Nebraska Wesleyan University built on its strong record with Theta Chi fraternity’s most prestigious honor this month, as Jakob Cadwallader (’26) was named second runner-up for Theta Chi’s Colley Award.
The Colley Award honors Theta Chi members who show distinguished service to their school, the fraternity, and the local community. It is considered the fraternity’s highest honor for collegiate members.
Cadwallader graduated in May with a degree in biology. He maintained a 3.90 GPA and was a member of the Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma Student-Athlete Honorary Society, and Order of Omega Greek Society.
A four-year member of NWU’s men’s golf team, Cadwallader was named to the American Rivers Conference All-Academic team in 2024 and 2025.
In Theta Chi’s Gamma Phi chapter, Cadwallader served as alumni chairman, marshal, and president. During his time as a member, Gamma Phi earned multiple national awards from Theta Chi.
Cadwallader is the fifth member NWU’s Gamma Phi chapter of Theta Chi in the last six years to finish among the top three finalists for the award. The award is selected from more than 9,000 collegiate members nationwide each year.
Nebraska Wesleyan graduates Hunter Smith (2021), Kyle Goodban (2023), Michael Biertzer (2024), and Louis Gilmore (2025) each won the Colley Award, as did Brad Stock in 1997.