From study abroad to service at home, Clemson National Scholars have spent 25 years showing what’s possible.
When Joseph Godsey ’04 arrived on campus in 2000 as part of the National Scholars Program’s (NSP) inaugural class, the program’s story was just beginning. That first summer, he and his classmates traveled together through Italy, Switzerland and France, broadening their horizons far beyond the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“From Paris, we embarked on our separate ways for the rest of the summer — some in internships or labs, others traveling off the beaten path,” recalled Godsey. “I was fortunate to create a program through Eastern Europe and Russia, studying cultures and learning about life in those parts of the world.”
His life and career have followed a global path ever since. After graduation, he earned an MBA in Switzerland and worked in leadership roles with GE Energy, Adidas and Sam’s Club. Godsey now serves as chief growth officer for Walmart Canada and credits the National Scholars Program with expanding his worldview and opening doors he didn’t even know existed.
That spirit of transformation has defined the NSP, which is now celebrating its silver anniversary. What began with a bold vision from then-President Jim Barker has grown into one of Clemson’s signature programs, with 256 scholars benefiting from full-cost scholarships, faculty mentorship, global learning and an engaged community of scholar-leaders with whom they’ve grown and formed lifelong friendships.
A Visionary Beginning
In the late 1990s, Clemson was asking itself tough questions: Who are we? Who is our competition? Barker believed Clemson’s academics could compete with the most prestigious universities across the country by attracting and developing extraordinary students.
Transformational gifts from a small number of foundational donors established endowments that helped make the National Scholars Program a reality.
“Every great university has one,” said Barker at the time. “And the National Scholars Program is ours.”
From the start, scholars were expected to lead. Godsey’s cohort laid the groundwork for one of the program’s most enduring traditions: the National Scholars retreat, a two- to three-day off-campus experience held just before the academic year begins. Led by a team of upper-level scholars, the retreat features team-building exercises and group activities — from rope climbing to community service projects — designed to help new scholars get to know each other, the local community and program expectations. This peer-led tradition has welcomed every new class since, offering an early foundation of community, connection and support that defines the NSP experience.
A Community Like No Other
From those beginnings, the National Scholars community has grown into something uniquely Clemson. Scholars share classrooms, but more importantly, they share experiences that forge lifelong bonds. They confront big questions abroad and partner on service projects at home.
Program alum and current NSP associate director Kris Fuller ’18 remembers feeling intimidated arriving on campus, unsure of what to expect. By the end of Fuller’s first-year retreat, however, that uncertainty was gone. “I felt like I had 13 friends going into college,” Fuller said. “Those people remain some of the most important in my life.”
Fuller later returned to Clemson to co-lead the program out of a desire to create the same environment and experiences for the current generation of National Scholars.
Sarah Winslow, who led the program for nearly a decade before becoming the inaugural dean of the Clemson University Honors College, said that sense of belonging is intentional. Cohorts are built not only around academic excellence but also around curiosity, leadership and service. “What sets National Scholars apart is their drive to confront real-world challenges together — bringing fresh ideas, innovative thinking and a collaborative spirit,” she said.
Winslow also notes that scholars often become each other’s strongest advocates. Students let faculty know when a classmate struggles, and they celebrate each other’s accomplishments with greater joy than their own. “National Scholars are simultaneously individually modest and unwavering champions of one another,” she said.
Impact on Clemson and Beyond
National Scholars represent only a small percentage of Clemson’s overall student body but consistently earn the University’s most prestigious annual awards for its graduating students, including the Norris Medal and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Seventy-five percent of alumni have pursued graduate study, with half earning doctorates. They have brought Clemson its first Churchill and Knight-Hennessy scholarships, its first Truman scholarship in 40 years, and a rare National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in the social sciences.
For nearly the past decade, every incoming cohort of scholars has collectively selected a topic or issue to explore and address. Cohorts have tackled issues such as mentoring to close educational gaps, creating public art to enrich shared spaces and improving campus accessibility.
