Have you ever said to yourself, “Do I really matter?” or “Does anything I try to do everyday really matter?”….I think it is a pretty common thought. There is probably not a person in the world who doesn’t want to matter and, possibly more importantly, doesn’t want their life to matter. We are all human.
On April 30, I had a tremendous opportunity to reflect on what 15 years has meant to me in the evolution of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). My idea was to create a national, nonprofit honor society that would recognize academic achievement and make a difference for first- and second-year college students was launched as a little idea and a dream on April 30, 1994. It was, and continues to be, something that really matters to me.
I am also a pretty big (OK gigantic) fan of Amy Grant. I feel like our lives have evolved together over the years and while she has probably had a much greater impact on me as a person…I am pretty sure I have bought her a car or a house or something with all of the concerts, records, day trips the across country, shirts, etc I have purchased. We help each other. I hope one day we can sit down for coffee and I can tell her why her journey has been so meaningful for me.
Anyway, I was catching up on Twitter the other day and loved that @amygrant wrote this on April 30, 2009 (the 15th anniversary of the day I started NSCS): “I was thinking tonight that life is all of us doing what we do…as best we can. Trying to matter. Cheering each other on. everybody matters.”
Everybody matters. It is such a simple mantra to live by and yet so easy to sometimes forget. Reading Amy’s tweet reminded me of how I have said before that we at NSCS are in the “mattering business”. We are creating opportunities, experiences and connections that help our members feel special, successful and proud. We remind them that they matter. In return, the work we do everyday to engage our members gives me and all of us at NSCS a purpose and a reason to matter.
The accomplishments of 15 years has been tremendous and it really has only been the beginning. In the next 15 years, we have such an amazing opportunity to have an even bigger impact. I just can’t wait to see what can happen when we continue finding bigger and better ways to support, care about and make a difference for our members. It will be full of wonderful success if we do not forget, not even for a moment, that everybody matters.
Amy and I really do think a lot alike and on April 30 we were both reflecting on what it means to matter….doing what we do…and that makes me smile.
Scholar Scoop 
Leave a comment