The National Honor Society at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, IL is starting their first semester of sanctioned events to help out in the community.
The National Honor Society (NHS) has been partnering with local organizations to run volunteer events for NHS members to participate in, including old favorites such as the Gurnee Park District Halloween Fall Fest where volunteers dress in costume, the annual Warren Des Plaines River trail clean-up, and Breakfast with Santa. ̈I’m looking forward to helping out with the breast cancer awareness run at Independence Grove. ̈ said Ava Hoxsie, a senior involved with the NHS in an interview.
Alex Matthews, another NHS member, added that she is ̈…most looking forward to Feed My Starving Children.” NHS is a group of high school students with high academic profiles who work together to benefit the community through volunteering. In order to be an NHS member, you must apply with an essay and meet the requirements of having a GPA of 3.6 or higher and being in multiple extracurricular activities, and once accepted, do 10 service hours per semester and attend 2 meetings per semester. I think the main goal of NHS is to bring people together. ̈ said Anzalnah Mohammed, the social media manager for the NHS. ̈Through all the volunteer opportunities, meetings, and events we host, students who are strong in leadership get to work as a team to make a positive impact on our school and community.” You get to meet a lot of cool people. ̈ Matthews added, ̈[It lets you] …connect with the community more. ̈ My favorite part probably has to be the service aspect. ̈ continued Mohammed, ̈I like how the volunteer work we do allows us to build relationships and help the community in meaningful ways. ̈ When asked about the difficulty of membership, Matthews went on to say that ̈…it ́s not that difficult, you just have to not slack off– as long as you can organize and prioritize, you’ll be fine. ̈ Hoxsie enthused that it’s ̈Not difficult at all! ̈
If you’re a Warren junior curious about becoming a member of the National Honor Society this spring, then Matthews ̈…would say do it because it will be worth it in the long run. It will be good for college, connections, and it will help you with personal growth. Just don’t spread yourself too thin. Don’t let it harm your mental state through stress. ̈ Hoxsie added that ̈It looks good on college applications and you should definitely do it as it’s a good thing to do for your community. ̈
Applications are open to juniors with a high enough GPA and are offered in the spring semester.