When liberal studies senior Allison Crawford was first invited to join the Cal Poly chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), a club whose mission is to promote change through community service events and involvement on their college campuses, she accepted because she thought it would look good on her resume.
“Once I became an active member, I found that it was a hundred percent more than just putting it on a resume,” Crawford, now co-president, said. “You meet so many people and gain a lot of experience.”
After receiving national recognition this past summer, the Cal Poly chapter of NSCS is gearing up for what could be an even more noteworthy year due to high member participation.
The Cal Poly chapter has more than 600 members, all of whom were invited to join the club during their freshman or sophomore year of college. About 20 members are active members, meaning they attend the weekly meetings and regularly participate in the events, Crawford said.
In order to become a member of the club, students must be invited by the NSCS national office. Criteria required to be eligible includes having a 3.4 GPA or above and being in the top 20 percent of your class in your freshman and sophomore years of college, Crawford said.
With nine active officers this year and a solid base of active members, Michael Bingham, a junior biomedical engineering student and co-president of the Cal Poly chapter, said that this past year has been the club’s strongest since he joined as a freshman in 2007.
“When I first joined, there were not nearly as many active members. It is a lot more organized now than when I first started,” Bingham said.
The high member participation has allowed the club to organize many community-service oriented events on campus and in the San Luis Obispo community, Crawford said.
Kaci Knighton, a sophomore recreation, parks and tourism administration student, was invited to join NSCS at the end of her freshman year in Fall 2008.
“When I first got the letter, my mom thought it was a scam,” she said. “I joined anyway because I thought it would look good on a resume and be a good way to get involved in the community.”
Although she was not active in the club last year because of time restrictions, she plans to participate in meetings and events this year because she wants to become more involved in the organization, she said.
Two of the most significant events that the club organized were food drives which raised about $3,000 for the Prado Day Center, a local homeless shelter in San Luis Obispo.
“They didn’t even know we were doing it, and the looks on their faces just showed how thankful they were,” Crawford said.
Another main event was “A Fair to Remember,” a ballroom dance at the Villages of San Luis Obispo, a senior housing community.
“I was dancing with an elderly woman and she started telling me about her six kids and how her husband passed away,” Bingham recalled. “They like it when they can talk to you and tell you their story,”
Other events organized last year included PAC, a daily tutoring program at C.L. Smith Elementary school in San Luis Obispo, “March to College,” which included giving younger students tours of the Cal Poly campus, and other smaller events with local schools and retirement homes, such as study sessions and arts and crafts.
The club plans to do most of these events again this year in addition to new activities such as a beach clean up and informative assemblies about college at local schools.
Due to the Cal Poly chapter of NSCS’s involvement on campus and in the community, they were one of the 61 of 235 chapters nationwide to receive the Gold Award.
“It’s a very big accomplishment to receive it because it takes a lot of time and organization,” Bingham said. “It’s what separates us from others and puts us over the top.”
In order to receive the Gold Award, the second highest award for an NSCS chapter, the chapter had to meet specific requirements provided by the national NSCS board, including holding an induction ceremony, creating a student mentoring program, participating in “Integrity Week,” in which they explain the importance of personal integrity, creating an on-campus membership recruitment campaign and working with another campus club.
Since the Cal Poly chapter’s induction on campus in 2000, the club has never received the highest award because of a lack of active members. This year, however, the club will attempt to receive platinum status.
In order to receive the NCSC’s top honor, the chapter must have gold status and meet further requirements, including holding an informative assembly about college at a local public school. Only five of 235 chapters have received platinum status, Crawford said.
The new adviser of the Cal Poly chapter, Sharon Dobson, plans to bring the club to platinum status by encouraging members to participate in more service activities and by giving them more leadership opportunities, she said.
“There is an intrinsic need in all of us to be recognized,” Dobson said. “For some that might be being on a sport team or going to a party, and that’s fine. But being part of a society gives students the opportunity to differentiate themselves.”
The NSCS will have a booth at Open House and will also be holding a meeting Oct. 6th at 11 a.m. in building 10, room 11 for anyone interested in learning more.