Reston, VA—The National Honor Society (NHS) is excited to announce that Madison Lucey, a senior at Commonwealth Charter Academy from Scranton, PA, has been selected as the National Winner of the esteemed $25,000 NHS Scholarship. Lucey, who was chosen from nearly 7,000 applicants, was awarded late last month during a surprise virtual presentation attended by her principal, Tony Rusnak; her NHS adviser, Amanda Gilroy; and many other school administrators and teachers. The NHS Scholarship program is supported by the parent organization of NHS, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

In addition to her academic achievements while dually enrolled at Commonwealth Charter Academy and HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, Lucey has also participated in several extracurricular activities and holds many leadership positions within her school. She has served as president of her school’s NHS chapter, Future Business Leaders of America, and YMCA Youth and Government, while also volunteering with several organizations within her community.

Outside of school, Lucey volunteers and serves as the vice president of an organization that advocates and coordinates benefits for disabled individuals. She has authored and lobbied for a Pennsylvania Senate bill to improve the quality of life and disability accommodations. To further expand her efforts, she developed a website that is used as a grassroots initiative to collect petitions and bring the bill into law. She is also recognized as an official TEDx speaker and gave a talk, “How to Truly Solve a Problem,” to help raise community awareness on grassroots approaches to solving community problems.

In her application essay, Lucey attributed her drive and motivation to her role as a caregiver for members of her family: “My view of being a caregiver and functioning in that capacity is a bit unique. That is because almost everything that I do on a daily basis is goal-directed at acquiring the skills needed to be a better caregiver. I truly desire to learn and retain all of the knowledge that I am taught so that I can use it to better help others.”

Lucey plans to complete her bachelor’s degree and hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to further advocate for important issues and provide assistance to those others in need.

“Madison is self-starter, incredibly intelligent, and a great advocate for the voiceless, and we are proud to celebrate her as the National Winner of the 2020 NHS Scholarship,” said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. “As a servant leader for Commonwealth Charter Academy, her family, and her community, Madison truly embodies all of the attributes we look for when awarding the NHS Scholarship. We are truly inspired by her efforts and are excited to learn more about her future accomplishments.”

Bartoletti added, “The NHS Scholarship program was developed to recognize, empower, and assist students like Madison so they can continue to achieve their goals through higher education. We are excited to recognize all of the scholarship recipients for their hard work and dedication to their communities.”

In the 2019–20 application year, NHS awarded $2 million in scholarships to 600 students. Of these 600 students, 575 semifinalists received a $3,200 scholarship award and 24 finalists received a total award of $5,625. Since 1946, more than $17 million in scholarships has been awarded to outstanding NHS member high school seniors.

“The NHS Scholarship program is about more than just rewarding Honor Society members for a job well done,” said Nara Lee, director of NASSP Student Leadership. “These scholarships serve to encourage and invest in talented, compassionate leaders for the future. We are deeply proud of all of our awardees.”

For nearly 100 years, NHS members have been making a difference in their schools and communities, and the NHS Scholarship is NASSP’s way of recognizing the most exceptional of these student leaders. Senior NHS members in good standing are eligible to apply in the fall. Each year, recipients are chosen based on their demonstrated work to support the four pillars of NHS membership: scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

For more information about NHS and the scholarship, visit www.nhs.us/scholarship.

About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student’s potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Student Council.