National Honor Society inducts new students into the program

By Kaylee Boggan

The NHS induction ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 in the auditorium.

“We had a record number of applications this year, and we are excited to see that even more kids than the past years have wanted to become a part of NHS,” English teacher and NHS sponsor Kimberley Chance said.

The induction rehearsal will be the day before the actual ceremony on Monday, Oct. 17.

“It helps the students know where to stand for the ceremony,” senior Peighton Richter said.

Students selected to join NHS were notified this week.

“The selections are made by a panel of teachers who selects students for NHS by looking at the four pillars [of NHS]: scholarship, leadership, service, and character,” Chance said. “We also look at school involvement and community involvement.”

Selected students met other specific qualifications as well.

“The NHS student is well rounded and civic minded,” English teacher and NHS Sponsor Zane Reinhard said. “They are interested in applying for the future by being involved in their school and community.”

Prospective NHS sudents were first notified to apply and attend a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016.

“The meeting explained the selection process,” Chance said. “The first part is about the application and how to fill it out. The second part gives students information about the organization, such as service projects and the selection process.”

Many students were nervous about joining NHS.

“The NHS meeting was definitely helpful, and I don’t think the application was that bad,” junior Christine Bahlinger said. “The hardest part was gathering the past service hours and the signatures.”

According to current members, NHS gives students the chance to be a part of something that is greater than themselves.

“We are looking to branch into a few more charities that are base locally to better the community,” NHS President and senior EmmaThames said.

The NHS is an organization about much more than just grade point average. To be inducted into the society, students must have a grade point average of a 90 or higher, have 10 hours of service per semester, and one outreach project at an NHS sponsored event. This organization wants to be more influential than intelligent.

“NHS is a service-based honor organization that works with the school and community to provide them for volunteers for events,”Thames said. “We’ve done the Rock and Roll Marathon, the March of Dimes, San Antonio Food Bank various times throughout the school year, and the NEISD school robotics fair.”

The NHS club plans to meet five times this year.

“NHS is a great way to get involved in our community,” Richter said. “We already have a lot of new ideas for volunteering events and it’s going to be a great year.”