A Park Hall resident adviser will be advising more than residents in her new honor society’s leadership position.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars has selected Nicole Maher, an OSU student and Park Hall resident adviser, to serve as a member of the National Leadership Council, providing direct communication between the campus chapter and the national staff.

Maher, a second-year in molecular genetics, will be one of 10 members on the honor society’s leadership council.

The National Leadership Council is part of the NSCS, an honor society that recruits first- and second-year college students and functions as an advisory board to the NSCS Board of Directors and national staff.

To become a member of the national council, an NSCS student must have at least a 3.4 GPA, as well as transcripts and an application explaining their involvement with NSCS and what they can bring to the position.

The application included an essay portion and logistical questions including GPA and class rank, Maher said.

The National Leadership Council President Amy James, Executive Vice President Scott Perske and Deputy Vice President Brady Griffith selected Maher, at a 3.6 GPA, for the position.

NSCS Outreach Manager Janine Deegan said in an e-mail that Maher was selected for the council because the council president and vice presidents were impressed by Maher’s responses on her application.

“I think it came through that I really have a passion for this. I’m not doing this just to build my resume,” Maher said. “This is something I really want to do and will put a lot of time into.”

As a council member, Maher will work to raise awareness about NSCS within the student body and administration to promote student involvement in the program.

Maher said she hopes, as a council member, to get more students to want to join NSCS by working on the recruiting process.

“Currently they just send out this standard envelope letter to everybody with a certain GPA and other certain requirements. It doesn’t really grab people’s attention,” Maher said. “A lot of people just throw it away.”

Maher wants to work on a new way to reach students and increase awareness about the organization.

“I’ve always wanted to be a leader,” Maher said. “I’ve always wanted to further my leadership skills.”

Maher participates in NSCS, Mirrors Sophomore Class Honorary, Buck-I-Serv and the Molecular Genetics Club, and credits her involvement in these groups to helping her obtain the council position.

“The qualities and skills that I have developed through my involvement with other groups has really helped me have the qualities that they were looking for,” Maher said.

Melissa Wilkes, a third-year in nursing and the OSU chapter vice president of membership and public relations, said Maher is an excellent member of the campus chapter’s membership committee.

“She’s very active in the recruiting process,” Wilkes said. “She’s always willing to help out.”

Maher will be making connections between the OSU chapter and the national staff.

On the National Leadership Council, a 20-hour-per-month commitment, members work with local, regional and national NSCS staff to strengthen relationships and communication within the organization, Maher said.

Members work to generate feedback between national and regional staff by visiting the national office in Washington D.C. and participating in board meetings, Maher said.

Another key role Maher will have as a member of the council will be participating at the NSCS Convention 2011, held June 16 to 19 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Maher said other duties council members have include reviewing scholarship applications, attending conference calls and quarterly meetings, give speeches at the NSCS at local chapter inductions, updating social media and holding focus groups on campus through out the school year.