Have you heard about National Society of Collegiate Scholars?

Case Western Reserve University is a school where academic excellence is not just something that is expected of students, but it is something that a typical Case Western student strives for. After all, CWRU is a school where 67 percent of the incoming freshman class was in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Yet no academic honor society for first- or second-year students had ever been established on campus. Sophomore Patrick Chirdon quickly recognized that void as a freshman, and put together an executive board to try and fix that problem."I heard about the National Society of Collegiate Scholars from a grad student, a friend of mine," said Chirdon, the president of National Society of Collegiate Scholars. "He said that it really made his experience at Johns Hopkins great.and he asked if we had anything like that at Case, and I said 'No we don't really have anything for first and second-year students as far as honors societies go,' but I think we could really use something like that."

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars was originally founded at George Washington University in order to help first- and second-year students jumpstart their academic careers and become better leaders through leadership training, exclusive scholarships, internships, and networking.

"I felt it was something we really needed here at Case," said Brian Slayton, executive vice president of NSCS. "I thought it was important to have, and it could really help the students here excel in ways that they couldn't previously."

To qualify as a member of NSCS, first- and second-year students must be in the top 20 percent of their class and have at least a 3.4 GPA. The executive board of CWRU's NSCS along with the Office of Student Affairs will identify qualifying students together, and will send out invitations in February of 2010.

Chirdon and Slayton are quick to identify all of the benefits of becoming an NSCS member. NSCS offers an international study abroad program to China as well as opportunities to study at Georgetown University. "They also offer $230,000 of scholarships each year, exclusively to members," said Chirdon. "In the summer they also [offer] leadership training at their national conference."

"NSCS really promotes [careers]. They offer internships in Washington, and they have a full career center," Slayton pointed out. "They also have connections with several graduate schools, and they help you prepare." NSCS members have exclusive access to partnerships with GE, Microsoft, Ernst & Young, as well as graduate schools including New York University and the Princeton School of Engineering. NSCS also partners with Kaplan so that members can receive discounts on tests and textbooks.

In addition to the numerous member benefits, Chirdon emphasized how NSCS seeks to become a society of scholars for first- and second-year students and foster an environment of open debate and learning. He says that he hopes to bring in different speakers from various professional and academic backgrounds for NSCS events and meetings.

Not only has NSCS been working with the Office of Student Affairs, they have also been working closely with the Center for Civic Engagement and Learning (CCEL). "We will be doing a preparation for college talk and mentoring program [at a local high school]," said Chirdon.

"We'd.be helping them write their essays, brainstorming the college interview, so really just.getting them ready for the academics of college. So they can all get into Case Western," joked Slayton.

Chirdon, Slayton, and the other members of the NSCS have been working hard to get NSCS off the ground, and have been working for nearly a year to prepare for their first class of honorees. Chirdon hopes that eventually NSCS will grow and flourish on the CWRU campus. He cites University of Pennsylvania's chapter of NSCS as a model for CWRU. "They have a chapter 300 people strong," he explained. "They do stuff in the community, like in the local high school they have a mentoring program. And it's really a force to be reckoned with on campus."

"After speaking with the other chapters at the universities, I know how much it's changed their communities," Slayton said of the community service. He is most excited to provide first- and second-year students with the opportunity to network and search internships from the beginning of college. "It's really to make sure the first- and second-years get off on the right track.