National Honor Society Inducts New Members
By Emma Risinger
On Thursday, March 7, Pierce High’s National Honor Society chapter held its annual induction.
The new inductees to the NHS were sophomores Colter Anderson, Brock Collison, Abigail Cone, Emily Endorf, Boston Krueger, Alyssa Kuper and Sydney Kuper. New junior members were Amelia Ahlers, Claudia Riggert, Alexis Sporleder, Kaylee Steffen and Hadley Wragge. Senior members inducted include Breanna Lindstrom, Sara Thomsen, and Jaya Wachholtz.
The ceremony began with an introduction and welcome from NHS chapter president, Maggie Painter.
“The ceremony went really smooth… The kids who were there, they cared about it,” said Painter.
Painter also gave a speech about the value of knowledge, one of the core values of the National Honor Society. She lit a white candle, symbolizing this value.
A handful of returning members were chosen to speak about the other four pillars of selection for the NHS. Those pillars include scholarship, character, service, and leadership. A different colored candle represents each trait.
Ashley Wacker spoke about the importance of scholarship, having ignited the yellow candle. Zakary Abler gave his insights into character, represented by the green candle. The red candle symbolizes service, on which Emma Risinger gave her remarks. Amber Shefl gave a speech about leadership after lighting the purple candle.
Following the initial speeches, it was time for new members to be inducted. Members were chosen by a panel of Pierce High faculty, who evaluated applications based on how well potential new inductees represent NHS values.
“Each of the speakers did a great job capturing the pillars of National Honor Society. I am excited to watch this group continue to grow their scholarship, leadership, character, and service in themselves and in our school,” said Melissa Legate, Pierce’s NHS chapter sponsor.
All returning members were paired up with one or two new inductees each. Participants each had a small, handheld candle.
One by one, the groups approached the front of the room, and the returners signed their names in the membership book and lit their personal candle in the white one. The new members then signed their names. Returners lit their inductees’ candles using theirs, passing on the metaphorical light of knowledge.
The lighting of these candles is highly symbolic for the group; each candle’s ignition represents both the passing on of values to new members and the honor of selection.
The chapter has been participating in their individual service projects such as mentoring junior high students and providing peer tutoring. The group also read to elementary school classes for Read Across America Day, which was on March 2. A handful of NHS members will help put on parent-teacher conferences on Thursday, March 21.
