A new chapter of the nation’s largest leadership honor society was initiated at Western New Mexico University with an induction ceremony of more than 70 students on Saturday, May 6.
The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) ceremony was the culmination of preparation of several months for students and staff that were looking to create new student leadership opportunities at WNMU.
“The goal for us is to get students to analyze their life goals, helping them decide their majors, and improve their leadership skills to benefit our campus and community,” said Dayana Baez, 21, president of the WNMU Chapter.
Baez, a junior majoring in chemistry and math, along with several other newly inducted chapter officers were the main proponents of bringing NSLS to WNMU. Nicki Vasquez, 20, a sophomore majoring in kinesiology, is the chapter vice-president. Vasquez is hoping that future programming is created targeting the Hispanic campus population.
“I know for a fact that the society helps students break down their goals, and helps them figure out their passions and drives,” said Vasquez. “I would like to introduce organizational, scheduling, and communication workshops. We serve many Hispanic students and I’ve already seen their language skills grow.”
More than 250 students were invited to participate in the program, after meeting academic and leadership qualification standards. NSLS standards required that invitees pay a membership and attend 12 hours of seminars and training before induction.
The induction ceremony included 73 students who completed the program successfully.
“The newly inducted students will now have access to many resources including career opportunities with the NSLS job bank and personalized reference letters from the national office,” said Vasquez.
NSLS offers discounts for members on educational related item purchases including textbooks, apparel, electronics and car insurance.
The student executive board is planning several trainings and workshops for the upcoming year in hopes to increase the membership to several hundred students.