Scholar Spotlight for February 2010: Jake Wellman

Jake Wellman (University of New Mexico, Class of 2012) knows something about making the most of his NSCS membership. He’s been a member for about one year, and already he’s the Executive Vice President of his chapter, an NSCS Merit Award scholarship recipient, and recently even won a T-shirt through NSCS’ Scholar Connection Treasure Hunt.

Jake says that he was inspired to join NSCS in spring 2009, because two of his friends, NSCS members, told him about the organization. “They told me that if I got invited to be part of the Society, I should grab the opportunity and make the most of the benefits,” he says.

And he did just that. Soon after joining NSCS, his friends invited him to meet with the NSCS chapter’s officer board; they were looking for motivated members to be officers for next year. He applied for Executive Vice President, and won the election.

As part of his job as Executive VP, he was invited to attend the NSCS Leadership Summit and Convention in Washington, D.C. There he met hundreds of other NSCS officers and members—and learned about how to make the most of his time as an officer and member. That’s also when he learned about the Merit Award, a $1,000 scholarship that NSCS awards to 52 new members.

Excited about the chance to receive $1,000 towards his college tuition, he applied in August. A few weeks later, he found out that he was one of the 52 recipients.

“I was really surprised and humbled to win, because I thought there might be people with lengthier resumes who’d apply and win,” he says.

In January, Jake and the rest of the UNM officer board, planned their chapter’s NSCS Route 66 Event. Route 66 is a 66-campus nationwide 6-month tour featuring motivational speaker Jullien Gordon who presents an interactive workshop on how to best prepare for life beyond college though 66 things every college student should do to make the most of their college experience.

Jake says that the program went very well on his campus. “People had rave reviews for this. That’s why we want to have NSCS members make commitments based on that workshop—which of the 66 things on that list that we all want to do.”

And Jake has even more he wants to accomplish with NSCS. “I really want to be part of the National Leadership Council, and get national leadership experience. And I want to keep up with all the partnerships NSCS has, because I think it’ll help me develop professionally.”

Jake has one piece of advice for new NSCS members: “Get involved! Not only will you get to experience the fun opportunities that are out there but you’ll also keep growing as a leader and a person.”