It’s spring, which means it’s National Honor Society induction season! Students who applied in the winter have found out whether or not they made it into NHS. The induction to celebrate and bring in new members is being held on March 31st.
“The induction will be held on Tuesday, March 31st, at 1:00 in the auditorium,” said Kelly Lepkowski, one of the sponsors of NHS. “New members can expect to be introduced to everyone at the ceremony, their bio will be read, they will walk across the stage and be acknowledged by our principal, Mr. Manugo, and they will receive a flower. After the ceremony, there will be a short reception in the Salem Library for all members to attend.”
Acceptance into NHS is one of the highest honors that can be given to a high school student. NHS is built on four pillars: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. To get in, students have to maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher, go through teacher recommendations, and ultimately be hand selected.
“New NHS members can expect to be a part of a positive, upbeat organization,” said Lepkowski. “There are monthly NHS meetings they should plan on attending, and special projects to get involved in, like our homecoming hallway decoration contest. New NHS members will be given many opportunities to volunteer at Salem and in our community, through which they will learn so much!
One core pillar of NHS is service, specifically to the community. NHS members are expected to complete a total of 30 hours of service, 15 inside of school and 15 outside of school.
“The best advice I can give to new members is to attend the meetings and get involved,” said Lepkowski. “There are so many different opportunities to earn volunteer hours.”
The meetings are where you learn more about what is going on and how to get involved.
“For new NHS members, I really recommend getting your hours in early,” said junior Katherine Tapman. “It’s so easy to procrastinate and miss out on them.”
This year, NHS welcomes many new members. Many newcomers share the same sentiments and excitement about this upcoming year.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the NHS community,” said junior Bianca Rodriguez. “I’m mostly looking forward to the volunteer work that will come out of it. I think being in NHS will help push me to doing more volunteer work than I would do normally, and I’m excited to use my time to help others while also growing as an individual.”
NHS can provide a place for people to use their individual strengths and talents to better the community.
“There are many ways that every member can shine,” said Lepkowski. “Whether it is using art skills to make recognition posters, decorating hallways, or organizing teams to volunteer at local events like the Shamrock Marathon, etc. There is something for everyone to do- new members need to just give it a chance.
The impacts of NHS can be felt throughout the community, especially with their recent involvement in the Shamrock Marathon.
“My favorite part of NHS is seeing what all our work actually does for our school and schools across the city,” said Tapman.
The NHS induction will take place on March 31st. While this is a closed celebration, it is still important to support new members and NHS as a whole as they volunteer their time for the school and community.
