As the year ramps up, students at Bowie are looking for clubs and opportunities to become more involved in the school community. Many students seek out groups that align with their interests, skills, and hobbies, hoping to find a place where they can contribute and connect with others.
This year, a new opportunity has opened for students interested in the arts. Junior, Costello Duncan, is the president of Bowie’s new chapter of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS), a program available at schools across the country. By bringing this organization to Bowie, Duncan and the club’s officers hope to give student artists greater visibility and more structured opportunities to participate in the arts on campus.
According to the NAHS website, the group “champions creative growth and innovation by equitably advancing the tools and resources for a high-quality visual arts, design, and media arts education throughout diverse populations and communities of practice.” NAHS adds, “Our core values are creativity, interconnectivity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and responsibility—discover how these values are manifest in our work.”
While NAHS is not new nationally, Duncan believes Bowie’s chapter will develop its own identity and goals tailored to the campus.
“In our chapter, we’re working to strengthen, connect, and bring attention to the art community within Bowie,” Duncan said, “for I believe it is an underrepresented fine art.”
Similar to some classes at Bowie, the club does come with its own requirements to be eligible to join.
“To be a member of NAHS, students must have completed or be completing at least one semester of a high school art class and have a grade point average of a B or an 86, by AISD standards in that class. Classes considered an art class for this purpose include: Art 1-4, AP Art History, and Sculpture.” said Duncan, “To retain membership, NAHS members must complete 10 hours of art related community service per semester or 20 hours per year, attend at least one meeting per month, unless otherwise excused, and visit a museum once a semester.”
The club also has a set time that the meet to communicate with each other as a group and make plans for the future.
“Routinely, NAHS meets on the first Friday during FIT of every month and after school form 4:40-5:50pm on the first Tuesday of every month.” said Duncan, “For community service and club activities, we meet during FIT’s as needed. Our meetings are in Ms. Le Jeune’s room, L125, in the fine arts wing.”
Like all the clubs at Bowie, NAHS needed to have a teacher sponsor to make the program possible. Art teacher Mindy Le Jeune has taken that role for NAHS and hopes to stay to the sideline and help when needed.
“I see myself as a guide for the students,” Le Jeune said, “I do not lead this group, it is student-led, I am just there to support them.”
Even with the support of an art teacher, the goal is still for the club to be student- led and requires students to run different sections.
“We currently have six officers aside from myself,” Duncan Said, “our social media managers, Ozzy Brown, Heidi Burnes, and Lilly Burris; our outreach officers, Lane Gotchall and Alex Rodriguez; and our historian, Riley Soffera.”
As the group gets established during its first year, organization and leadership are especially important. The officers work together to keep meetings running smoothly, plan community service activities, and maintain records. Historian Riley Soffera plays a key role in this process.
“As the historian of the Art Honor Society, I record community service hours, and take attendance when we have meetings/community service days,” Soffera said, “I also help the other officers with general leadership activity.”
Club members rely on student leaders to advocate for them and ensure the group stays active and organized. Soffera hopes to support the club’s growth and help members pursue their artistic goals.
“I want to use my leadership skills as a historian to help grow our club and help to provide as many opportunities for our members to be creative in our community service projects as possible,” Soffera said. “I want to work hard to be a positive role model for newer artists at Bowie and show that art does make an impact on the world.”
Although the group is still in its early stages, members have been working together to identify meaningful events and develop creative activities for students to look forward to.
“Since we’re just getting started, we don’t yet have any major scheduled events,” said Duncan, “but we’re connecting with local schools, animal shelters, senior centers, and more to form partnerships for future community service activities. Right now, we’re hoping to schedule something soon with Baranoff Elementary School.”
As the club continues to establish itself this year, Duncan is already looking ahead and thinking about how the Bowie NAHS chapter can expand its outreach and impact.
“I have so many goals and aspirations for NAHS, and I really cannot express how excited I am for the rest of the year. I’m looking into making as many local connections as possible to find community service activities and—potentially—opportunities for art exhibitions for our members,” Duncan said. “I’d also like to gain sponsors that can fund our club activities, but as for the big picture, I just want to build a community that can thrive into the next year and long after.”
