National Honors Society (NHS) is a club available for juniors and seniors with a GPA at or above a 3.5. Students are chosen through an application process in the fall which includes an essay and teacher recommendations. Each semester, NHS requires four hours of community service in addition to community service hours done for the senior project. 

I believe that the best part of NHS is the impact that it has on the surrounding community. As the end of each semester approaches you can frequently see NHS members volunteering at places like the local food drive or ringing bells outside of Walmart. Volunteering locally allows you to witness the positive impact you are having on the community. 

Volunteering through NHS doesn’t have to be completely mundane. If your friends are in NHS, they also have hours to complete which allows you to do your volunteering together. If you find a non-profit that you would have an interest in joining you can talk to business teacher and advisor Donna Stubbe and you can do something that you enjoy in order to complete your hours. Last winter I rang bells with some of my friends outside of Walmart. Volunteering with them made the time go by much faster even though it was very, very cold.

Being a part of NHS also benefits you by allowing for more opportunities with colleges. When applying for college, you are able to add NHS to the activities section of your resume or application. This allows colleges to see that you have met an academic standard in order to join NHS at your school, and allows colleges to recognize that you are willing to take the extra step to help those around you. 

The required volunteer hours for NHS have also been reduced from ten to five hours a semester in the last few years. This change was made in order to make NHS more accessible to those who may have otherwise been too busy with other sports or clubs.