On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday—the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. As we mark the second year of the Juneteenth holiday (short for June 19th), the history behind the day still isn’t widely known. Juneteenth commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in […]
Category: Student Voice
Why Juneteenth Deserves a More Prominent Place in History Classrooms
An Exceptional Trio of Sisters—and Student Leaders
When triplets Aleena, Alyssa, and Aniyah Butler learned they all were accepted into their high school’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS), they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Celebrating Pride Month Starts with Student Voice
During one school’s election for student body president this year, a candidate was openly gay. He was preparing to give a speech over the intercom during homeroom period. A few minutes before he presented, the school’s principal briefly met with him to discuss the contents of his speech.
Seven Ideas for Celebrating Student Leaders
If you’re seeking creative ways to recognize student leaders at your school, “Celebrating Student Leaders,” a recent NatStuCo webinar, is for you. Held on March 15, panelists offered seven tips for establishing a culture where students are consistently celebrated for leadership. “We want it to become almost organic in a school, so that celebration occurs […]
An Outstanding Award for an Outstanding Student
Each year, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) awards Outstanding Achievement Awards to 500 outstanding middle level students. This prestigious award comes with $500 to be placed in a college savings account. Below, we hear from AnnMarie Wolfley, a freshman at Snake River High School in Blackfoot, ID, about her experience winning the award.
How National Honor Society Prepared Me for West Point
Just two weeks after I graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, PA, I began basic training at West Point. After six weeks of push-ups, pull-ups, battle drills, and walking uphill with weights for what seemed like hundreds of miles, I successfully completed cadet training known as “BEAST.” I returned from the woods and immediately […]
American Heart Challenge Provides Accessible Service Opportunities to NHS Students
Since the beginning of the pandemic, National Honor Society (NHS) advisers have faced the challenge of finding service activities that don’t involve big crowds (like charity walks) or extended close contact (like in-person tutoring). When they heard about a volunteer opportunity that students could do through social media and a smart phone app, sponsored by […]
Breathing New Life into One School’s NHS Chapter
2021 marked the centennial of National Honor Society (NHS), a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Since its founding in 1921, NHS has recognized and encouraged exceptional student leaders. One such chapter, established a few years after NHS was born, is now gaining new life. Sterling High School (SHS) in the rural […]
Maryland NHS Member in the Spotlight at UNICEF Global Forum
When Stranger Things was such a popular TV show, I was obsessed with Millie Bobby Brown, the British actress and model. One day I was scrolling through Instagram, and I saw on her page that she had been selected as UNICEF’s youngest Goodwill Ambassador. That really caught my eye because she was 14 at the […]
Virtual LEAD Conference Engages Student Leaders and Advisers
Despite the challenges of putting together an engaging virtual conference for more than 2,400 student leaders and advisers, the LEAD Fall Conference earlier this month was a big success, with positive reviews from student and adult attendees alike.