On Nov. 8, Parkway hosted their National Honor Society (NHS) induction ceremony for the first time since 2019. The ceremony served as an opportunity to honor some of North’s top students.

The ceremony consisted of a welcome from principal David Jones, a candle lighting to represent the core values of NHS by NHS president Adam Kerkemeyer, vice president Grace Koo, secretary Anjola Ola treasurer Tabitha Bevan and parliamentarian Tali Ucko and a keynote address from former art teacher Clint Johnson.

Due to the cancellation of the 2020 ceremony, the 2021 inductions included students that were informally inducted last year as well as ones that were inducted this year. Consequently, this year’s ceremony featured almost twice as many members than normal.

“Last year, we just weren’t comfortable doing Zoom induction. [We] felt that it was cheating the students and held the ceremony [this year],” said English teacher Debbie Banashek-Twist. “Generally, we induct 40 to 45 students, and this year we’re inducting 85.”

The National Honor Society is open to juniors and seniors with a requirement of a 3.75 GPA and a prior community service record or involvement in leadership activities outside of school. Students then must maintain their GPA and continue to serve the community.

“[Students] gain the opportunity to be leaders in the building… and to make a difference on campus and in the community,” said Baneshek-Twist. “Our efforts are focused on giving back to North and giving back to the North area and the local community. There’s all sorts of projects from helping out school events to [running] blood drives to helping the greater community.”

“As an officer, you have a lot of influence and one of the changes I’ve been able to implement is making the food drive I organized last year an event on the NHS docket, opening it up to so many more volunteers and giving me many more connections to help me plan the event,” said Kerkemeyer.

Besides encouraging students to be leaders and take part in community service, it also provides students with a community to grow their community service campaigns and discover what they are passionate about.

“As far as advice for new members is concerned, when you’re looking to get service hours, pick an organization you really enjoy volunteering for and stick with them, it really helps you to develop connections with those you volunteer with and you can see the difference you make when you come back to volunteer for the same cause year after year,” said Kerkemeyer.

Being a part of NHS is also great for college applications since only around 30 percent of a grade is inducted.

“The recognition that you get for being a member of NHS is the biggest benefit members receive in my opinion,” said Kerkemeyer. “The NHS is a nationally recognized organization and being an inducted member is something that’s recognized nationwide.”

NHS offers a lot of different things to different people whether it’s the opportunity for more community service or the experience of being a part of something that benefits their outlook as a person.