Requiring a 92% weighted GPA and 20 hours of service, the National Honor Society recognizes rising seniors who have worked hard and achieved academic excellence all throughout high school.
Our school’s chapter is run by Ms. Silvestri who has been advisor for 12 years. She has helped organize and promote the honor society.
NHS stresses four main pillars, which include character, leadership, scholarship, and service. Each member must exhibit these traits in their daily lives for eligibility.
Students are sent a letter in early February, upon the completion of the first semester of their junior year, explaining that they have met most of the requirements to become candidates. However, there are a few tasks they must complete in order to be considered.
Candidates must write a 300-500 word essay explaining how and why they exhibit the four traits of an honor society member. Then, they must assemble their service hours into an organized document that the faculty advisory board will look over to validate the candidates’ volunteer hours. The last requirement includes signing several papers for acceptance.
A few weeks later students who qualify are emailed confirming their acceptance, and all that is left is to participate in the yearly induction ceremony.
This year on May 22nd, 56 members were officially inducted into the honor society. The ceremony included the candle lighting ceremony which represented the qualities previously mentioned, the pledge of membership, and the presentation of certificates followed by the signing of the register by members.
Speeches were given by Ms. Silvestri, Mr. Benson, our school’s principal, and Michael Caruso, the outgoing president.
Those who did not successfully complete 20 hours of volunteering will have the opportunity to be inducted in the fall.
The ceremony also officially honored the elected officers for the graduating class of 2025.
Richard Xu, who is now President, states, “the other officers are Vice President – Katherine Thrailkill, Secretary – Olympia Pratt, Treasurer – David Berg, Parliamentarian – Noah Elwood, Historian – Maya Padmanabhan, and Public Relations – Imaad Maqsood.”
Michael Caruso, who is the class of 2024 president, explained, “the officers for the senior class are me – President, Ken Kowalczyk – Vice President, Sal Bourhim – Historian, Ashley Barmore – Secretary, Kaleigh Durso -Treasurer, Aishaanya Kaushik – Public Relations, and Sam Kwon – Parliamentarian.”
Michael stated that these seven outgoing officers planned, “several fundraisers – whether through bake sales at the school or dine-in events at local businesses – to support local charities like the Angels Among Us Food Pantry and Sleep in Heavenly Peace. In the near future, we will be holding our annual Spikeball Tournament, which will also lead to a charitable donation.”
Richard plans on “continuing the things that the National Honor Society does every year [like] the spikeball tournament.” He is also, “focusing on setting up a science fair at our school for next year and might get NHS involved with that. Additionally, I plan on reaching out to a few local businesses for potential fundraisers.”
As seen in both Michael’s and Richard’s enthusiastic approaches to presidency, the National Honor Society’s status is a result of the hard working contributions made by both the students and Ms. Silvestri.
According to Ms. Silvestri, “the organization is student centered in the sense that the members prioritize service and activities. The members and officers decide what will be the main focus of the organization’s efforts. For example, most years we help with things like the skating club’s fundraiser, the Boilermaker, Angels Among Us, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and veteran groups. We’ve also raised money for Ukraine. It’s really up to the members to decide the focus of the group and where any fundraising is donated.”
National Honor Society is represented by the highest achievers of the junior and senior classes. With the recent induction, the candidates for the class of 2025 have officially become members of NHS, and will continue to make a positive impact on the community.