Sparkly,
I think that you are referring to the type of ‘occasional’ advisor who staffs a Shabbaton or other event. These are not paid chapter advisors, but young college aged people recruited by the regional director and through networking of other advisors.
It is the chapter advisors, usually at least grad school age or married members of the local community who are hired by the host synagogue, paid a salary and responsible for programming regular meetings and events throughout the academic year.
50 years ago when I started the local advisor was a teacher in the public high school who taught history and Hebrew language. He was MO and required all students in his Hebrew classes to join NCSY for the tarbut component of the class.
While in college and law school I was an advisor at many a Shabbaton and regional convention, and when early on in our marriage Mrs. CTL and I were advisors at Nation Convention for a few years.
From a practical standpoint, if you are being shutout from being an advisor at these events it is usually for the following reasons:
1. You are not an NCSY alumna..familiar to the regional director
2. There is not a contingent of advisors being raised from your school dorm (Stern or Touro)
3. The cost of housing and/or transporting you may be against you. You don’t live in the neighborhood of the event, or you don’t have a car and there are only so many spots in available vehicles
I was involved in New England Region…it was much more economical to seek event advisors from colleges in the Boston area for Massachusetts, RI or Maine events than bear the cost of bringing young adults from NYC. I always had my own car, don’t ask how many times I met the MetroNorth train in New Haven loaded up with advisors from NY and drove another 3-6 hours to events.