The National Society of Leadership and Success is a new organization at Pepperdine that “helps college students achieve personal growth, career success and empowers them to create a positive impact in their communities,” according to the National Society of Leadership and Success’s Instagram.
NSLS has been at Pepperdine since spring 2022, said Cheyanne Washington, junior and NSLS chapter president.
Lydia Duval, NSLS chapter vice president and junior, said there are between 250 and 270 students in the chapter at Pepperdine.
“We’re a very new organization and I was invited to join that semester straight away, and then applied to be president because I just thought the mission was really cool, and a cool organization with a lot of potential,” Washington said.
Duval said she got an invitation last spring when it started.
“I thought this would be another good way to just get plugged in right away and make more connections on campus,” Duval said.
NSLS is one of the nation’s largest societies, Washington said. There are over 700 chapters across the United States, and it just recently became an international honors society, Washington said.
Nomination Process
Professors nominate students to be a part of the NSLS program, Washington said. Each professor has an opportunity to nominate one student based on academic leadership potential, and the NSLS sends students an email with their nomination to accept or deny it.
Both Duval and Washington said the emails, “look like spam.” In addition to a professor nominating a student, a student can nominate themself through a self-nomination process described on the NSLS website.
This year in particular, nominations were based on meeting a GPA requirement of 3.0, Washington said.
Pepperdine accepted the NSLS chapter onto campus about halfway through the spring 2022 semester, Washington said.
“Lydia and I are kind of picking this up from the ground,” Washington said. “There’s really no foundation for what NSLS is at Pepperdine.”
Washington and Duval said they are trying to do tabling events so people who received an invitation can see it is an active organization on campus.
“Something we really want to start is doing formal chapters because I think the best way to look at this is it’s very similar to almost like a business fraternity,” Washington said.
Alumni Connections
The NSLS also has a large alumni network, Washington said.
A Wesleyan University alumnus and project manager for a launch pad at SpaceX reached out to the Pepperdine NSLS chapter to meet with them and help their students work on their resumes and help them get jobs, Washington said.
Washington and Duval said alumni support showed them the value and the potential of what the NSLS chapter offers its students.
“There is a NSLS alumni network, and Pepperdine is not plugged into it yet, but we can be, and I think that’s just gonna start with us starting to grow our name on campus,” Washington said.
Chapter Meetings
Technically, Pepperdine NSLS is registered as an online chapter, which means it is not required to do in-person meetings, Washington said. Duval and Washington said they want to change this belief. They said it comes down to meeting in-person and having regular meetings people can come to and can talk about what values NSLS has to offer.
“Washington and Duval want to meet the national adviser from NSLS on a weekly basis to try to solve the lack of active members,” Washington said.
Both Duval and Washington said they wanted to physically have an adviser from Pepperdine tell nominated students they’ve been selected for this organization. Washington said they are struggling with regulations.
Additionally, Pepperdine will not give Duval and Washington the home addresses of the students who were nominated, Washington said.
Washington said what got a lot of people to register last semester were these paper pamphlets that had the student body of who was a part of the NSLS and its staff.
“Nominees were able to be like, ‘This is like a real thing. This is legit. This is from Pepperdine,'” Washington said. “We no longer have that so it just continues to get harder.”
Duval said she assumed the reason for the restrictions were privacy issues and a bid to save paper.
“It was a University decision by upper administration/leadership to send email invitations to NSLS nominees instead of physical mailers,” Director of Career Education Marla Pontrelli said.
Junior Rachael Pinoliar said she joined the Pepperdine NSLS chapter in April. Pinoliar decided to accept her membership and become fully inducted because she received multiple emails and a letter with an info packet about the NSLS.
Pinoliar said she hasn’t met any students or any people through networking to connect with, but recently found out her roommate is also a member, which was a surprise. Pinoliar would like to be more involved and for the NSLS to have more hands-on experiences and more informational sessions.
Formal Chapter and Speaker Series
Washington and Duval said their goal for the month of October is to have its first formal chapter and possibly another social event. Right now, they are working on a speaker series they will make public in the near future.
A Wesley University NSLS alumnus wanted to come and connect and help members in their career. By the alumnus reaching out, it gave Washington and Duval some ideas, one being to bring speakers onto Pepperdine campus and have a panel discussion with students, Washington said.
NSLS plans to have one of the chairs of the Pepperdine Law School come to speak to pre-law students, Washington said.
Next, Washington and Duval said they plan to have a chief medical officer of clinic or hospital in Los Angeles come talk to students interested in pre-med.
“We’re hoping to just continue on that path because NSLS really is a leadership and career development organization,” Washington said. “So we’re really hoping to harp on that career-development aspect, which is kind of our strong suit.”
There are features on the NSLS website only open to NSLS members, and they offer a variety of different types of scholarships, Washington said.
“NSLS, is really good to have on your resume,” Washington said. “It’s just another notch in your belt, and hopefully, those different career and leadership building exercises that we’ll be doing and participating in will be of use in the future.”
Induction Process
Duval said she sees many NSLS members register and pay the annual fee, but they do not become fully inducted due to one of the steps in the induction process — “The Success-Networking Teams.” It looks and sounds complicated, and Duval is sure if it was done in person it would be a lot easier. Through Washington and Duval’s idea of a speaker series, the induction steps could be easily completed, Duval said.
Washington said they are looking into getting students credit for the speaker broadcast series they want to bring on campus.
“Having a general chapter would be good, but I don’t know really what to expect,” Pinoliar said. “I would like more general information about NSLS and what they have planned, what their aspirations are.”
Duval said the NSLS is going to set specific goals for students, such as “finding an internship,” to help with the onboarding process. Members will hold each other accountable to complete the goal, Duval said.
The NSLS members host SNT meetings for students to come together and succeed in networking and leadership, according to the NSLS’ instagram.
“I became inducted completely online and it was an individual experience that expanded my knowledge, but I also did not know what to expect,” Pinoliar said.
She said she preferred the online individual experience of becoming inducted because it was easier to manage her time with school. If it was in person, Pinolar said it would have taken up a lot of her time.
“It’s a great way to get plugged into a community of like-minded people who have all demonstrated excellence in academics, in leadership potential and to network with those groups,” Duval said. “The NSLS has a great alumni network, and to be able to make those connections in the future is really awesome.”
Duval said if a student receives a NSLS nomination in their email, they should take advantage of the opportunity.
“To build a network here at Pepperdine, and a network that will also last once you leave Pepperdine is essential,” Duval said. “Because, as Cheyanne said, it’s not even just a national thing, it’s an international organization and there are just so many resources.”
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Contact Victoria La Ferla by email: Victoria.laferla@pepperdine.edu
