Ninety-three members were inducted into the National Honor Society on May 12. Amidst the cheers and celebrations, 13-year NHS adviser Jennifer Kuhleman announced she was leaving. Kuhleman, also an AP World History, Pre-AP World History and World Geography teacher, thanked her fellow faculty, Bellaire’s administration and the 193 members of Bellaire’s NHS community.
“I had her class for World Geography and AP World History, and in both of those classes, she was a great, passionate teacher who loved teaching us,” sophomore and new inductee Mason Zhang said. “[She] helped me stay on my academic path [by] staying after school, staying during lunch, helping me with my work and helping me advance in my classes.”
Kuhleman didn’t fill the role of NHS adviser because she’d be paid extra or because she’d be praised. She did it as a favor to a friend.
“I became an NHS adviser during my third year of teaching at Westbury High School at the suggestion of the principal,” Kuhleman said. “He thought I was an ideal candidate on account of my demonstrated commitment to the campus and community.”
That commitment to service didn’t end when she transferred to Sharpstown High School, where she helped students reinstate the NHS chapter on campus. Her efforts caught the eye of former Bellaire principal, Michael McDonough, who lived in the Sharpstown community and read about their service work in Sharpstown’s NHS newsletter.
“I’d been approached previously about an instructional role at Bellaire, however, the role of NHS adviser wasn’t ever available, so when the role was finally open, I decided it was time for a move,” Kuhleman said. “Of course, I had no idea how much more demanding the role of NHS adviser would be at Bellaire – there were over 300 members.”
But where some might have been overwhelmed, Kuhleman brought structure, heart and vision.
Junior Laila Haiki, an NHS junior officer, witnessed it firsthand.
“Miss Kuhleman has truly had a very great leadership role and has made a foundation in NHS to where, even when she’s gone, we’ll be able to still continue with all the values she put in place,” Haiki said. “She’s very encouraging, always brings positivity to every meeting and event and even at the most stressful times, she makes everything manageable.”
Haiki also helped organize the very ceremony that would become a farewell to her adviser, a full-circle moment for a student leader inspired by Kuhleman’s constant service.
“It was truly amazing,” Haiki said. “I was able to see all the new inductees and how they were truly committed to their position, even from the beginning. They stepped up and signed up for volunteer roles on their first day.”
While NHS sets minimum requirements, 10 volunteer hours and participation in two sanctioned events, Haiki encourages new members to go further.
“They should treat it as a way to truly help the community,” she said. “Not just something to check off a list, but something they’re proud to do.”
Behind the scenes, fellow NHS co-adviser, Pre-AP World History and World Geography teacher Juanita Camarillo, coordinated a surprise tribute to Kuhleman at the ceremony. Camarillo worked with senior officers to surprise Kuhleman.
“I am so impressed that we were able to pull it off, I didn’t think we were going to surprise her,” Camarillo said. “Ms. Kuhleman is a ninja; she is everywhere all of the time. It was just an act of God that she was AP proctoring that day.”
Camarillo, who previously worked with Kuhleman at Sharpstown, believes that her colleague’s unwavering commitment and “genuine love for people” made her someone worth supporting—even when her plans seemed overly ambitious.
“Sometimes she has crazy schemes and I’m like, ‘Jen, logistically speaking, it would be really hard to pull this off,’” Camarillo said. “But she always makes it happen.”
Kuhleman credits the success of Bellaire’s NHS chapter in part to the support of her co-adviser and knows she is leaving behind a chapter that will continue to grow and serve its community in her absence.
“I am beyond grateful to her for stepping into the role of NHS co-adviser and know that I would not have been able to do what I do as an adviser without her,” Kuhleman said. “I’ve finally, albeit begrudgingly, come to realize that no one can do it all and no one should try.”
