Students’ names are placed on chairs at the NHS induction ceremony. The event was held on April 21 and inducted 69 new members.
Math teacher Kelby Hardy recently announced that she will not serve as the National Honor Society (NHS) faculty advisor next school year.
Hardy has been the NHS advisor since the start of the 2024 school year. It’s one of Riverside’s largest student organizations, and at the time of publication no faculty member has volunteered to take her place.
Over 120 Riverside students are a part of NHS , a nationwide organization that is based in student achievement and service.
“Being an NHS advisor is a lot of work, ” said Hardy. “We have over 120-ish members. So just being able to keep up with all those students and your 107 students in the classroom is challenging.”
NHS is based on four main “pillars” that guide the organization’s work and what they look for in members: scholarship, service, leadership and character.
“Our pillars [are] why we ask students to complete a certain number of service hours, whether it be tutoring, in school events, out of school events,” said Hardy.
Students fill out a Google form that asks them about leadership roles, advanced classes they have taken, challenges they experienced in those classes and what they’ve learned.
“[The form is about] just getting to know them as a student, and as a student leader,” said Hardy. “And why they want to be in NHS.”
After the application deadline, a board of teachers and school staff review the applications and make acceptance decisions.
“We meet for anywhere from two and a half to three and a half hours, depending on how many applications we get,” said Hardy.
Eligible students receive an email inviting them to apply to the club.
Before Hardy had the role, English teacher Victoria Watson was the club advisor. She was newer to Riverside and was looking to step up within the school.
“It was a leadership opportunity, something to take over,” Watson said.
Watson says that though NHS is important, students tend to overstate its importance to colleges.
“I think students think it’s important as the college footnote, ” said Watson. “However, as the advisor, I reminded them that it’s more about the opportunities that you get while being in an NHS. The programs and volunteering are more significant than just being a member.”
Junior Cole Sease is one of NHS’ members that joined partly due to college applications. He said that one of the reasons he believes NHS is important is because it is a common part of a student’s application.
“I feel like it’s just a very standard thing to have,” Sease said. “Most schools have it, and it’s good for students, and it’s good for their college applications.”
After four years, Watson decided to step down due to going back to school to get her masters degree and her son coming to Riverside.
One of the reasons for the turnover in advisors is the lack of incentives. Club advisors receive no benefits or extra pay in exchange for their work. In addition to teaching, NHS advisors have to hold meetings and plan events for the club.
“I have different schools or community partners that’ll reach out and request volunteers,” said Hardy. “The induction process is tedious…[it involves] reaching out to our data manager or the district to get data for students that have a 3.0 or higher, going through the data and taking out any students who are already in NHS or who have applied before and have been dismissed.”
“If they want the program to continue to live on, they [administration] have to have a panel,” said Watson. “They have to share the workload, or they have to provide an instant incentive for the teachers to be advisors.”
Many members of NHS would be sad to see it end.
Junior Bridget Jenniches said, “It would be unfortunate, considering I put a lot of time and effort into my application, and I’m putting a lot of time and effort into getting my hours this year,” junior Bridget Jenniches said. “So if it went away next year, and I just wasn’t able to do it anymore, I’d be a little upset.”
Although the future leadership of the club remains unclear, there have been steps forward in making sure it continues.
“Every year we have to pay our fee to be an accepted chapter,” said Hardy. “That’s already been done for next year. It’s already been approved.”
Assistant principal Jasmine McKoy remains confident that the school will find a solution.
“We will find someone,” said McKoy. “We’re fully equipped to take on leadership in certain departments or certain roles, such as NHS. So we will figure it out.”
