Last month on October 27th, Abington High School hosted this year’s National Honor Society’s (NHS) 2025 induction of new members. While this is a typical event, this year there were two things that made this induction so special: our own Sra. Ward as keynote speaker, and the fact that this is the largest induction we’ve had at Abington HIgh. For those who don’t know, National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes students across the country that exemplifies scholarship, service, leadership, and character. These attributes are known as the National Honor Society’s four pillars.

This year’s NHS officers are seniors Sam Almedia (president), Jake Nelligan (vice president), Nick Harris (secretary), Andrew Van Luling (treasurer), and Grace Garcia (ways & means). The advisor is Ms. London, AHS and AMS librarian. The officers and the advisor are in charge of running the AHS chapter of National Honor Society by holding meetings, organizing this year’s induction, and alerting members of service opportunities.

As of this year, NHS is accepting its biggest group of students, at a total of 51 new inductees (5 seniors and 46 juniors). They will be welcoming back 29 senior members (including the officers).

A typical NHS induction includes a speech from a keynote speaker. This year, NHS welcomed Abington High Spanish teacher and former NHS vice president, Sra. Kate Ward as their keynote speaker for the night. This was a special induction to Sra. Ward, as not only was she NHS vice president alongside her sister as secretary; Sra. Ward’s twin sons were inducted this year.

Sra. Ward gave a touching and honest speech about the importance of helping one another and trusting yourself, and those who are a part of your community. During her speech, Sra. Ward kept referring to her favorite singer, Tim McGraw, and the Spanish version of his song “Humble and Kind,” or “No Te Olvides De Amar.” She had put strong emphasis on two lyrics that served almost as the backbone for her speech.

Firstly, “No hay luz sin sombra”, meaning ‘There’s no light without shadow’. In her speech, Sra. Ward uses this lyric to express that “There will be trying times… But these trying times only make the good moments even better. Life is full of high highs and low lows. Trust in yourself that you have everything you need to endure through the shadows.” This is a beautiful message of perseverance, one that should be shared.

Shortly after, Sra. Ward quotes McGraw again with “When you get where you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around and help the next one in line. Always stay Humble and Kind.” With this quote, she urges us to help each other, to “share your wisdom and leadership with the next one in line because you are good” and to “trust yourself to make a positive impact on those around you.” These words are important to hear and keep in mind, the world is tough which makes it so important to help those around you and make a good impact. I highly recommend watching Sra. Ward deliver her speech on Abington Cam on YouTube, as it was a beautiful and emotional speech. She truly left some inspiring words for this year’s NHS inductees.

As mentioned earlier, members of the National Honor Society are defined by the four pillars of NHS, those being scholarship, service, leadership, and character. These attributes are demonstrated in multiple ways by NHS members and are imperative to their acceptance into the society.

Members show scholarship by their work at school, this is typically determined by the students GPA. At Abington High School, the minimum GPA to be considered for NHS is a 3.30. Students accepted are expected to keep this minimum GPA in order to remain a member. Students who do not get accepted their junior year and maintain their 3.3 GPA will be invited to apply again as seniors.

Service is shown by the service work a student does. Service is defined by NHS as “voluntary contributions made by a student to the school or community, done without compensation.” There are no set service hour requirements to be considered for NHS, but service is judged with a selection rubric. However, once inducted, members are required to perform a certain minimum number of hours before the end of the school year. Last school year alone, members of NHS performed a total of 2,531 hours of community service.

Leadership is demonstrated by students at school, community activities, or working for/with others. There is no exact leadership requirement for NHS, just that the student does leadership in their day to day life. For example, someone may be the captain of their sports team, drum major in band, or a patrol leader in their Scout troop.

Finally, character is shown by high standards of honesty and reliability; showing courtesy, concern, and respect for others; and generally maintaining a clean disciplinary record. These standards of character are shown by the student and are often determined by staff at AHS.

In order to be accepted into NHS, firstly, a student must be a junior or senior with a 3.3 or higher GPA to be invited to apply. After being invited, a student must fill out an application consisting of an essay, a resume, activity sheet, and two letters of recommendation.

The application is then reviewed and voted on by a council of five faculty members and the NHS advisor. They will also receive feedback from the entire school faculty before making a decision. Once accepted the student will then be inducted. Any additional information on NHS can be found on their info page.

In short, this year’s National Honor Society induction was one of the most special ones that have happened in a while. From having a record breaking 51 news inductees and Sra. Ward’s heartfelt speech, it was truly an eventful induction. With all of this excitement it is important to remember that National Honor Society is not just a gold star to put on a resume, it is an opportunity to continue to serve others and the community.