Ninety new members were inducted into the Bellaire National Honor Society on April 15. During the ceremony, which started at 6 p.m., the inductees were officially sworn in, walking across the stage to receive their certificate before reciting the NHS oath.
Junior Ava Skow was one of the inductees. She decided to apply not only for her college resume but also because her friends had recommended it to her.
“While I walked across the stage, I felt excited and relieved that I was finally in NHS,” Skow said. “Now that I am a part of the chapter, I am most excited for the volunteering. I enjoy volunteering in general and I’ll be able to do it with friends.”
Sophomore Zachary Barnett joined the chapter because his dad and brothers were both members of their own NHS chapters before him.
“I wanted to join to continue the family precedent,” Barnett said. “Now that I am in this chapter of NHS, I am looking forward to helping out with all of the events that NHS hosts, especially the Hot Chocolate [Run] which has been talked about highly by members.”
Senior and NHS Service Vice President Jason Deng opened the ceremony. During the induction, the incoming members heard from the NHS co-advisors, Juanita Camarillo and Jennifer Kuhleman, and Principal Michael Niggli about what it means to be a part of the chapter.
Four of the seven current NHS officers, seniors Flynn Collins, Andrew Abdelmlak, Irene Zheng and Michael Sheth, explained the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, leadership, service and character, respectively. Senior and Historian Aaditya Krishna led the NHS oath, and Treasurer Jack Berry gave the closing remarks once the new members were officially inducted.
Both co-advisors said they enjoyed hearing the officers speak about the pillars. Kuhleman felt that it afforded them an opportunity to step into their leadership roles as emcees, which “they did so wonderfully and seemingly effortlessly.”
Camarillo also admired their leadership and loved that they know and understand what NHS stands for and aspires to be. She says that without the officers, NHS “would be in serious trouble.”
“They do so much and take on a lot that frees us as advisers to do more than we could ever do by ourselves or with only one or two who are plugged in and helping,” Camarillo said. “The success of this year’s members, the numbers we generated in terms of tutorials and service hours and the fact that we have been able to stay strong as a club instead of losing members due to inactivity, can be largely credited to the excellency of our officers’ work and efforts.”
NHS president and senior Michael Sheth said that the officer team worked “tirelessly” to make sure the ceremony ran smoothly and was happy with how it turned out.
“I don’t want to give all the credit to me and my work,” Sheth said. “We’re a team. As a team, we were very good at rehearsing for the induction. We tried to get the timing down. It wasn’t perfect but I think we did a pretty good job with that.”
In reflecting on the past year, Sheth said he hopes the new members learn the importance of communication.
“One of the changes we’re trying to make in NHS with the events [is to] try to make them more social,” Sheth said. “I was kind of surprised by how much goes behind the scenes with this sort of stuff. It really taught me how important it is to be communicative in a group and how to organize a group well and delegate tasks because that’s actually a skill. You’re forced to be more social, more outgoing. I hope that the new members can also learn how to be more communicative.”
Kuhleman is also hopeful of the new members and what they can contribute to NHS.
“I am most looking forward to working alongside our new group of inductees and witnessing them experience the joy of giving back to their community,” Kuhleman said. “I take immense pride in watching our chapter members build and strengthen friendships as members of our campus chapter.”
