The National Honor Society is a prestigious organization run in high schools across the country, in which members must show dedication to the four pillars: service, scholarship, leadership, and character. Each year, 10th grade or 11th grade students who meet the requirements are eligible to submit an application for membership for NHS. 

“After the first semester of your sophomore year and your junior year, if you have a 3.65 cumulative weighted GPA with works-in-progress, and have no disciplinary actions, then you will be asked if you would like to join NHS,” National Honor Society advisor Ms. Jennifer Wlodek said.

Members of the NHS are expected to uphold the four pillars of the club daily. Tutoring and volunteering portray acts of service, a strong GPA exhibits scholarship, an exemplary disciplinary record portrays character, and any clubs or extracurricular activities can show leadership. 

“Know that it is an honor to be accepted into the society, so you have to work hard to maintain that status,” senior NHS vice president Kylie Baker said.

Following this year, there will be new obligations not only to be eligible for NHS, but also to remain part of the club for preexisting members. This year, members must complete 12 hours of service, including at least three hours of tutoring. In the upcoming year, the number will increase to 24 hours, with a minimum of eight hours of tutoring. 

“The point of the NHS is to give back to the community,” senior NHS secretary Evelyn Wang said. “We want to encourage service and really uphold the pillars that the NHS is built on by encouraging people to participate in more service activities.”

Since the NHS is a very competitive and reputable organization, it is imperative that already inducted members continue to uphold their responsibilities. Members must stay on top of their work and make sure that they actively participate in the club. 

“Check your email, check Google Classroom, check all of that stuff,” senior NHS treasurer Alaina Patel said, “because what we see a lot of time is that people just forget to do stuff and that’s kind of the main issue.” 

This year the club will continue to revolve around the same four pillars. Current and future members will continue to positively represent the Southern Lehigh community to outside observers and other school districts alike. 

“When looking at other schools in the area, they have more [required] hours than we do here,” senior NHS president Ben Maund said. “We felt that more effort should be put into staying in the club.” 

Southern Lehigh NHS students believe that the changes will benefit the club and the members involved. Although the increase in service hours will pose a challenge, it will be worth it in the long run, as students will be even more involved within the community.

“I believe that the addition of service hours will push NHS members to work hard to maintain the club requirements,” junior Reese Higgins said. “It will be a step up from what we had to do in the previous years, but it will be beneficial for the club at SLHS.”