National Honor Society: Academics, Community Service, and Leadership

National Honor Society (NHS) is an invite only school group that gives students opportunities to help their school and community. It follows the four pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

National Honor Society is a reputable club at Tuscarora and is presently run by Ms. Almario, Ms. Georgarakis, Mrs. Clyde, and Ms. Bass. 

“National Honor Society promotes the upstanding members of our school,” said Camila Ramirez, the current NHS Vice President. The Parliamentarian, Jackie Janicki, agreed, “[NHS] puts people’s values of helping others and being a good leader to the test… You can show that you’re actually committed to these core values.”

Throughout the year, NHS requires every member to complete 20 hours of volunteer service, benefitting Tuscarora and the broader community. In past years, these activities have included SLED tutoring, Backpack Buddies with local elementary schools, and trash pickups around Leesburg. 

“We didn’t have many NHS sponsored events last year, [due to] COVID, but we are trying to increase the events we have.” explained Ramirez.

According to the official website for National Honor Society, the average chapter has contributed 1,000 community service hours and given $26,000 to charity. As branches expand and help their community, these numbers will continue to grow.

NHS membership levels are much higher than many other clubs and societies at Tuscarora. Janicki believes this is because “[NHS is] a nationally recognized Honor Society, so people have a higher respect for it in general.” 

In order to join NHS, students must have and maintain a GPA of 3.50 or higher and receive three teacher recommendations.

While in the club, members are required to attend monthly meetings and complete five hours of community service per quarter.

NHS also provides students with an opportunity to work in leadership. “When I had the opportunity to run for office, I thought ‘this would be a great way to help organize all these cool volunteer opportunities,” Ramirez explained. 

Every leadership position is elected by NHS members, so it provides students with experience in school elections and how to run a campaign.

“As Vice-President, I help out with the meeting [presentations] and the meeting agenda.” Ramirez believes that this leadership role will help prepare her for future leadership roles in work and education. 

When asked about why she joined the National Honor Society, Jackie said, “I respect the legacy… and I hope to use the club’s opportunities to give back to my community.” 

Vice-president Ramirez agreed: “It’s really nice to know that you are in a higher level club.”

NHS is widely accepted by colleges and universities as a high level extracurricular, helping bolster applications for higher level colleges.

National Honor Society is a great opportunity to volunteer in your school and community, develop leadership skills, and work with other diligent, inspired students.