by Ten Bottemiller

Bellbrook High School’s National Honor Society (NHS) recently sent officers to classrooms to induct this year’s new members. “We tapped new members on February 5,” NHS advisor and math teacher Tess Rivero said. “That’s basically where NHS officers give them this little pin that tells them they’ve been selected. That’s how they find out.”

The National Honor Society strives to bring aid and service to Bellbrook High School and the surrounding community with the help of students, but it’s not easy to be selected for the esteemed program.

“There’s four pillars to National Honor Society,” Rivero said. “Scholarship, leadership, service, and character.”

In order to be eligible for NHS, students must have a 3.51 cumulative unweighted GPA or higher. Rivero goes through grades individually and gives students the opportunity to fill out a packet. “Meeting the 3.51 GPA means they’ve met the scholarship requirement,” Rivero said. “The packet is where I find out if they meet the other three pillars.”

Rivero stresses the importance of leadership in an NHS member. “Leadership is not just captain of this, president of that,” Rivero said. “It’s showing leadership in the classroom, working with people outside of your social circle, being a positive role model, that kind of thing. That also ties into character and how the student sees themselves and others.”

“Each grade level needs a different number of community hours,” Rivero said. “Service is our priority.”

NHS’s main form of service is the peer tutoring program, but they also help with park district events, sports events and concession stands, band events, and general classroom volunteering. Their next big event is the Sugar Maple Festival.

“We like to keep things in our community; we do things outside of the community, but Bellbrook is our focus,” Rivero said.

After students submit their packet in December, a faculty council of five teachers determine which of the candidates meet the NHS criteria. “They do not compare the candidates against each other,” Rivero said. “They just compare them to the standards that have been set.”

However, once students are selected and inducted, they can be dismissed if they do not maintain the standing they proved in their packet. “It’s an honor bestowed upon students by the faculty,” Rivero said. “It’s not a club. And once you’ve been selected, you have to maintain the four pillars.”

Rivero is excited to officially induct the new members during a ceremony that will be held on March 20. “This is my tenth year at Bellbrook and my eighth year leading NHS,” Rivero said. “I really love it. There are so many different students in NHS and I love watching them improve and begin to understand how important community service is and how much it helps us grow as people.”