National Honor Society (NHS) inducted about 60 students from all grades and languages this year in an induction ceremony on March 19, at 7:00 pm in the high school’s auditorium. The students who are selected are not only those who earned high grades, but also those who are passionate about their language.
This is different from regular NHS that some of the juniors and seniors are a part of at the high school. NHS language only inducts the students who qualify and present them a certificate at the induction ceremony, to which the student and their family members are welcome. Unlike regular NHS, NHS language students remain a part of the society regardless if they meet the requirements again the following year.
NHS is a national organization that recognizes students in their third year of study who have maintained an A in their 1st and 2nd term of their foreign language class this year. These students must have an overall A- in the year before. Not only must they do well in their language class, but they also must earn good grades in their other classes.
The purpose of NHS is to recognize the students who work hard to master their language and encourage them to continue. “It’s good to know that there are programs that can give students motivation to work hard,” said Charlotte Clapham ’17, who is currently a German 4 student.
NHS also stresses the other elements that associate with taking a language. The “understanding of the culture and diversity, and not just the language itself, adds more value to the Wellesley community,” said Tim Eagan, the high school’s Language Director.
Each year, there is a guest speaker at the ceremony who speaks about their language and the culture of that language, which varies each year. This year, the guest speaker was Donna Patterson, a historian and assistant professor at Wellesley College in Africana studies.
(Lily Fenton ’17, Staff Writer)