Stereotype or Truth: What is NHS Really?

NHS+Logo

Eloisa Mello Almas

Students might recognize NHS from patches worn on leatherman jackets or on school backpacks. They also might have heard it’s a club where its members are meant to do volunteer work. NHS is a club that’s in every school and it stands for National Honor Society, the club’s duty is to help outstanding students with things such as scholarships, leadership and service. Students in NHS are required to be upperclassmen such as juniors or seniors and have very good grades such as a B plus or higher. At Glenn we have around 50 to 60 students in NHS. 

 

“We have some projects, the last one we did was a clothes closet, so we helped people get clothes,” junior Grace Hearn said.

 

Students in NHS must have 10 hours of community service for a semester, however depending on what district a school is located some might have more or less community service hours. 10 hours is the average time students need to do volunteer work for.

 

“My favorite part about NHS would be serving people because it’s fun- My least favorite part about NHS is the dues, so for us to do activities and projects we have to pay dues,” Hearn said. “I hope that NHS helps me get things for my college transcript.”

 

NHS has a plethora of leadership roles such as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Junior Representatives. Students in these leadership roles are expected the most and because of that they are held to a higher standard and have more responsibilities.

 

The NHS President, Alice Kang, is a senior and joined NHS in the spring of 2020 meaning she has been in NHS for one year and a half. Kang is not only the president for NHS but she’s also the president of the Student Council. She manages to find the perfect balance between her school life and her life outside of school.

 

“As an officer, you get to choose how meetings are run and which projects to pursue,” senior Alice Kang said. “However, I chose to run specifically for President because I’m passionate about improving my environment. As President, you’re given a higher position, meaning more people are likely to listen to you. It’s important that you use this “uplifted voice” to better any area you see that’s in need of improvement.”

 

NHS students carry out services for projects and that’s without including their 10 hour services they are required to do by themselves.

 

“One of the few challenges in any club is that with every decision you make there will always be an opposition, people will always have different opinions of what is the best course of action to take for the organization,” Kang said. “Whether it’s how the dues are spent or how meetings are run, not everyone will get what they want. The challenge comes with trying to find/make compromises or weighing out benefits and costs. The worst part about the NHS… it’s not necessarily the worst part, more like the less fun part… is probably planning things out (projects, general meetings, etc). Sometimes you wanna skip the planning and immediately get the end result, but that’s just not how reality works. But when you see your project all successful, the whole planning process is really rewarding.”

 

Even with all those challenges, students who are in NHS all have one thing in common — other than good grades and sweet patches — they all love volunteer work and find that the most rewarding part of the club.

 

“The best part about NHS is volunteering,” Kang said. “I’ve signed up for some random volunteering activities and have made new friends and memories because of them. It really pushes you to leave your comfort zone and get out there.”