National Honor Society Chapter Inducts 48 New Huntington Members
Old-fashioned candlelight illuminated the Huntington High School auditorium as the Nathan Hale Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 48 new members during a traditional ceremony that brought tears to the eyes of many parents and grandparents sitting in a crowd of several hundred family and friends.
The 54th annual induction saw the group’s membership ranks swell with the inclusion of this latest group of impressive scholars. The high school auditorium was filled with many time honored rituals throughout the evening, including the tapping of new inductees.
The evening included various musical selections and performances by the high school concert choir under the direction of Steven Finch and accompanied by pianist Martha Garland. Following Honor Society member Gregory James’ recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, the choir gave a moving rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.
Speakers included first year advisor Roy Dumar, Huntington Principal Carmela Leonardi and Nathan Hale Chapter President Virginia Johnson. Officers and executive council members Max Cohen, Madeline Jensen, Venice Lagone and Mr. James took turns remarking on the qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and service, respectively.
“The motto of the National Honor Society is Noblesse Oblige,” Ms. Johnson told fellow students. “It's French. Directly translated it means ‘nobility obligates.’ New members, I've compared you to a superhero and told you that you were noble and obligated. I invite you now to accept the challenge that the National Honor Society presents to its members; To act upon your abilities in a dignified manner, to uphold your character and remain down-to-earth, to keep achieving in school and other arenas and finally, to lead by example."
Faculty and student speakers emphasized the new inductees were joining an important organization that seeks to assist all students on the path toward academic excellence through a variety of tutoring and community service activities.
The new inductees include David Acton, Daniel Akerley, Daniela Badalamenti, Jeffrey Bishop, Matthew Bishop, Martin Brown, Fiona Byrne, Will Cohn, Allison Conlon, Sarah Conte, Christine Corcoran, Morgan Corley, Tom Curley, Nicholas D’Esposito, Andrew Doscas, Julie Forster, Alfred Garcia, Kara Grossman, Kaila Harlan, Natalie Hartmann, Kerry Hicks, Amanda Ho, Annabel Jouard, Diya Kapur, Kelsey Kunes, Alexander Lau, Christopher Lau, Marco Lagone, Kay Lodge, Kristy Lyons, Michael McCourt, Emily Mortensen, Lauren Narine, Leslie O’Brien, Dylan Payne, Andrew Reiver, Virginia Ramirez, Brian Ruggiero, Frances Saravia, Kathryn Schmitz, Victoria Shannon, Tiffany Sorensen, Jennifer Szilagy, Brian Teubner, Natasha Thalla, Olivia Torres, Sean Whitney and Olivia Wyrick.
The inductees were asked to affirm their support for the National Honor Society’s ideals by stating: “I pledge myself to uphold the high purposes of this society to which I have been elected, striving in every way by word and deed to make its ideals the ideals of my school and my life.”
“We were happy to see a few grandparents being proud witnesses to their grandchildren’s achievement,” Dr. Leonardi said. “The new inductees are phenomenal students who are high achievers academically and who donate their time and talent to the school community by participating in service clubs and tutoring those students who need support.”
After the ceremony, students, parents and staff attended a small reception in the auditorium lobby during which the student string quartet of Joseph D’Esposito, Katherine Beavers, Ms. Ho and Ms. Johnson performed.
“We are very proud of the fact that all members of the National Honor Society at Huntington High School take their commitment to being role models for the rest of the student body very seriously,” Dr. Leonardi said.
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office