JSC is one of just two colleges in Vermont with a chapter of the NSLS, which provides a peer network, scholarships and leadership opportunities. Students will be encouraged to pursue leadership positions on campus and in the community. “They learn, they develop skills with support and then move on to a leadership role. It’s a great opportunity for students to put their skills into practice,” says Krista Swahn, JSC’s director of student activities and service.

She is heading the program on campus this semester, after which students will run the JSC chapter. At an NSLS orientation at JSC in September, students participated in a leadership training day, where they discussed communication skills and leadership styles and identified self-improvement goals. Students will meet with their networking team during the semester to assess their progress.

As part of the program, three speakers will be broadcast live on campus this semester, including New York Times best-selling authors Dolvett Quince, Leigh Anne Tuohy and Andy Cohen, who will discuss positive thinking, landing a dream job and related topics.

“JSC has many leadership opportunities that are very specific, such as the Student Government Association and student-led clubs, but there hasn’t been a campus-wide, for-every-student leadership opportunity,” Krista says. “We were looking to take a step up. The NSLS provides a good structure. This is a broader opportunity for all students.” Participation in the ongoing program is open to all eligible students, including those enrolled in JSC’s community-based External Degree Program and JSC Online.

For this semester, JSC staff members selected the participating students based on their grade point averages. In the future, students – who must have completed at least one semester at JSC – may be nominated by themselves, faculty or staff. When they complete the program at the end of the semester, they will be inducted into the NSLS.

The New Jersey-based society has about 650,000 members at more than 500 colleges. For more information about the program at JSC, contact Krista Swahn at 802-635-1478 or krista.swahn@jsc.edu.