Officers of the Mount's NSLS chapter.
The Mount St. Mary's University chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) inducted 102 new members in a ceremony on April 30. The Mount chapter has grown from 130 when it began in 2016 to 614 student leaders today. NSLS is the nation’s largest leadership honor society.
The new members of NSLS are Dominic Aeschlimann, Cristal Alvarez Hernandez, Karen Anderson, Liam Aro, Jose Pablo Badia, Allyson Bahr, Samantha Barry, William Bartlett, Alexander Brown, Hope Brown, Kenneth Burwell-Tibbs, Elizabeth Cabral, Thomas Carter, Rebecca Cermak, Megan Chow, Adriana Colburn, Jade' Curtis, Alexis Daus, Anna Kate Davis, Maeve Davis, Anne Delaney, Nicholas DeLeon, Melanie Deniel, Austin Dodd, Brooke Dotson, Anthony Drake, Kevin Durbin, Lauren Dykes, Jason Dyson, Molly Fitzmaurice, Neil Flannery, Nicholas Flick, Sophia Ford, Anne Frederick, Brianna Gallagher, Tiffany Gomez, Mary Gould, Jared Griffie, Angelo Gurcsik, Madison Hall, Maura Herron, Eric Hipkins, Kayla Hughes, Nora Hullett, Jordan Hunt, Jazlyn Ibarra, Eric Illescas, Andrew Jackson, Molly Jackson, William Jacobs, Matthew Jaouni, Brianna Kajetzke, James Kempisty, Amelia Kline, Jenna Lewaren, Maya Marks, Maureen McClellan, William McCormick, Alexis McKain, Megan McNulty, Shannon McQuin, Kalie Messner, Kimberly Nelson, Patrick O'Hanlon, Jasmine Owens, Douglas O’Donnell, Alyssa Pinto, Alejandra Piti-Mesa, Yesenia Ponce, Christian Quijano, Abigail Quirk, Danielle Reilly, Sarah Richthammer, Paige Roberts, Gabrielle Sease, Sean Seay, Santino Servagno, Karina Sharma, Emma Sharp, Kiyan Sheraz, Molly Shipley, Isabella Sladic, Mia Smallwood, Ebonie Smith, Megan Smith, Joshua Snavely, Shahanaaz Soumah, Julianna Spicer, Casey Spiridopoulos, Travis Tasker, Walter Tate, Taylor Tennyson, Katlyn Timmons, Ashley Torkornoo, Camila Vaca-Pereira, Sydney Verdecchia, Sherry Vosburgh, Matthew White, Isaiah Williamson, Kyrston Wilson and Casey Wood.
Students are selected to be a part of the society based on their academic standing or leadership potential. Candidacy is a nationally recognized achievement of honorable distinction. Membership extends a variety of resources to students for building their leadership skills through on-campus or online participation, and provides lifelong access to benefits, including scholarships and awards, an employer job bank and personal discounts for students.
Keynote speaker Christina Yoder, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business, shared her leadership journey, including bad advice that she received to darken her hair color to avoid being labeled as a “dumb blond” as well as lower her voice and dress differently to appear older. “I lost who I was, what motivated me and what was important to me,” she said.
Yoder advised the students to take advantage of opportunities to learn about themselves and to reflect on what they have done well, what has been less successful and what they could do differently. This self-knowledge allows leaders to draw on strengths to serve others. “Leadership is less about you and more about how you serve others and contribute to society,” Yoder said.
The Mount chapter also gave awards recognizing individuals who are supportive of student leaders. Paul Alberti, C’83, received honorary membership in the NSLS. Recognized for excellence in teaching were Layton Field, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology, and Kraig Sheetz, Ph.D., dean of the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. Donna Klinger, director of public relations and communications, Melissa Meath of the catering staff and Magnolia Rivera of the Custodial Services Department received the Excellence in Service to Students Award.
The Mount chapter, operated through the Institute for Leadership Ethics, Achievement and Development (iLEAD), hosts numerous leadership development events. The 2018-19 officers are Morgan Weigle, student president; Kylie Kunzman, student vice president; Calleigh Kearns, secretary; Stephen Jackson, treasurer; Elena Rittie, success networking team coordination; Emily Rivera, membership outreach chair; Kevin Durbin, IT coordinator; and Katie Kunzman, social events coordinator. Calleigh Kearns will serve as president in 2019-20, announced iLEAD Director Dana Larkin Sauers, who serves as faculty advisor to NSLS.