NHS Requirements

Nearly every student hears talk of NHS or National Honor Society, but most just chalk it up to, “a club for smart people”.

To answer the question, “What actually is National Honor Society?", one must start with the beginning. In 1921, the National Association of Secondary School Principals founded the National Honor Society.

The society’s meaning is guided by the four pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

These four pillars dictate the eligibility of a potential member and the work conducted by society members.

The purpose of the NHS program is to empower students via equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be transformative leaders in school.

There are operating chapters of the National Honor Society in all 50 states, with over 1.4 million students being served.

To provide example for the priorities and activities of chapters of the National Honor Society, each year, the average contributions of a chapter include:

• $26,000 in donations to charity

• 1,000 hours of community service

• 1,000 pounds of food to local, state, and national causes

• 100 pints of blood

At Jim Thorpe, Mrs. Milkowich was the National Honor Society advisor independently for ten years before, last academic year, she and Ms. MacCorkle shared the responsibilities as Co-Advisors.

This was to train Ms. MacCorkle to take over as advisor independently in Mrs. Milkowich’s absence, due to her plan to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.

However, because of unforeseen circumstances, Ms. MacCorkle left the district as well, leaving the position open for someone to take over. Mrs. Thompson volunteered to take on the job.

Currently, Mrs. Thompson is Jim Thorpe's NHS advisor, and for anyone who has questions that are unanswered by this article, it is recommended to speak with her. She is reachable at her classroom, Room 304, as well as via email at tonia.thompson@jtasd.org. 

Before Mrs. Milkowich left, she said in regards to NHS, “It is a scholarship-based organization, so you get in based on your grades, but you stay in based on your community service and your leadership.”

Recently, current advisor, Mrs. Thompson, held an assembly for all students who are being invited to apply. This includes all juniors and seniors who, in the previous academic year, had a grade point average (GPA) of 93% or higher, cumulatively.

For those who are unaware of how to see their GPA’s, it is included on every report card, as well as calculable via adding yearly grades for each course, as their weighted values, and then dividing by the number of active courses.

GPA’s are information to which guidance counselors have access as well. While scholarship is the metric used to determine eligibility to apply, it is not the deciding factor in whether or not a candidate is inducted into the society. 

Consideration for membership is based on the pillars of NHS, starting with scholarship, which is accounted for by the 93% GPA prerequisite, and continuing through service, leadership, and character, all of which have individual criteria that comes in further down the road in the application process.

As for scholarship, it is required that a junior member who intends to stay a member in his or her senior year also maintains a 93% cumulative GPA throughout junior year. 

“Service” refers to community service, which encompasses all work for which one is not paid and that can be signed off by a non-family member.

Community Service Verification forms are available in Mrs. Thompson’s classroom for those in need.

It is recommended and nearly required that a member earn a total of at least 35 community service hours prior to applying, as well as an additional 28 hours of community service during each year of membership in the society.

Leadership can come in the form of an officer position in an extra-curricular organization or sport team, participation in a leadership activity, or something else of a similar nature. 

Last of the pillars is, character, which is expected of a member to have shown in the years prior to being inducted, and is verified by surveys sent out to all of the teachers a student who is being considered for induction had throughout high school.

Any violation against character, which includes a physical altercation, bullying, or anything in the realm of misconduct will result in ineligibility for the first year of applying but not the following year if that student were to apply again.

Mrs. Thompson has encouraged that all students who are not sure whether or not their application would be accepted initially to apply anyways and, if necessary, fix what they lack to apply again the following year. 

As stated by Mrs. Milkowich, “The club itself does not run any activities, but it’s the club who everybody reaches out to help with community service, so like Read Across America, your math nights, reading nights, your Senior Olympics, things like that. They go out and provide a group for people.”

NHS is relied upon and responsible for continuing their leadership in and service of their community, as well as the scholarship and positive character development and portrayal.

Throughout the process of being considered for induction, applicants must submit proof of all service hours, which should be in the form of filled out Community Service Verification forms; an essay between 400 and 500 words, explaining, “Why I should be considered for membership in the National Honor Society”; and a properly formatted “Student Activity Information Form”.

The form should include Leadership Positions, Service Activities, Other Student Activities, Other Community Activities, and Work Experience, Recognition, and Awards.

An example of a properly formatted Student Activity Information Form is included below. 

Leadership Positions are to include all elected or appointed positions held in school, community, or work activities.

Only positions in which one was responsible for directing or motivating others should be included.

Section II, Service Activities, should include the activity and number of hours in which you participated. These include individual as well as group projects done both in and out of school.

All other school-based club activities that are not previously listed should be included in Other Student Activities. The same applies for Other Community Activities, just with a shift from school-based, to community-based.

These activities should be ones conducted for the betterment of the community. This includes Girl Scouts, religious groups, etc.

Lastly, work experience, recognition, and awards are not a specific criterion for membership, though they can help support an individual’s candidacy for NHS. 

The Faculty Council decides on members of the National Honor Society via a majority vote.

These randomly selected teachers are a part of an anonymous decision making process in order to prevent any potential bias influencing a decision.

The Faculty Council reviews the Student Activity Form, essay, and Teacher Evaluations. Teachers grade candidates in the areas of service, character, and leadership.

Candidates that receive a majority vote from the council become members of the National Honor Society.

The selection process should conclude about a month following the application due date, depending on teachers’ availability. The formal induction of elected candidates is held in early November. 

While all of this information is accessible to anyone who has already been invited to apply to National Honor Society, it is important to consider for any younger students, whether in high school or middle school, who intend to apply in their junior year.

To know what National Honor Society is and how to become a member is also valuable for juniors who intend to apply next year, or parents who want to encourage students to look for activities that look phenomenal on college applications. 

Wish luck to all of those applying before the September 25th due date.

-Gabriella Cerra, VP