Every year brings a new crop of officers to the helm of the National Honor Society (NHS) officer board. In order to prepare for their inauguration and the upcoming role as the leaders of NHS, they attend the annual Broward County Honor Society Convention at Pompano Beach High School on April 20.
The NHS convention is a huge gathering of NHS clubs from around Broward County to learn, interact and be rewarded for a year of hard work. In addition to learning about these qualities, awards are given out to schools for projects that their clubs have put together.
“The purpose of the organization shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to encourage a concern for character development and to advance the work of the Honor Society among all Broward County Chapters,” a statement on the BCHS page read.
With this goal in mind, many student led workshops will be held, touching upon key skills needed to be effective leaders.
“Throughout the day, stations will be set up relaying information about qualities that make up a leader,” president-elect Alexander Katsotis said. “For instance, David Lee and I are running a class on communication. ”
From these workshops, new ideas emerge, ones that will inspire new projects in the coming years.
“Every year NHS needs to create a certain amount of new projects to stay a club in good standing,” historian-elect Gabriela Carbone said. “We have the opportunity to talk to other chapters and learn about service projects at their school, and gain valuable feedback. This gives us the opportunity to take these project and apply them in ways that fit CCHS.”
However, officers aren’t the only new additions to the NHS chapter. Spanish teacher Lindsey Roberts will be stepping up as the new NHS club sponsor, and will be attending the convention to pick up new skills as well.
Roberts’ new role as sponsor will bring new changes to the NHS dynamic. For one thing, no one from CCHS will be running for county positions, as they have in previous years.
Next year, a new officer position is also being introduced: Parliamentarian. Junior David Lee will be taking on this position.
“I am really looking forward to my new role and giving my time and energy into this wonderful club that makes such a large impact on the community,” Lee said. “I can’t wait to work with Ms. Roberts and the other officers.”
In addition to forsight into the next year, the county NHS chapter will be reflecting on all the accomplishments from the current school year.
The NHS historian’s key responsibility is to document all the projects that take place over the year and create a scrapbook of events. Compiling with a chosen theme, this year’s being arcade, it will be submitted for competition and judged by a panel. There will also be awards for individual projects.
“Some of our best projects such as Robotics Day and Mock Discussion are award winning events from CCHS,” Katsotis said. “But being able to share information and ideas with other motivated members is our biggest way to grow as members of NHS, and that is what I’m looking most forward to.”
Photo courtesy of NHS Historian Felipe Lopez
