The Altmar-Parish-Williamstown High School Chapter of the National Honor Society welcomed seven new members during an induction ceremony hosted at the school in early spring.
Current NHS members and chapter officers Chelsea Cooper, Rachael Thormann, Shaylah Nichols, Kaylee Schreyer, Heather Wood and Emilie Mullin were given the distinct pleasure of hosting the ceremony and speaking about the qualities and merits of eligibility into the elite academic society that was established at APW in 1971.
Guest speaker for the evening was Mark Potter – a man that for many years wore many different hats in the APW School District.
Many APW alumni, including parents in the audience for the ceremony, remember Potter as their physical education teacher, coach, or principal.
Today, he serves as the superintendent of schools at the Liverpool Central School District.
Potter thanked the current NHS members and the inductees on making education a high priority and for demonstrating excellence in areas of character, scholarship, leadership and service.
He talked about the distinction of NHS as an honorable, ethical and righteous quest and asked the members to remember the mantra “nobility obliges.”
Derived from a French phrase the mantra simply put means that leaders and those of a certain stature must remember to use their power and influence responsibly.
In relation to this mantra he read Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” and asked the students to remember excerpts like “play fair,” “share everything,” and “wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.”
The new inductees welcomed into the academic society at the ceremony included:
Jeri Barber, Kylee Bartlett, Maggie Cooper, Riley Corcoran, Samantha LaRock, Kathleen Palmer and Hope Rayder.
Students are selected for membership into the NHS based on several requirements: a grade point average of 90 or above and possessing outstanding qualities of leadership, service and character.
A special candle-lighting was held during the ceremony to recognize the attributes of character, scholarship, leadership and service, followed by the NHS membership pledge.
APW Superintendent of Schools Gerry Hudson presented certificates to the inductees in what would be his last NHS ceremony as the district’s superintendent.
In his heartfelt message to the elite group of students selected for the honor of NHS, Hudson said, “You are here because you have the qualities of an outstanding person. Never forget that.”
The ceremony concluded with final remarks by NHS member Cooper who personally congratulated the new members and invited the audience to commemorate the students’ acceptance into the elite academic society with a reception in the school’s cafeteria.
For more information about the APW Chapter of the National Honor Society contact NHS advisors Adam Wall or Gregg Bayne at (315) 625-5220.
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