As students filed across the auditorium stage to receive their certificates of membership, they shook hands and bumping fists with important faculty members like principal Michael McDonough, AP coordinator Jamey Shaaf and AP English 3 teacher Camille Quaite. Despite being pushed back a week by flooding, the National Honor Society (NHS) induction ceremony held on April 25^th at 7 pm was filled with excited parents and enthusiastic incoming members.

Inductees got into the prestigious society by filling out applications and detailing their grades, clubs, extracurricular activities and awards won. Recently inducted sophomore Juho Kim explained why he applied to be an NHS member.

“I got an NHS application because my friends were getting them,” Kim said. “A few weeks later, I found out that I got in, and I went to the induction ceremony. When they called my name, I was happier than a bear in a beehive. I wish I could have gotten some of the refreshments served after the ceremony, but I had to study for my IB SL math class.”

The reception after the induction consisted of dessert pastries, beverages and pictures. New members could talk with their fellow inductees as well as people who had been members for a longer time while they drank water, soda and Capri Suns. Sophomore Skylar McAuliffe summed it up.

“The small reception afterwards was a great addition, and the brownies and cookies were delicious,” McAuliffe said. “Also, the canned food drive that we had really motivated me to want to do more service projects for NHS. It was an honor for us to get to dress up and join this prestigious organization, and I’m sure all the proud parents that attended would agree.”

Inductees were encouraged to donate two cans of nonperishable goods to the induction ceremony as the first NHS service project for new members. This food drive established the responsibility of the new members and gave a sense of what NHS was really about: giving back to the community. The society’s motto is “Noblesse Oblige”: the inferred responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility toward those less privileged.

New NHS members were excited to do what they could to be part of their community, especially under the honor of being inducted into the club. Parents and faculty were also #CardinalProud of the inductees. McAuliffe summed up most of the new members’ sentiments.

“I felt so proud to be invited to be a part of NHS,” McAuliffe said. “The induction ceremony was short, but I loved the speeches that all of the officers of NHS and the principal gave. They were all so inspiring and made me glad that I was joining the community of Bellaire’s intellectuals.“