Nichols Academy

More Than a Leadership Title

Mary V. Jordan Center

Nichols Academy is a year-long leadership development program for ETSU students. As a member, you'll be part of a cohort that learns together, meets university and community leaders, explores opportunities across ETSU, and practices the skills and habits that strong leaders develop over time.

You don't need to already think of yourself as a leader. You don't need to have a title, hold an office, or be the person who always speaks first.

You do need to be willing to show up, participate, try new things, and grow.

What You Can Expect from Nichols

Access to People and Ideas

Through Barbershop Conversations and other Nichols experiences, you'll have opportunities to meet and talk with university, professional, and community leaders. These aren't just speeches. You'll have opportunities to ask questions, join the conversation, and learn from their experiences.

A Community

You'll spend the year with a cohort of other ETSU students. You'll get to know one another, share experiences, learn together, and help build the kind of Nichols community you want to be part of.

Opportunities to Grow

You'll have opportunities to practice communication, responsibility, professionalism, confidence, and leadership. Some will happen within Nichols. Others will get you out into ETSU to discover what the university has to offer.

Opportunities to Lead

You don't need an officer title to lead in Nichols. Members will have opportunities to host, introduce speakers, organize, welcome, recruit, facilitate, plan, represent Nichols, and help make things happen.
As you become more involved, you'll have opportunities to take on greater responsibility and help shape the future of the Academy.

A Reason to Explore

College is about more than completing the classes required for your degree. Nichols will introduce you to people, ideas, events, resources, and experiences that may have nothing to do with your major but may change the way you think.

Strong leaders keep learning. We want Nichols members to stay curious.

What Nichols Expects from You

  • Show Up

    Being a Nichols member means being present. This isn't something you join just to put on your résumé.

  • Follow Through

    If you say you'll do something, do it. Your fellow members should be able to depend on you.

  • Participate

    Ask questions. Join conversations. Engage with speakers. Take part in activities. Contribute to the group.
    You don't have to be an extrovert, but you do have to be involved.

  • Be Curious

    Listen to people whose experiences are different from yours. Ask questions when you don't know something.Explore ideas and opportunities outside your usual interests.

  • Try Things

    Some Nichols experiences may be unfamiliar or outside your comfort zone. Give them a chance. Growth usually requires doing something you haven't done before.

  • Contribute

    Nichols isn't something that happens to you. Members help make Nichols happen.That means helping with programs, supporting other members, volunteering when you can, and taking responsibility when opportunities arise.

  • Reflect and Grow

    Pay attention to what you're learning about leadership and about yourself. Notice your strengths. Recognize where you need to grow. Learn from what works, what doesn't, and the people you meet along the way.

What Does Leadership Look Like in Nichols?

Strong leaders recognize what they don't know. They remain curious. They seek out new perspectives and experiences. They listen to and learn from other people. They adapt when new information challenges what they thought they knew.

And they keep growing.

That's what Nichols Academy asks its members to practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is it for?
    Nichols Academy is first and foremost for ETSU students. As a Jordan Center student success program, the Academy is open to students across the university while placing particular emphasis on recruiting and serving first-generation and lower-income students. Its goal is to provide students who can benefit from intentional leadership development with opportunities, experiences, and support that contribute to their success at ETSU and beyond.
  • What does participation in Nichols do for a student that they would not otherwise get?
    A student could attend a leadership workshop somewhere else. They could hear a guest speaker. They could attend a career event. They could participate in service or other campus opportunities. Nichols brings those experiences together inside a year-long developmental cohort with expectations, relationships, reflection, and repeated opportunities to practice what students are learning.
  • What should be different about a student after a year in Nichols?
    After a year in Nichols Academy, a student should be more confident, self-aware, accountable, and intentional in how they approach college, leadership, and their future. They should communicate more effectively, take greater responsibility for their decisions and commitments, know how and when to seek support, and be more comfortable navigating academic and professional environments.

    They should also have a stronger understanding of themselves as leaders: their strengths, areas for growth, values, and the ways they can positively influence the people and communities around them. Most importantly, students should leave Nichols better prepared to take what they have learned and apply it independently beyond the Academy.
  • How is Nichols distinct from Leadership & Civic Engagement, ordinary student organizations, Jordan Center mentoring, etc.?
    Nichols Academy is a structured, year-long cohort program built around repeated leadership conversations, required developmental experiences, student support, campus engagement, and reflection.

    Leadership & Civic Engagement focuses more directly on service, involvement, and community impact. Student organizations develop leadership through participation and organizational responsibility. Jordan Center mentoring provides individualized peer support.

    Nichols is different because students are not simply choosing isolated opportunities. They participate in a defined set of experiences across the year, are expected to follow through on those commitments, and are asked to reflect on what they are learning from them.