Are They Just to Boost College Applications?
Maddie Kysilko
There seems to be an honor society for every subject. Topics range from math to Latin to social studies, and according to the T.C. club website, there are seven currently active at T.C. (The National Honor Society is another honor society, but is not included in the club list.)
Honor societies claim that they exist to demonstrate academic excellence and for students to stand out among their peers. All of the honor societies at T.C. have differing requirements in terms of minimum GPA and service hours in the related subject. Some, like the Science National Honor Society (SNHS), require 20 science-related service hours for the year. New National English Honor Society (NEHS) members must record 10 service hours, while old members must record 15.
Photo Courtesy of Lindsey Schulwolf.
One of the leading reasons for entering national honor societies is for a leg up in college application process. “Of course it helps your college resume,” said Vivian Mirto, sponsor of SNHS.
Honor societies have purposes outside of college resume enhancement. One of the key activities that honor societies at T.C. partake in is helping the school community.
SNHS has a partnership with the International Academy. This outreach benefits all students, as students in the International Academy are able to get science assistance and SNHS members are able to fulfill their service hour requirements in subjects they are interested in.
SNHS serves the community in other ways, too. “We talk with guest speakers and do science-related community service,” said Mirto.
NEHS also finds ways to engage with students. “We just started participating in the morning writing center in the library, so NEHS volunteers are going to start coming to the library before school to offer peer tutoring,” said Leah Nickelsburg, co-president of NEHS.
NEHS works with different groups throughout the year. “We also help out in the library whenever they need any volunteers throughout the year. Every year we wrap gifts at Hooray For Books during the holidays, and we have an annual book drive,” said Nickelsburg.
Community service opportunities, working in different academic fields, and college application boosts draw crowds for all the honor societies. Mirto places the number of members returning to SNHS at about 26, and says there are lots of new applications this year.
“[NEHS] has 20 returning members this year. We had a ton of applicants this year, so our membership could more than double once we finish the process of accepting new members,” said Nickelsburg.
Honor societies have many benefits, serving both the T.C. community and the personal interests of students. With chapters set up in schools all over the country, these popular organizations are not going anywhere anytime soon.
