The National Honor Society was established in 1948. It was the first national recognition organization for high school students. The club is comprised of juniors and seniors who have shown outstanding leadership and service during their time in high school and earned good grades.

  They recognize students for more than just academic accomplishments. They base acceptance on the four pillars of service, character, scholarship, and leadership. They want applicants who are well-rounded in all of these areas.

  Ms. Constantine, a guidance counselor here at Lane, encourages all students with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher to apply during their junior year.

  “It’s a great honor and achievement to be a part of the National Honor Society,” Constantine said.

  The National Honor Society is very selective and there are many requirements just to apply. You must have at least 50 service hours on record, two teacher recommendations, a non-Lane affiliated letter of recommendation, and at least 75 school points. You get points for every year you’re on a sport, in a club, participate in theater or play in a music group for Lane.  Applicants also have to write an essay based on a prompt they provide for you. Past prompts have included questions like, “Describe a time in your high school career when you have been a leader,” or “For which pillar of NHS would you like to be most famous and why.”

  Many students join The National Honors Society to build their credentials for college. Rebecca Simmons, Div. 573, applied for National Honor Society this year for that reason.

  “It would be really cool to be recognized beyond my grades and how hard I work in high school,” Simmons said, “I hope, if I get accepted, it will help me get into a good college.”

  Simmons put a lot of time and effort into her application. She spent several days in the library during lunch working on her essay. She had her English teacher edit it, and she made several revisions and had multiple drafts of her essay before she felt ready to submit it.

  “I am going to be very disappointed if I don’t get in,” Simmons said.“I try not to get my hopes up, but I worked so hard on my application. I’ll be sad if I get rejected.”

  Madeline Guzman, Div. 479, was accepted into the National Honor Society her junior year. She also put a lot of effort into her application, but she said it was definitely worth it.

  “Adults are always impressed when they see my resume,” Guzman said.

  Guzman thinks The National Honor Society helped her get into the colleges she wanted to. She is unsure where she will be next year but she was accepted into Dominican, North Park, and Concordia.

  However, Guzman wishes NHS was more interactive. They meet about once a month and each member has to complete at least three service projects each year. But she feels there is room for more community activities.

 “It would have been nice if I could have met some other people with the same interests and goals as me through The National Honor Society,” Guzman said.

  Shania Sukhu, Div. 477, is the Secretary Officer of NHS here at Lane. She is very grateful for all of the life lessons NHS has taught her.

  “National Honor Society has taught me to be more outspoken,” Sukhu said.

  NHS provided her with opportunities to step up and share her opinions and ideas.

  Sukhu has participated in many service projects through NHS including volunteering at the Breast Cancer Walk where she cheered on runners and handed out flyers, a Family Fest where she operated small rides, supporting participants at the Santa Hustle, and helping with arts and crafts at Zoo Lights.

  “These experiences have taught me the importance of giving back,” Sukhu said. “I enjoyed interacting with the public at these events, it makes me feel good when I can lend a helping hand.”

  Sukhu has met some of her closest friends through NHS. Even though it can be time consuming and hard work, Sukhu is extremely glad she is a part of NHS.

  Constantine admires the work ethnic of most NHS members.  While she does not think National Honor Society will be the deciding factor for college acceptance she thinks it gives students a nice edge.  A National Honors Society member shows dedication, leadership, and service ability, which many colleges look for in an applicant.

  Ann Hyunji Lee, Senior Admissions Counselor at Northwestern University said, “The National Honor Society is one of the many indicators that shows a student is involved and academically driven in their community, but it is not something our directors who are reading applications specifically look for.”

  There are many ways to show that you are involved with your school and community, being apart of NHS is one way to show that, but not the only way.

  Being admitted to National Honor Society at Lane is competitive getting into the National Honors Society is an accomplishment to be proud of.