Induction into the National Honor Society (NHS) and National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) is something many high school students across the country strive for; CHS is no exception. These students regularly strive to exhibit core leadership, service and character values for the community. On March 23, 58 CHS students were recognized for their contributions by being inducted into NHS and NTHS.

In order to be inducted into NHS, students must maintain a GPA of at least 92.00, amass 60 hours of volunteer work and 25 hours of leadership. NTHS students must show outstanding dedication to a technical field through their classes and complete a required four hours of work in their declared field and compete in a SkillsUSA event.

This year, U.S. History teacher Sharyn O’Keefe joined math teacher Justine Lane in advising the NHS. Lane explained that having this assistance was an invaluable contribution to the success of the ceremony.

“I thought it went beautifully this year,” Lane said. “It was so easy this year because I have a co-adviser and also because my council was so on top of things.”

NHS president, senior Marissa Perez of Neptune, noted the vast difference in the ceremony from last year to this year.

“I think it went really well, especially compared to last year where there were no parents or family allowed, it was just all the students separated by chairs,” Perez said. “But this year…we actually got to have a sense of community with everyone sitting next to each other and everyone’s family coming to watch.”

CHS students had a sense of normality during the ceremony and also took a moment to reflect with a short video.

A video produced by seniors Luke LaTorre and Will McHale of Middletown was presented during the ceremony. It features inductees sharing their personalities through introspective questions, such as naming the people that inspire them or sharing their favorite quote.

The video was one of many of the positives of this year’s induction ceremony.

“I think overall it was just a fun experience getting to experience your accomplishments with your friends and family,” junior Molly Dettlinger of Brielle said.

Moving forward, NHS and NTHS inductees have a multitude of responsibilities on the horizon, from mentoring new freshmen and peer tutoring to other service opportunities benefitting the CHS community. This same benefit reaches the inductees as they begin to experience an involvement in the CHS community on a deeper level.

As a new advisor to the NHS, O’Keefe is looking forward to providing new community service projects for its members.

“I think what makes it [NHS] really special is that it’s that group of students that have been leaders all along that might not be in other clubs, but have always excelled, not only in their academics, but also outside of school, and [the inductees] are now being welcomed into the school community environment,” O’Keefe said.

Ultimately, it is this opportunity to give back to the CHS community that draws many inductees to the NHS.

“I wanted to be inducted because I think it’s a great community,” said junior Mary Jodry of Neptune City. “It’s just a bunch of friends who all care about their grades and do service and it brings us together.”