By RONALD SCHACHTER
DUDLEY, Mass.—First-year Nichols College student Brian Edmands is a sport management major, an Emerging Leader, and an Honors Scholar.
“I fell in love with Nichols, and it ended up being the only school that I applied to,” he recalled, noting that he got accepted in August before his senior year of high school through Nichols College’s early action program.
Still, coming to Nichols meant entering a bigger academic world, says the Amesbury, Mass., resident.
“My high school had a graduating class of 137, so this is a large school for me,” Edmands said. “But I still get that community feel. Everybody knows everybody else, and most are open to making new friends and finding new opportunities.”
Edmands has settled into the courses for his sport management major and is eyeing the opportunities available outside the classroom.
“I was always involved in sports, and I wanted to know what was behind the sports industry,” he explained. “I know that I can intern in the athletic departments at other schools. Nichols does a lot at Boston College.”
He’s also hit the ground running in some of the most prestigious programs here. As a Nichols College Honors Scholar, Edmands has to maintain a 3.4 average or better and to take an honors curriculum of advanced courses over his college career—from Microeconomics and Non-Fiction Writing, to Business Law and Ethics.
On another front, Edmands has just completed the “Leadership 101” course required of all first-year students.
“It definitely teaches you about who you are as a leader and how you can improve yourself and the others around you,” he said.
… So much so that he is headed into the College’s exclusive Emerging Leaders Program, which runs through senior year and combines seminars, guest speakers, volunteer work, and field trips to New York City and Washington, D.C.
As for other extracurricular activities, Edmands stays involved with the skiing, bowling, and Sport Management clubs.
In short, he’s busy.
“It’s been fun so far. I do a lot with friends, work out, and do school work,” Edmands said, all of which, he added, even leaves some time at night for video games and Netflix.
Veteran journalist Ronald Schachter is senior news writer at and an adjunct faculty member of Nichols College.