In honor of members accepted into National Honor Society (NHS), an induction ceremony was held in the Lecture Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6.

NHS is a national organization established to support high school students of outstanding standards.

The Hays High June Reynold NHS chapter recognized 40 new members to the association, including 30 juniors and 10 seniors.

The requirements to submit an application were to have a 3.5000 GPA, show leadership in different activities, provide character references and show community service hours.

“The organization is set up to recognize and encourage good students,” NHS co-sponsor Cheryl Shepherd-Adams said. “You not only have to have the minimum GPA, you also have to show that you can give to the community.”

Shepherd-Adams said members must be able to have a teacher and a community member vouch for their character.

“At the induction ceremony, there was a nice string quartet from the Hays High School orchestra,” Shepherd-Adams said. “We also had a guest speaker.”

The guest speaker for the evening was school board president Mandy Fox.

Fox shared her experiences with NHS and her expectations for the members. She expressed her pride for all students being inducted.

Officers for the NHS chapter lit candles to represent each quality expected of members.

After reciting a pledge, all inductees had their name called, where they then walked across the stage to sign their name in a book and accept a certificate and pin.

Most of the reading and introductions were given by NHS president Isabelle Braun.

“I feel like it was done in a good amount of time,” Braun said. “I had a lot to say, it was so long. I practiced it a lot.”

At the end of the ceremony, a reception was held for all attending.

“This really looks great on scholarship applications,” Shepherd-Adams said. “Even though different schools have different requirements for NHS, it still notes that the student is in good academic standing and they have not been caught doing anything they shouldn’t have been.”

All current members are required to contribute at least five hours of community service a semester and maintain a high GPA to stay involved.

“If you fall below that or are involved in activities you shouldn’t be and it comes to our attention, you are put on probation,” Shepherd-Adams said. “If it happens again, you are kicked out.”

Co-sponsor Kayla Brown thinks the induction ran smoothly and in a reasonable amount of time.

“In previous years, until last year, we held it at the Robbins Center at Fort Hays, but last year we made a decision to move it to the Lecture Hall,” Brown said. “We have this nice, renovated place to do it in, why not do it here?”

Brown believes hosting the event at the high school provided a bit more of a homestyle feeling.

“I think it went great,” Brown said. “Our original members divided and conquered, with set-up and taking everything down, I just kind of get to sit back and relax.”

20ahillebrand@usd489.com