Nicole McElravy of Oregon shares how the week will deepen your connection to The American Legion’s mission and give you the confidence to step forward with courage, purpose and heart.
Who am I that I might make a difference in The American Legion?
That was the question I asked National American Legion College Chancellor and Past National Commander Daniel Seehafer one morning at National American Legion College (NALC) last month. I arrived in Indianapolis carrying two things at once — excitement for what I hoped to learn, and a quiet doubt about whether I truly belonged in leadership. I’ve learned that those two emotions can coexist in the same heart.
I’ve always loved leadership development, but years of interpersonal violence and domestic violence left wounds inside me that leadership books don’t address. Trauma doesn’t just shape your past — it shapes the way you see yourself. For a long time, I didn’t know if the hollow places inside me could ever be filled.
Seehafer looked around the room and told us that many of us had lived through moments we never saw coming — moments we weren’t prepared to handle. But we were at NALC for a reason. And that reason, he said, was personal.
Then he said something I will never forget: “Servant leadership is not weak. It takes strength. It takes courage. And it takes heart.”
He reminded us that purpose and relevance aren’t outdated theories — they are virtues The American Legion needs right now.
A Week Immersed in Purpose Seehafer, NALC Dean Mike Rohan, and Past National Commander Denise Rohan created a week filled with some of the best educators in The American Legion. Our class of 54 students absorbed lessons on mentorship, budgeting, strategic planning, volunteer management, tax law, partnership development and resolution writing.
It was an outpouring of information—like a sudden rainstorm on a sunny afternoon—and every one of us soaked it in.
Real Life After College After I returned home, life accelerated. Holidays. Kids. Court. VA therapy. Full-time work. Traveling 2,500 miles to care for my aging mother. My energy slowly drained away.
In the middle of it all, someone told me my actions at my post didn’t reflect what they expected from a new NALC graduate. Their words landed harder than they probably knew. It cut deep because it touched the oldest and most familiar wound inside me: the fear that I’m never enough.
But I remembered what Seehafer taught us. Servant leadership isn’t for the weak. It requires courage. And heart.
So instead of folding in on myself and quitting, I made calls. I reached out for help. And other veterans stepped up with willingness and heart. Events were covered. Our community was served. Our post kept moving forward. Not because of my strength, but because servant leadership invites others to lead alongside you.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t fall back into my learned trauma response. I fell back on purpose and relevance. And it worked.
Why NALC Matters For any Legionnaire considering National American Legion College, hear this clearly: NALC can change you.
You will learn programs, project management, communication, community outreach, and the practical skills that keep this organization strong. But even more importantly, you will learn the foundation Seehafer drilled into us all week long: character, commitment and competence.
Character is shaped through servant leadership — humility, authenticity, integrity, honesty, purpose and relevance.
Commitment grows as you learn what the Legion truly stands for and how deeply our mission matters to communities everywhere.
Competence develops as the dean and faculty equip you with resources, processes, and best practices that strengthen both you and your post.
These aren’t just leadership concepts, they are the framework that transforms willingness into impact.
NALC will deepen your connection to The American Legion’s mission and give you the confidence to step forward with courage, purpose and heart. And when doubt inevitably shows up — as it does for all of us —you will have something stronger to fall back on: servant leadership grounded in character, sustained by commitment, and strengthened by competence.
When you walk through the doors of NALC, you may ask yourself the same question I asked at the beginning: Who am I to make a difference?
After NALC, you will know the answer.
You are a servant leader with the character to care, the commitment to show up, and the competence to make a real difference.
And that is exactly who The American Legion needs.
- American Legion College