National Honor Society, better known as NHS, selects students based on their individual scholarship, leadership, service, and character. According to the Constitution of the Patriot Chapter of NHS of Mt. Vernon High School, NHS has four main purposes: to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. NHS members give back to the community by volunteering, which teaches the students that they can make a difference when they help others.

Students may qualify for NHS if they have a 3.7 GPA and completed the Student Application Form. On the application form, the student must document their leadership, service, and character experience; school activities and work experience; and schedule, among other additional information required for potential induction.

“I think that it is not fair for kids taking AP classes because kids who do not take Advanced Placement courses have a better chance of getting A’s because of the workload and the difficulty of AP classes,” said Sabrina Zeis, 11. “However, I think that it is a positive activity for students because the community service involved is helpful for the student and the community.”

Members of NHS are required to get involved in community service, which has many positive benefits. Volunteers gain knowledge about themselves, the government, and the community. Community service allows for people to give back to the community since they benefit from the community’s resources. Volunteering encourages people to be civically responsible.

Personally, I believe that NHS is overrated. Although it does look good on a high school transcript, I do not see the point in being a member of NHS if a student fulfilled the requirements for induction, unless he or she has an officer position. Since a million students are inducted into NHS annually, my opinion is that NHS is inducting too many students. If NHS was actually worth it, there should be stricter requirements so that these students would feel prouder about their achievement, which would be their participation in a better NHS.

In the long run, it will depend on the individual student as to whether he or she will try their luck with NHS.