The Southwestern Company Corporate Blog

Out of over 2,600 college students worldwide, Bobby Nicholson has been honored as the 2009 Student Excellence Award winner by the Southwestern Company in Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition to the award and recognition, Bobby will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used for further educational purposes or donated to a non-profit or charitable organization. 

Nicholson, originally from Farragut, Tennessee, has overcome adversity to be where he is today. “People look at Bobby and say what an awesome success story. But what people don’t know is that three years before that, Bobby Nicholson was a high school drop out who was selling drugs to make a living, his two best friends were heroin addicts, and his biggest job was not only trying to protect his roommates, but to keep both himself and them from getting robbed or killed,” said Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Company at the 11^th Annual J. Fred Landers Awards Banquet in Nashville, TN. 

Nicholson attended three different high schools.  The main one was Farragut High School, of which he dropped out.  He also attended Colleyville Heritage High in Colleyville, TX and was sent to a boarding school in Mexico for misbehaving teens, Casa by the Sea, part of the World Wide Association of Specialty Boarding Schools (WWASP).

He came to a personal epiphany that he saw his life going in one of two directions. He chose the direction that resulted in him changing his life through sheer determination and deep faith.

While running his own summer sales business through Southwestern Company, Nicholson also recruited and managed a team last year of eight other students in 2009. He underwent management and leadership training after his first summer in order to offer the same opportunity he experienced to other students. This year, he will be mentoring and training students from the Maryville College and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His future career plans include further building his business through Southwestern’s sales and management program.

“The Student Excellence Award embodies the best qualities of students that participate in our program,” says Moore.  “This is the award that recognizes a particular student for not simply their performance and results within our program, but all of their accomplishments in all other aspects of their life. We are very proud of Bobby and the example he sets for others.”

“Bobby is the personification of the word “develop” from our mission statement.  Looking at how much he’s developed already is impressive.  Thinking about the degree to which he could impact the lives of students he leads in the future as he develops further is inspiring,” says Lester Crafton, Director of Sales with Southwestern and Bobby’s Sales Manager.

Before attending Maryville, he was awarded scholarships amounting to nearly $40,000 because of his achievements at Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville where he was an honor student. Named by USA Today to their All-USA Academic Team (Tennessee), Bobby received national notoriety as well for the work he did on campus and his involvement in charity work while at Pellissippi. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, he organized 17 student volunteers to put in over 800 hours of helping Katrina victims. 

He continued the work in Maryville, where he was also an RA. He has a particular passion for the homeless and has organized program after program for those who do not have a place to live. And it is because of his heart for helping the homeless that he has been on commissions named by the mayor of Knoxville. At the same time he recruited other students to talk to kids about why they should go to college, reaching out and bringing those kids to college through the P.E.A.C.E. organization.

“My experience through Southwestern has been the most amazing thing I have been a part of. Besides my faith, it has made a bigger difference in my life. I think everyone who has invested in me so that I may invest in others,” says Bobby.

Bobby is the son of Bob Nicholson and Stephanie Martens, both residing in Knoxville. 

Bobby Nicholson wins the Student Excellence Award at the Freddies awards banquet in Nashville, TN.

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