119 seniors were inducted into the Loyola chapter of National Honors Society on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
National Honors Society, or NHS for short, is a nationwide organization for high school students that have achievements in scholarship, service, leadership, and character, which are qualities many Loyola students take very seriously.
For the seniors that felt they identified with these values, applications for NHS were available to them last spring. They wrote essays about their interest in NHS, submitted grades, and recorded their service and extracurriculars on their application.
Mrs. York is the moderator of NHS, and this is her second year in charge.
“I saw so many opportunities for growth,” York said. “I wanted to become the moderator because I know we could do so much more.”
York has been successful in implementing some of the changes she envisioned for the program. One of these being that six students were chosen as leaders and given their own committee to run.
“I like that it feels like my classmates are the ones in charge,” senior NHS member Annie Atwood said. “I think it makes the whole program more relatable.”
NHS has had mandatory morning meetings each month this fall. At the very first of these meetings, the students decided which leader’s committee they wanted to join.
One of the committees was focused on planning the induction mass. This committee was led by senior Tommy Grant. Grant and the members of his committee worked hard to arrange the music, food, and overall logistics of the mass.
“I thought the mass went really smoothly,” Grant said. “My committee did a great job making sure everything was ready before the mass.”
Last year, the previous members voted on an impact area that they wanted their service to be geared towards. The winner of the vote was homelessness and hunger, which the current members are now focused on.
NHS has partnered with groups, such as Habitat for Humanity, that are also focused on these areas for Lunch & Learn meetings. In these meetings students gather during their lunch periods to hear from the partner about what they do.
“My goal was for the membership to understand who they were working with and how they were making an impact,” York said.
There have already been two Lunch & Learns this year, and there will be one more meeting in December for members to attend.
“These meetings are so beneficial because we get to hear first hand why we should make a difference and how we can do it,” Atwood said.
Another big goal for NHS is to open up the program to rising juniors. Currently, NHS is only available for seniors, but the recruitment committee is crafting an application to allow juniors to join the program. The hope is that a two-year commitment will be more meaningful for the students.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, there is so much in store for NHS.
The students will continue working on their impact area by completing service projects and hours aimed at reducing homelessness and hunger. Their partner, Habitat for Humanity, builds houses and homes, and some students are hoping to go to a food pantry to help out.
“I am most looking forward to the final Lunch & Learn,” Grant said
NHS seems ready to have a great year and future ahead of them full of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.
