Scholarship, Service, Leadership and Character. They are the four pillars of National Honor Society.

On March 25, family and friends gathered to witness the induction of Salisbury High School’s 31 new members to National Honor Society.

The Press had an opportunity to meet with the current National Honor Society officers, as well as the newly appointed officers for the 2024-2025 school year, before the ceremony.

Reflecting on when he was first inducted to National Honor Society, Nolan Grejda said, “I was really excited actually. It was one of those things where, not that I expected to be inducted, but I knew that I really cared about my grades. I really cared about helping around and it kinda just culminated into ‘Oh my hard work is paying off’.”

For Jacob Knerr, being part of the National Honor Society has been a positive experience since Day 1.

“It’s a gratifying moment because you work so hard the first two years to get invited. You write your essay and you hope they accept it. So, it’s really a great feeling to walk across that stage and get your certificate. Tonight is gratifying just so that you see all this work done that has inspired other people to want to join NHS and continue to work on the legacy that you’ve helped build,” he explained.

According to Macy Newman, “It’s really nice to be able to do service and help people. I also think it’s really, really nice to have the community of NHS around you. I think it encourages you to keep your grades up, to do better in school and work hard to make it to the next step after high school.”

The new officers are Alanah Kemmerer, Maya Suleiman, Tyler Kuder and Michael Stauffer. They are completing their second year as members of National Honor Society.

For Suleiman, there’s an importance in becoming part of National Honor Society and being named an officer.

“All of us honestly grew up in the same class. We know how our grade works and we are a big family. So, all of us being in this program together makes us feel like the big family that we are,” Suleiman said.

“To be in this program, it looks really good for colleges and everything. It’s a really important program that shows you are a good student, as well as a good partaker in the community,” Kemmerer added.

During the ceremony, district Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten spoke about this year’s National Honor Society inductees, saying, “They spoke about their heavy course loads, including AP classes and honors classes, LCTI [Lehigh Career and Technical Institute] programs and dual-enrollment courses. They talked about the most challenging courses, as well as interesting electives and the work it took for them to be successful in them and be here today.”

Fuini-Hetten went on to highlight something from each new member’s application.

Current officer George Spann has a message for those considering applying for National Honor Society in the foreseeable future, “Just work hard. And if you want to make a difference in the community, join NHS. There are plenty of chances to do that.”