Last night on December 3rd, 2019 at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, the National Society of Leadership & Success hosted their Induction ceremony in Eagle Hall. The purpose of this ceremony is to celebrate in to letting their peers, parents, and the public share in the story of each member’s own leadership journey. Out of all the steps members completed: Orientation, Leadership Training Day, and the 3 Speaker Broadcasts/3 SNT Meetings, the Induction ceremony is the most important because members feel a sense of completion, success, and have established a new networked amongst their NSLS community. Members were able to share their commitment to inspire positive action among their other inductees. While inspiring positive action, Dr Del Doughty (Dean of the College and Liberal Arts), was the keynote speaker who spoke on the important topic of Leadership and how leadership can impact one’s life and Emily Page gave her success story. In addition at the ceremony, students were presented with their Certificate of Leadership Training, car decal, and a new member pin honoring their achievement and membership in the NSLS.

In addition to students receiving their membership certifications, faculty and staff were also presented awards to honor their dedication and passion towards students, The NSLS offered three different awards to 9 different faculty and staff. The awards that were given were the Honorary Membership Award, the Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Excellence in Service to Students Award.

  The Honorary Membership award is given to a faculty or staff member who embody the mission of the NSLS while also demonstrate the leadership qualities in a personal and professional setting. These individuals have played an important role for impacting the life of not only students but their peers as well. Dr. LeAnne Wright and Ms. Vicki Melde was awarded with this honor. 

Next, the Excellence in Teaching Award was given. This award is given to the individuals who teach with passion and inspire students beyond the classroom while also demonstrating dedication to developing students beyond the classroom. The teachers that were awarded this honor were: Dr. Drew Morton, Dr. Kevin Ells, Dr. Corrine Hinton, and Dr. Jialing Huang.

The final award that was given was the Excellence in Service to Students Award. This award was given to a faculty members on campus who exemplify leadership and mentorship, while demonstrating commitment to bettering the lives of students. The faculty that were given this honor was: Mr. Corey Robinson, Mrs. Brianna Taylor, and Mrs. Courtney Thomas.

The National Society of Leadership & Success lives by the mission of building leaders who make a better world and it is their passion in recognizing their members as well as faculty and staff who embody that mission.

The National Society of Leadership & Success hosted their first social event of the year this fall. The purpose of the social event was to bring together current and past members to gather ideas and thoughts about their future plans. The NSLS on Texas A&M University-Texarkana has a total of 384 members and in order for the NSLS to bring together all members, a social event was enacted.The NSLS Chapter at Texas A&M University Texarkana has a total of 284 members currently and 120 members who have been set to alumni status. Altogether, the campus has 384 members who have been on campus. 

At the social event, members arrived promptly at 6:00 p.m. in their business casual attire ready to interact amongst their peers. The NSLS provided free food such as: Firehouse Sub sandwiches, Wingstop Wings, Olive Garden, cake, and more! Members were able to take some home! As members were eating and networking, members listened to some of the executive board share their success stories. The speakers talked about their experience through the NSLS, how the NSLS has shaped them as a leader, and why they joined the organization. Members also interacted in icebreakers to establish even more connections. 

Members got to witness a speech from TAMUT’s very own, Dr. Kevin Ells on the mindset of a leader. Dr. Kevin Ells is the Associate Professor of Mass Communications at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. Dr. Ells talked about the mindset of a leader and how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset can really influence one’s life. He emphasized that with a fixed mindset, qualities and habits that you inhibit are fixed and cannot change. However with a growth mindset, it allows you with the intelligence than can be developed while you get smarter through hard work. Dr. Ells has various roles on campus. By having a professor speak at an event to students, this allows them to really engage in conversation. “I’d spoken about Carol Dweck’s Mindsets earlier this semester on campus at a public speaking anxiety workshop. I was honored when one of those workshop participants invited me to speak at NSLS, a vibrant new student organization here on campus”, Ells said. 

The National Society of Leadership & Success (NSLS)

The National Society of Leadership & Success is coming back to campus bigger and stronger than ever before on campus. It is still the largest organization on campus and the chapter still plans to outgrow themselves each semester.

 In addition to honorable distinction, the NSLS provides a step-by-step program for members to build their leadership skills through participation at their campus or online. Upon completion of the program, members receive their leadership certificate and take their place among the top student leaders at their campus and across the country. Members are able to list their affiliation on all statements of personal accomplishment, including their resume.  

Membership is for life and provides access to benefits including scholarships and awards, exclusive on-campus events, employer recruitment through an online job bank, and discounts on computers, textbooks, grad school prep courses, insurance and much more. Once you have paid your registration fee, you are considered a member (also known as pre-inducted member) with access to certain benefits. In order to become an inducted member, you must complete the following steps: 

1. Orientation: the first meeting that occurs each semester and will give you access to all the information you need about the program in order to successfully complete the steps for induction as a member.
2. Leadership Training Day: an interactive video training session with a workbook designed to help you identify and overcome any obstacles that may interfere with obtaining your goals. This introspective seminar helps you to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and lastly to shift your focus toward your real passions. 
3. Three speaker broadcast events: you will watch some of the world’s most successful motivational speakers discussing topics related to leadership, identifying goals, facing challenges, personal growth, and successfully transitioning from college to career.
4. Three Success Networking Team meetings: bring together groups of students that work together and provide peer coaching on achieving goals. You can discuss goals, desires and expectations, set timelines and hold each other accountable for achieving what you want. The Success Networking Team provides members with a support network of like-minded goal-oriented students on campus.

Once you complete these steps, you will be invited to an induction ceremony where you will receive your membership kit.

The NSLS Chapter at Texas A&M University-Texarkana currently has 324 members in total. However, the chapter expects a significant jump in that number over the next month. The chapter sent out 618 invitations this past Friday, September 6th and so far, the chapter has already 11 joins in just 3 days! Members who received an invitation have until October 3rd, 2019 to accept the invitations.  Just next month, Emily Page, Bethany Melton, and Philip Derouen to attend a conference in Houston Texas to bring back more ideas from chapters nationwide right back to Texas A&M University-Texarkana! Emily Page and Bethany Melton were two of the first inducted members on campus since the chapter started in 2018 and they both moved up to serve on the Executive Board. It will Emily’s first semester to serve on the Executive Board and she could not be more excited! “I’m so happy I said yes and I don’t regret the decision at all! I’m beyond happy and thankful to work alongside both of y’all” Emily stated. as she is getting prepared for the conference in Houston.

The NSLS is the nation’s largest leadership honor society. Students are selected by their college for membership based on either academic standing or leadership potential. Candidacy is a nationally recognized achievement of honorable distinction.