This May 22, 2024, was Honors Night at Toll Gate High School, which included the induction of 36 new juniors into the National Honor Society (NHS). Also inducted were the new NHS officers for the class of 2025; Josh Maynard as President, John Maynard as Vice President, Razzy Weedon as Secretary, Emma Hindle as Treasurer, and Olivia Bradford as Historian. We had an opportunity to talk with these newly inducted officers and ask them a few questions about the ceremony as well as what they do.
What exactly is the National Honor Society, and what does it stand for?
“National Honors Society is an organization that’s nationwide, each school has a chapter, and it honors the highest achieving students in its class based on the pillars of leadership, service, and scholarship. I’m missing one, but those are the three main tenants and it’s a great organization that promotes hard work.”, says Josh Maynard, President. There is a rigorous process to be admitted into the NHS, with students having to work hard 3 years of their high school career with a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher to be admitted, while showcasing the qualities of these pillars.
Recently the Honor Society occurred, and how did this go?
“I’d say it went pretty smoothly, a couple of the rehearsals that we had weren’t very promising, but the night of, it was really great.”, as Razzy puts it. Emma is glad that all the inductees got the flowers passed out, and Josh comments that it was “a nice opportunity for recognizing students that are sometimes underappreciated by Toll Gate, so it was a nice night to honor all those students.”
As NHS oficers, their jobs are to lead and represent the class of 2025’s NHS chapter, so what are some of their goals for the future?
Here Razzy spoke a lot about more activity in community service, raising more money, and helping out the community. John agreed with this, also commenting, “I think we have a school spirit issue in this school. We’re working with the class officers, who are important and we’re working together to make a good senior year so that we can have fun but also keep having academic success.”
What are some of the difficulties faced so far as NHS officers?
“The hardest part for me is because I’m in so many extracurriculars, it’s really hard to get to all of the meetings. Because we had a meeting this past Tuesday that I wasn’t able to go to because I was on a field trip for band. So it’s just kind of balancing the commitments.”, says Razzy. Josh also points out that while there are many who have prior commitments that prevent them from attending meetings, there are still those who don’t exactly have an excuse for not showing up. However, Josh still understands saying, “Part of that’s on me, I should communicate more frequently.” Olivia spoke here about needing better student involvement, to which John says, “It shouldn’t be that the kids do that because they have to, they should want to do it to participate in the community. We need kids that actually want to help, not just because they are required to help.” There are many ways for students to get involved, including Mentor RI, as well as a future Trunk or Treat, so keep being involved!
The election process took place a few weeks beforehand, which for some positions was a very close race. What was the election process like for these officers?
“I had a really tough campaign. It got ruthless, spreadsheets were made. I think either one of us would’ve done a great job. I’m glad at least one race was, there was something so students could use their voice and wasn’t just all unopposed. I think it was pretty seamless.”, says Josh who ran in a close race for President. Emma and Razzy were mostly confident in their races, Emma saying, “I have my connections”. As John puts it, “The person I was running against would have done a great job. I think us as class officers it’s not that we’re doing more than the kids, we’re just representatives of it. It’s not that we’re on a higher ledge than everyone. I think we are all I think the best candidates for representatives of the National Honors Society.”
As a part of your newly elected roles, what are some of the things that you are looking forward to?
While Olivia is excited to make the scrapbook (she also needs more pictures from Honors Night to those who would like to send them to her!!), Emma and Razzy are looking forward to being a part of next year’s NHS ceremony, like lighting the candles and announcing awards. Josh states that, “I’m really excited for Honors Night, I have to make a speech, so that’s kind of nerve-racking, but I also think that Ja’quan did a great job this year. I was really touched by his speech so I look forward to passing the torch to the next junior class and saying the oath”. Meanwhile, John states, “I really can’t wait to introduce Josh.”
Finally, do the officers have any final words for their fellow National Honor Society members?
“Your job is not done yet, you’ve got to keep up with all those tenets of National Honors Society and then we’ll have a fun night in May to commemorate all of your hard work, then you’ll be done. So keep up the good work.”, Josh says. “I am still proud of each and every one of us for how far we have made it and like Josh said, I want to encourage everyone to keep pushing to be their very best even though they’ve already ‘made it’”, Razzy concludes.
Congratulations to all the new inductees to the NHS, as well as the new officers, keep up the good work!
