For the first time, Columbia High School will have a chapter of the National Honor Society — thanks to the leadership of two CHS juniors, Julie-Ann Destine and Jackie Bryan, who spearheaded the effort.
Inductions will begin this Spring and National Honor Society students will direct a tutoring program for fellow students in tandem with the FAST study program, according to the SOMSD website.
“Last year, Jackie and Julie-Ann came to me as sophomores and asked why CHS did not have a chapter,” said CHS Principal Elizabeth Aaron. “Research yielded that we had had a chapter quite some time ago, but no longer did.”
The two students did all of the legwork, including researching the charter process and learning about how other schools’ chapters are run, said Aaron. They also tracked down several other schools’ officers to learn more about them, and helped Aaron develop the timeline for starting a chapter here.
Attached is the application for the National Honor Society chapter. Membership is open this year to current juniors with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The categories for qualification for membership in the NHS are academic excellence/scholarship, school character and citizenship, and leadership and service.
“We are especially excited about how the way membership in the NHS will yield another talented pool of CHS students who may not hold leadership roles in other school or community groups, and that we will be able to support their development as leaders and role models at CHS,” said Aaron.