Scholars have used these projects and their experiences in the NSP more broadly to launch programs and organizations on and off campus that extend classroom learning into real-world applications — addressing food insecurity, devising engineering solutions and exploring the intersections of international development and medicine. Scholars and alumni have also lobbied on Capitol Hill, represented Clemson on the global stage, and served as industry, public service and governmental leaders across the country and around the world.
Above all, however, they remain deeply connected to one another — and to Clemson — long after they graduate.
Alumni mentor current students, open professional doors and give back through philanthropy. “Clemson gave me so much,” Godsey said. “It’s important to return that gift to others.”
Transformational Moments
Scholars participate in seminar classes in their first and senior years that provide intellectually challenging learning experiences that strengthen their analytical, speaking and writing skills by exploring a wide range of topics.
Some of the scholars’ most lasting memories, however, come from study-travel experiences that have become hallmarks of the program. The summer after their first year, National Scholars spend several weeks living and learning abroad, exploring firsthand the people, places and topics introduced in a Spring semester preparatory course. In their second and third years, scholars may choose an additional study-travel experience, with recent destinations including Alaska, Spain and the Netherlands.
Looking ahead, scholars will cocreate a study-travel experience based on the topic or issue around which they have chosen to frame their NSP experience. Together, these opportunities are part of an intentional, scaffolded, scholar-driven four-year journey that integrates classroom instruction, experiential learning, cocurricular engagement and leadership development.
For Fuller, one memory stands above the rest: an NSP study abroad in South Africa. On their final night, a scheduled power outage left them standing under the clearest night sky they had ever seen. “Arm in arm, we looked up at the Milky Way. It was life-changing. We realized how small we are but also how lucky we are,” Fuller said.
Winslow recalls smaller moments that were just as powerful: campfire games in Alaska when travel plans fell through, or a student walking into her office to announce a graduate school decision. “Almost every day, something memorable happened,” Winslow said. “The program changes students’ lives. It certainly changed mine.”
Room for the Future
Students selected to interview for the National Scholars Program are chosen based on demonstrated academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, a wide range of interests and experiences, leadership ability, and the potential to make an impact on their local and global communities as reflected in their applications to the Honors College. About three dozen students, known as finalists, are invited to Scholarship Recruitment Weekend, where they participate in a multistage interview process while also learning about opportunities available only through Clemson. Ultimately, about 10 students are invited to join the National Scholars Program each year. Alumni hail from almost every U.S. state and many countries around the world and have pursued majors in all of Clemson’s academic colleges.
Being named a National Scholar was both unexpected and life-changing for philosophy major Tulsi Patel ’27. “When I got the email inviting me to the Scholarship Recruitment Weekend, I thought it was a long shot,” Patel said. “To be invited and eventually selected meant that the financial burden of college had been lifted, allowing me to pursue my dreams. It was such an affirming experience to know that my story and lived experiences had resonated with someone.”
The NSP community, however, helped Patel see Clemson as her academic home. “My experience at Scholarship Recruitment Weekend transformed Clemson from just a university on my application list to a place where I knew I would have the support to pursue and create change,” she said. From everyday moments in the scholarship suite to meaningful service projects and guidance from alumni, Patel describes the NSP community as the foundation of her Clemson Family.
“I don’t say this lightly when I say that Clemson was the perfect choice for me,” said Patel, who has worked with more than a dozen groups throughout campus, including the Clemson Paw Pantry, TEDx Clemson and a student-led academic journal called The Pendulum. “My professors and NSP faculty have always stepped in to answer my questions about everything from internships to shared passions. I can’t wait to continue to grow here and know Clemson has given me everything I need to succeed.”
As Clemson looks ahead, the NSP is poised to expand experiential learning and deepen mentorship opportunities for its scholars. Winslow sees the program as a “gold standard” for student-faculty and student-staff relationships, reflecting Clemson’s commitment to deliver the No. 1 student experience in the country.
Barker, who set the program in motion, agrees. “The National Scholars became a way for Clemson to compete with anyone, anywhere,” he said. “It’s something we can all be proud of.”
See the National Scholars Program come to life and learn more about its origin and impact in this video featuring Professor Emeritus of Architecture and President Emeritus of Clemson University James F. Barker.
