National Honor Society (NHS) is an organization of high achieving students that operates in all 50 states, and even internationally in some cases. The society is a prestigious place that attempts to uplift students that have evidenced the four pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.
State High has had a chapter of NHS since 2016, when an enthusiastic senior wanted to create the club for her graduation project. After a bit of convincing, LE teacher Jen Rand became the club advisor and NHS was born at State High.
To join National Honor Society at State High, an invitation must first be received. During the second semester of a student’s sophomore or junior year, if a student has an unweighted GPA of 3.75 or higher, they will receive an email of invitation. Then if students chose to, they can submit an application.
The application consists of a review of a student’s achievements since the start of high school and a written essay. These are read and graded by the faculty council, determining whether or not the student meets the requirements of number of activities involved in, awards given, community service time, and if the essay demonstrates a good sense of character.
Elsie Umbel, now senior and club president, joined NHS as a junior. She recalled the application process as a nerve wracking, but hopeful time. To incoming members of NHS, Umbel said, “The application process included recording your community service hours, leadership, awards, activities, and then writing a short essay. I remember being a little nervous about the application, but I think one of the biggest tips is to just show who you are as a person in your essay and you’ll be fine!”
According to advisor Jen Rand, around 400 students get an invitation every year. Of those, only about 200 send in an application on time (within a month of the original email). As the applications are reviewed by the faculty council, close to 50 percent are rejected, and the other half are officially invited to join the club.
So, about 100 students are a part of NHS every year. Because it is such a large group, there are not regular meetings with everyone, but smaller group meetings for the club’s initiatives.
There are two main initiatives: Lion’s Closet and NHS Peer Tutoring. Both of these are services for the school that help everyone who choose to employ them.
Lion’s Closet is a physical closet in the school that collects clothes to give away to people in need. It is fully student run and there is even a website for easy access. Lion’s Closet offers free clothing to all SCASD students and staff who need it.
NHS Peer Tutoring offers tutoring to any student who needs content-specific aid, SAT prep, or help with organizational or studying skills. It is a ready resource for any student that asks for help doing their best in school. More information can be found here.
Furthermore, NHS has smaller, optional initiatives that are not year round unlike the bigger ones. For example, around Thanksgiving, the group holds a meeting for Turkeys for Teachers. About 350 paper hand turkeys are made by the students to give to the staff at both State High and Delta as a way of showing thanks for their efforts.
In December, an initiative is held where members make holiday cookies and box them up to give to every staff member at State High. There will be a meeting where the cookies are boxed and handed out to anyone in charge at the school.
Umbel has nothing but good things to say about her club and the initiatives.
“Being surrounded by people putting forth their best effort in school, their relationships, and their extracurriculars, really encourages you to do the same. Additionally, the club gives you the chance to be a part of projects that serve the school and your peers. It’s an extremely gratifying experience,” Umbel said.
National Honor Society provides students with a place that encourages growth only if you put in work. According to Rand, NHS is suitable to students who work hard and are committed to their service to the community and want to grow in their abilities.
“I believe strongly in all of the qualities that NHS values. I believe strongly in scholarship, service, character and leadership; I think all of those are really important qualities to have.You get as much out of something as you put into it,” Rand said.
