Character, scholarship, leadership, and service. These four pillars of National Honor Society have guided its 45 new members, which were inducted on June 4, 2019. This is a prestigious honor for those involved, and a signification of their high marks and exemplary personalities.

Amy Demchak, National Honor Society advisor of 13 years, describes this group as “highly selective” and has the evidence to prove the claim. To be admitted to NHS, students must maintain above a 92 average, complete an essay and application which must be signed off by teachers and coaches, have over 45 hours of community service, and earn the approval of an anonymous faculty council that reviews each of the essays and applications submitted.

The Honor Society’s presence can be felt throughout the year, sometimes when you do not even know. NHS is responsible for help at holiday food drives, blood drives, charity events for veterans, 8th-grade orientation, 9th-grade orientation, senior graduation, the freshman club fair, and after-school peer tutoring.

The overwhelming service that NHS members provide is a testament to their character and leadership, and these exemplary traits the members possess do not go unnoticed. Class of 2019 NHS member Paige Rignola believes that being an NHS member “most definitely” helped her in earning admission into Penn State University.

National Honor Society’s class of 2020 hopes that they will be able to uphold the four pillars of Honor Society as Paige and her classmates did. Their journey started on the night of induction, where each member was sworn to maintain these model character traits.

The induction ceremony began with a memorial speech to former NHS member Gianni Mongelluzzo, who passed away in an automobile accident just days prior to the induction ceremony. National Honor Society and Westhampton Beach mourn the loss of Gianni.

Each NHS officer had the chance to speak about the pillars of honor society, and at the conclusion of the speech, they lit a candle representing that pillar. These candles would later be used to light each inductee’s individual candle, which was held throughout the duration of the induction.

This newly inducted group’s first act as NHS members was the election of officers. John Paul Ferrantino was elected President, Spencer Moyle was elected Vice-President, Ellen Murphree was elected Secretary, Jacob Croce was elected Treasurer, Hanna Tufano was elected Parliamentarian, and Chris Daleo was elected Historian.

Assisting in senior graduation will be the new inductee’s first event of service. As we see our peers move onto their next chapter in life, we can use it as a lesson and realize that we too are not that far away from that moment.

The National Honor Society hopes to use this remaining year as much as they can to leave their mark on Westhampton Beach and spread the pillars of character, scholarship, leadership, and service across the school.