Judson High School has an abundance of extracurricular clubs, activities and organizations. Among these, is the National Honor Society (NHS), one of the few extracurriculars at Judson, which is also available in all 50 states and recognized internationally.
The NHS presents many opportunities. Founded in 1921, the program now has over one million students worldwide.
According to BestColleges.com, NHS can “help high schoolers prepare for college” and also “distributes 600 scholarships worth $2 million each year.”
Per The History of NHS there are 16,000 active chapters. A chapter is the individual club at each school. The average chapter contributes “1000 hours of community service, $26,000 in charitable donations, and 1000 pounds of food to local, state, and national causes.”
NHS is not easy to get into though, as its exclusive to students at the top of their class. As stated in BestColleges.com, the national requirements for entry to the NHS include a minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale or a cumulative grade of 85%.
However, Judson High School has even higher standards. According to head sponsor, Mr. Erikson, “National Honor Society is a school function for students that have a GPA of 89% or higher… students who are at the top of their class.”
As the head sponsor, Mr. Erikson oversees the officers of the program as well as overseeing the program and all the events they attend.
Another thing about NHS is that it’s very time consuming, with its very high standards and multitude of events.
NHS also looks good on a college application. A club with such high standards and level of interest from colleges should be appreciated and celebrated more.
Though NHS is a national organization each school has different events that they do at different places. Judson is no different, one of those events being a fall celebration.
Mr. Erikson stated, “We are doing the Pumpkin Patch next month. We will be there on Columbus Day, and we’ll just be supervising selling pumpkins for the local convention,”
Mr. Erikson was also asked about his favorite and most challenging things about being a first year head sponsor of NHS.
He answered that his least favorite or most challenging part of being coordinator is “getting everybody on board. Right now in the beginning it’s chaotic times, but eventually when we’re gonna have over 200 members it’s about making sure everyone’s on the same page.” He has also stated his favorite part of being a first year head sponsor is “getting to meet my members, my new members, my officers.”
NHS will hold their new member induction ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 at the Performing Arts Center.