The Nathan Hale chapter of the National Honor Society at Huntington High School welcomed 100 new members during the organization’s 66th annual induction ceremony.
The teenagers have compiled spectacular academic records and captured the respect and admiration of the faculty. The new inductees join 71 continuing members, swelling the group’s ranks to 171. Chapter members are committed to pursuing numerous projects this year. Teachers Patricia Avelli and Tara Fisher serve as the organization’s faculty advisors.
Huntington National Honor Society chapter Vice President Emily Cheshire. (Madelyn Reed photo.)
Principal Brenden Cusack addressed the new and continuing members along with a crowd of about 225 parents. Superintendent James W. Polansky was also on hand for the festivities in the high school auditorium.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students who are being inducted into the National Honor Society this evening,” Mr. Cusack told the scholars. “You represent the very best that Huntington High School has to offer. You have taken advantage of every opportunity to excel in your studies, to demonstrate exceptional leadership and to serve others. Your academic effort, your stellar character, your dedication to service and your outstanding leadership are all shining examples of what Huntington High School strives to represent. Students like you make our institution stand out. For this I thank you.”
The new inductees include Brenden Abedin, Ryan Aguirre, Isabella Algieri, Alexa Amorison, Dania Avelar-Romero, Ryan Baker, Stephanie Bardales, Alexander Bellissimo, Sarah Biernacki, Aidan Bonn, Mia Brown, Chloe Buffone, Sulma Campos, Johanna Campos-Moreira, Robert Caputi, Taylor Case, Niurca Chabla-Leon, Aaron Chin, Jazmynn Clark, Matthew Colavecchio, Adora Colay, Kyle Colleluori, Mia D’Alessandro, Nathaniel Deegan, Andrea Delcid Ayala, Isabella DiBenedetto, Nayely Estrada-Rodriquez, Alex Fascilla, Jordan Forte, Jack Giamo, Sarah Giarraputo, Julia Giles, Matthew Girimonti, Alex Gonzalez, Zachary Gordon, Robert Harrington, Caroline Hartough, Aidan Heller, Kemberlin Hernandez-Veliz, Rebecca Hoffmann, Christina Hornstein, Owen Husselbeck, Brianna Isaza, Jaden Italiano, Griselda Jimenez, Saaul Kapoor, Luca Kelly, Grace Kenny, Caroline Kilgour, John Krisch, Jack Kurathowski, Madison Lange and Samuel Levine.
The ceremony also featured the induction of Jennifer Low, Ainsley Lumpe, Makenzie Madison, Luke Maffei, Charlotte Maggio, Juliet Marinello, Catherine McCooey, Ethan Mcguinness, Harrison McKenna, Joseph Mead, Silvia Merlos Meza, Gabriel Morales-Flores, Eliana Ng, Joseph Nicotra, James Obermaier, Jeffrey Ochoa-Alvarez, Lily O’Heir, John Panos, Jorge Parada Cisneros, Gemma Pellegrini, Luca Perna, Christopher Porzio, Daniela Ramos Campos, Samir Rathore, Alexa Rind, Julie Rogel, Valerie Rogel, Richard Rongo, Cameron Santa-Maria, Andreas Seferian, Christopher Segreti, Kate Sheran, Tess Stanley, Julia Steinberg, Isabella Thompson, Steliani Vlahos, Anna Wickey, Grace Wildermuth, Bryan Wong, Michael Wright, Chaohan Yang, Faith Youngquist, Matthew Youngwall, Ethan Franciscovich, Aiden Franznick, Jailyn Fuentes and Natalie Furman.
“It was a pleasure to be there to share in the pride that accompanies induction of among the largest groups of new members in many years,” Mr. Polansky said. “It is a group that I have been even more proud to watch grow through the years into incredible young adults.”
The National Honor Society’s motto is “Noblesse Oblige,” a French term that translates in English to “nobility obligates.” The new members are expected to assist all students on the path toward academic excellence through a variety of tutoring and community service activities.
Speakers during the ceremony included Nathan Hale chapter President Cat Jamison, who gave an articulate address about the ideals of the organization. Executive officers Emily Cheshire (vice president), Lia Shechter (secretary), Oskar Kilgour (treasurer) and Baylie Larsen (tutoring coordinator) took turns speaking about the group’s membership pillars of character, scholarship, leadership and service. Molly Kessler and Caitlyn Palermo handled the “tapping” of the inductees.
A string quartet consisting of Allison Quinn, Gabriel Medina-Jaudes, Ella Siepel and Grace Wildermuth entertained the crowd as it filed into the auditorium, providing grace and dignity to the proceedings. The high school chamber choir sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
The inductees were asked to affirm their support for the National Honor Society’s ideals by stating: “I pledge myself to uphold the high purposes of this society to which I have been selected, striving in every way by every word and deed to make its ideals the ideals of my school and my life.”
After Huntington’s top scholars paraded out of the auditorium, they were joined by their families and faculty members in the main lobby for a reception in their honor.
