By Danielle Smith

Leader Staff Writer

“For tonight, you are swearing a commitment to scholarship, leadership, community service and character,” said Josh Budden, advisor, to a crowd of parents, family and students, waiting to be inducted into the National Honor Society.

The National Honor Society, formed in 1921, is a society that can be found in every state, US territory, Canada and throughout the world. The Freda Quayle Chapter at Oxford High School requires students to be in 11th grade or higher, have at least a 3.4 GPA and maintain it throughout their time in NHS and be dedicated to the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, leadership, community service and character.

Students in NHS are also expected to create and implement service projects, be resourceful, honest and reliable along with many other guidelines without any compensation in return.

“When we serve, we are representing our school and our community and that is something we should take very seriously,” said Scott Masterson, NHS president.

OHS Principal Steven Wolf was the guest speaker at the ceremony. His address focused on character.

“You’ve done outstanding in the classroom, you’ve done outstanding outside of the classroom in your extracurriculars, your co-curriculars, your athletics. You’ve shined in most places if not all of them. But the one theme that comes up, that is imbedded in all of that . . . is again your character. That stands out most,” Wolf told the students.

He continued to say that faculty and staff remember those students who had high GPAs, excelled in the arts and athletics, but they “always remember the students that had the strongest character; we never forget those students.”

After the message from Wolf, inductees listened as NHS executive board members described in detail what the four pillars of NHS really mean.

Trevor Wallace, historian, spoke on scholarship. “Scholarship is a commitment to learning. A student must be willing to dedicate hours and hours to studying and reading material to gather knowledge about our world,” he said. ” Learning allows us to interpret the past to build towards a better future.”

Peyton Krajcarski, vice president, spoke on service. “Although there are service requirements, we are hopeful that members extend beyond these expectations and serve in the areas of their passions and interests,” she said. “Our chapter emphasizes tutoring as our service project; we provide help to all students no matter their level of education to provide them with the best education that they can achieve in the Oxford community.”

Paige Miller, secretary, discussed leadership. “Leadership is one of the most important elements of National Honor Society,” she said. “Being a leader does not mean that you have to be the loudest person in the room or the one with the most authority; being a leader is about having the strength to step up and take control of a situation while still remembering that you are a member of the team yourself.”

Lastly, Katelyn DiGasbarro, treasurer, reflected on character. “With qualities such as respect, responsibility, fairness and citizenship, you will show valuable characteristics,” she said. “True character is being able to accept responsibility when you fail and in doing so, pave the way for future successes.”

After making sure everyone understood the pledge they were about to make, inductees were invited to stand and raise their right hand with their left hand on their hearts and repeat the NHS pledge.