National Honor Society, for high school students, is a very competitive group in which to gain membership. That membership brings with it great responsibility as well as dedication and commitment.

In order to be recognized as a candidate for the group, it is mandated for juniors to have a GPA of at least 3.5, as junior year is the earliest in which one may become part of the group. After the ones that have met that requirement are noticed, additional work is necessary. This includes tasks such as listing all the service hours one has contributed to society, groups they have been or are part of, as well as an essay discussing one’s assets. At this point, one must complete a total of twenty service hours: ten community and ten school. Once the strenuous task to accomplish all this is completed, one is then accepted as a probationary member of the Honor Society.

Although becoming a member of the National Honor Society is a lot of work, it is well worth it in the end. Being part of such a group teaches many lessons including responsibility and impressive work ethic. In addition, National Honor Society looks great on a high school transcript. It can even be the extra thing one may need to get accepted into the school of which they wish.

This year, on May 29, the probationary members of the Honor Society were inducted in, thus making them official members. The ceremony took place in the West Milford High School auditorium. The probationary members and those already members were led into the auditorium by the bagpipers of the Highlander Band.

From this point, there were many components to the ceremony. Important persons such as Mrs. Giroux, the leader of the West Milford Chapter of the National Honor Society, Franzie Federico, the senior president of the group, Mr. Gorski, the school principal all provided words of encouragement. Also, and Sarah Townsend, the guest speaker who was a 2009 graduate, contributed to the many speeches as well. They spoke words of wisdom that the students and audience alike can take into consideration for all their future plans in life.

The evening was one with dignity and was an honorable night for all those in participation. Upon reflecting on the night, Dan Popoloski felt the night was “beautiful and a night that won’t be forgotten.”