Meet Forrest, a dedicated member of the Order of the Arrow. Forrest
has served on staff for many NLS courses with three different Region
Chiefs. Forrest also has the privilege of being a former Section
Secretary for G-11. Here is his testimony about why you should attend
NLS.
“The National Leadership Seminar (NLS for short) is an inviting and
engaging course on leadership that you should attend. NLS is a
course that focuses on providing arrowmen with tools to solve long
standing problems, challenges learners to think differently about their
problems, and serves as a chance to discuss with seasoned leaders
in the OA. NLS builds off skills learned through courses such as NYLT
or LLD to make every learner leave well equipped for the challenges
in their path.
As a two year Lodge Chief I directly got to see the effect that NLS had
on our Lodge. In 2023 we hosted an NLS course and had over 40
people attend from our Lodge alone. After the course was over we
had stronger leadership for sure, but an arguably larger change was
the mentality change in the Lodge. Leaders across the Lodge were
recognizing problems, coming up with creative solutions, and teaching
methods for those who come after. The Lodge now is in a better state
than it has been in a long time, and a large reason why is thanks to
NLS.
I think if there is anything I could say to encourage you to attend NLS,
I would talk about how it changed my mindset as a leader in the OA.
Before NLS I felt as though I was leading people, however afterwards
I was able to recognize that I was leading an organization. Shifting my mindset from working with people to working with an organization of people was vital to me becoming a better Lodge Chief and a better
leader. I left NLS able to pinpoint the root causes of long standing
issues, and that allowed me to lead the organization towards fixing
said problems.
If you haven’t attended NLS, you absolutely should. It really is a
gamechanger for leaders like yourself”
-Forrest Olson
Over the course of the next year there are several options for
attending an NLS course in 2026. These include:
-Omaha Nebraska, Feb 20-22nd
-Salem, Wisconsin, March 6-8th
-Seattle, Washington, March 27-29th
-Houston, Texas, September 25-27th
-Fort Worth, Texas, November 6-8th
-Northern California, November 20-22nd
Each of these courses also offers the Adviser (adult) equivalent known
as Developing Youth Leadership Conference (DYLC). There are
scholarships on the national, section, and lodge levels; making it a
priority for arrowmen to attend at a low cost. For more information, visit National Leadership Seminar (NLS) | Order
of the Arrow, Scouting America or contact your lodge or section
leadership.