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Sperry National Honor Society Guides Student Growth for Future Goals
By Barry Taylor
Sperry High School Journalism Class
Although National Honor Society, or NHS, is difficult to get into, it has many members who are committed to preserving its high standards and serving the community.
Longtime Sperry High School teacher Debra Burch, NHS sponsor, says NHS has many goals, all of which try to make the organization’s members better students and better people.
“The purpose of this chapter is to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, and to promote worthy leadership and to encourage the development of character in all students of Sperry High School,” Mrs. Burch said. “The members of NHS try hard to do the difficult challenge set before them.”
NHS members must maintain a 3.5 grade-point average and be involved in at least three school activities before undergoing a difficult selection process. “Having good grades alone isn’t enough,” Mrs. Burch pointed out, “the applicant must have shown character that exemplifies scholars who are community-minded.” These are the requirements to be accepted into NHS, and once accepted, members must participate in a variety of activities, including presenting the Sperry Schools Veterans Day assembly, getting gifts for a child on the Angel Tree, and participating in the Clean-Up Sperry Days.
Wes Beeson, 11th grade member of NHS, noted how he enjoys being part of an organization focused on achieving academic success in high school. “I enjoy being part of a club that spends time helping contribute to important events like the Veteran’s Day assembly,” he said. Jose Vasquez, another 11th grade NHS member, noted how being in NHS has created in him the responsibility to “set a good example to others” in the district.
Mrs. Burch says she enjoys being in charge of NHS because she likes to see how the members grow academically and in their service to the community.
The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has grown throughout the country, with chapters now in most school districts throughout the United States. Records of Sperry NHS go back to 1986, but Mrs. Burch noted that there has been an active chapter of NHS at Sperry High School far longer than that.
