On Mar. 25, the School’s chapter of National Honor Society (NHS) inducted dozens of new members in its annual spring induction ceremony. 

The planning for the induction ceremony involved countless people in the School community and began weeks in advance. 

First, applicants needed to be interviewed, a process which was facilitated by NHS seniors.

Next, applications that students submitted needed to be read and evaluated. This task was conducted by a faculty council in conjunction with NHS advisor and social studies department chair Ms. Sara Misselhorn. 

“As the NHS advisor, I present the candidates to the faculty council and provide information on GPA,” Ms. Misselhorn said in an Apr. 6 email to The Pharcyde. “In selecting new members, all faculty members, administrators, and coaches in the Upper School have input… The five voting members of The Benjamin School National Honor Society Faculty Council make the final selection…,” she added. 

After students were notified of either their denial or acceptance, the subsequent step of the process was for NHS officers, like senior and NHS Vice President Michael Reznik, to set up the induction. 

“The largest obstacle [this year was] that there was no in-person audience… We set up ‘bleachers’ on stage, and used them to socially distance the new inductees as much as possible. As usual, the night prior and morning of were quite hectic, but if you ask me I’d say the end result was pretty close to perfect,” said Reznik.

All of Ms. Misselhorn and the NHS officers’ planning resulted in a successful induction ceremony. 

However, much was different about this year’s induction. For instance, no audience was present in Benjamin Hall to witness the ceremony. Moreover, one of the most noticeable aspects of the induction was also missing: the handshakes. Oftentimes, inductees will coordinate with the NHS member who is inducting them to create a unique handshake. However, due to this year’s COVID-19 protocols, this was not a possibility

Despite the unorthodox circumstances, inductees had positive feelings about the induction and becoming a part of NHS. 

“Overall, I thought this year’s NHS induction was a positive experience. The program ran smoothly, everybody was recognized, and I was glad that the ceremony was live-streamed for family and friends living far and near to watch. However, the induction lacked the community spirit of an in-person audience…,” said sophomore inductee Ingrid Corpus. 

After another successful induction, NHS is turning its attention towards continuing its monthly service projects, which consist mainly of beach cleanups and letter-making. 

“Service events will continue until the end of the year, just as they have been. One of our biggest events coming up is chapter elections, and we’ll find out what the next group of NHS officers will be. The year’s looking like it’s going to end quite strongly, which, considering the amount of adversity we’ve faced this year, is quite an achievement for both the officers and every member [of] NHS,” Reznik commented.