National Honor Society (NHS) is a volunteer organization that members of the senior class are nominated to participate in based off academic performance. Within NHS, students participate in various volunteering and service activities to help the surrounding community.
Students are invited , by letter, to join NHS their junior year if they have a GPA of 3.75 or higher. After students have been selected there is an application process. The current president for this chapter is senior Kellen Watts.
¨In NHS, I usually oversee service projects that are being conducted and organized. I look for potential opportunities that we can turn into initiatives, and I Zoom with the Flicks to get approval for projects and ask for advice. I also organize meetings with just the officers and with our whole chapter,” Watts said.
Along with Watts, vice president senior Zachary Eilers is a leader in NHS, working in group communication and service organization.
“As a vice president, I help coordinate and run NHS activities,” Eilers said. “I also help lead our monthly meetings where we update NHS students on new volunteer opportunities for the NHS, as well as answer frequent questions asked through our Remind text system for NHS updates.”
NHS has multiple activities and volunteering options within the organization. Each year they do a certain number of activities and service hours to help the community.
“In NHS we do peer tutoring and other campus and off campus-based initiatives – such as food & clothing drives, science fair judging at elementary schools, etc,” NHS Sponsor Kelly Flickinger said.
Over the past school year, NHS has been able to do many things for the community such as set up peer tutoring, conduct numerous food drives and collect countless pounds of canned goods for the poor in Austin. Additionally, NHS has donated bathroom products to people who are unable to afford it on their own. Eilers believes this is a reason as to why many students find develop a great appreciation for their work and service within the NHS program.
“Being a member of the NHS is about being a part of something bigger than oneself, of seeing the impact one can make in the world, and being aware of the impact one has as a role model for others at Bowie,” Eilers said. “NHS is truly a rewarding organization to be apart of. Though far less intensive than an athletic sport, NHS is still a clear way for many aspiring leaders at Bowie to take that first step and to work at solving problems in their communities.”
One specific thing that NHS was able to do this year was raising and donating over 2,500 pounds of canned goods. All of what they gathered was donated to the Central Texas Food Bank, to help people who weren’t able to get it on their own.
“At the core, I love service and leadership,” Eilers said. “Organizing drives and service projects, being involved in leading a large organization, and serving my community was something I wanted to do during my senior year of high school.”
Volunteering and learning how to care for the community is a huge part of NHS, but for some students it is more. Watts believes he will leave NHS having learned many important lessons that could not be taught in a traditional classroom.
¨I decided to be a part of NHS because I love service,” Watts said. “Being a part of NHS has taught me valuable leadership skills and has also helped me learn to work as a part of something that is greater than myself. It has been fun. NHS has given me a good community of people who I can ask for help and who I enjoy being around.”
Along with learning to care for the community and how to be a good leader, NHS has shown Eilers to look at the bigger picture of what you’re doing.
“My experience as an officer has been very good. I’ve genuinely enjoyed working with the other Officers to run the service drives and initiatives, though seeing the impact of the NHS on the wider community has been the most rewarding part,” Eilers said. “As an NHS Vice President, I’ve genuinely enjoyed the leadership experience and working with our team of awesome NHS Officers to develop and implement the initiatives to serve the community.”
For the Class of 2022, invitations have been sent via student emails for current juniors to apply for participation in NHS in the 2021-2022 school year. If a student desires to apply, an application must be submitted by Monday, April 12.
¨NHS is comprised of such an amazing group of students. Both Mr. Flick and myself are honored to guide these students in their efforts to give back to Bowie and our community,” Flickinger said.