The Elmer Nicholson Achievement Prize recognizes a student for whom “emergence” is an overriding characteristic. The Nicholson Achievement Prize recognizes the greatness of the student’s total ̽̽ experience. Based on that greatness, there is an expectation that the student will make a major contribution in their field of interest. One of this this year’s recipients is Skyler Nash (he/his pronouns).
A native of Chicago, Skyler graduates with a major in community and international development from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
He arrived at ̽̽ as a highly recruited basketball player and joined the hoop Cats, scoring a three-pointer in his first collegiate shot against NCAA power the University of Kentucky. A cycle of injuries derailed his basketball career at ̽̽, but his leadership qualities found other outlets.
Skyler’s journey was also shaped by surviving cancer during high school. He was in a Chicago hospital bed when he was struck by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
These words inspire his work on and off campus. Currently he balances two jobs: public policy and research analyst in the City of Burlington Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging Department and director of Next Generation Justice, a fledgling non-profit working with prosecutors on policy.
Recently Skyler managed the successful Vermont Senate campaign of Kesha Ram ‘08, the first woman of color elected to the chamber. Skyler says he prefers governance and policy work as ways to effect change. He was drawn to the community and international development major "because I felt confident the coursework would provide me the skills and knowledge to bridge the gap between the world as it is and how it ought to be."
Skyler is a member of the ̽̽ Athletics Inclusive Excellence Committee, formed in 2019 to recognize and celebrate the unique opportunities that sport provides in uniting disparate groups. He is also the founder of ̽̽ Student Athletes of Color. For his dedication to social justice at ̽̽, he received the Alan B. Urgent Award, given each year to a student who embodies the spirit of advocacy and social justice.
Skyler will stay in the Burlington area after graduation, continuing his work within the Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Office for the City of Burlington and managing public safety contracts and a reparations task force.