For the first time since being dissolved in 2018, the National English Honor Society(NEHS) is coming back to HHS. English teachers Rosie Johnson and Anna Hereth are the faculty advisors that have revised the society. NEHS is designed to support students who are passionate about reading and writing and have the intention of promoting that throughout their community. The society focuses on community, academics, and diversity and inclusion.
“Students have opportunities to expand their creative writing skills. So there will be lots of writing opportunities, contests, scholarship money that they can apply for, as well as different ways to incorporate leadership into that,” Johnson said.
Students who are members of NEHS are offered a variety of opportunities to receive scholarships and awards. One opportunity is the Intellectual freedom challenge. Students are asked to read a controversial text, and write an argumentative essay either defending why it should not be restricted, or arguing for its restrictions. The winners of this challenge receive a $100 check and a Crafton Award certificate.
“There are a lot of opportunities that being part of a national honor society provides and having this one where it’s specifically for English, gives students who are interested in going and pursuing a future within English a leg up,” Hereth said. “It’s something that looks good on college applications. It’s also just something that’s fun to join for everyone, right? it’s exciting for people to have that community where you can build lifelong readers as a community and find that common interest.”
A goal Johnson and Hereth have is to see literacy increased at HHS and within the community. They also intend to have the society established and completed one of the three focuses of community, academics, and diversity and inclusion by the end of the school year.
“I think that it’s something that is missing in our current array of extracurricular activities,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for athletes and for our STEM students as well as the Fine Arts Academy, but there are some students that are really just passionate about reading and writing. While there are smaller clubs that they could join, I think being a part of a national English Honor Society is a great way to encompass and embolden them to expand their horizons.”
NEHS strives to promote leadership and confidence in students’ reading and writing abilities.
“Time and time again, I think teachers can recommend books and encourage kids to read and encourage that outside of the classroom, but it means it’s 10 times more powerful when a student encourages that amongst other peers,” Johnson said.
