The National Honor Society (NHS) has begun to introduce the application process to current juniors for next year. The club sent out invitations to students whose weighted GPA was above a 4.5 and invited them to attend an optional informational meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m in the student cafeteria.

The optional informational meeting was meant to introduce students to the application process and detail how exactly to tackle it. Both students and parents of the invited applicants were able to attend.

“I learned a lot about the application process and how to become an NHS member [during the meeting], and they answered a lot of my questions on volunteering and the essay we have to submit,” said Alyah Afzal, junior.

The meeting started with an introduction of the four pillars of NHS and a timeline of important events and details about the application process before ending with a Q & A session.

The application requires students to complete at least 20 hours of community service from between the time they receive the invitation in October to the application due date, which is Friday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. During the meeting, the sponsors detailed different opportunities for service that can be found on their website.

“A considerable number of students are invited to apply, and many of them do indeed go through the application process,” said Mrs. Chandler, NHS co-sponsor. “The good thing about the club is that we are committed to inclusivity, and we try to include as many students who are committed to service and scholarship.”

Once the applications are complete, the club sponsors read through them and put all applicants on a survey that goes out to faculty administration and staff. The students are then evaluated based on their character in terms of their integrity, responsibility, and respect.

“If [the staff or administration] has known a student in any capacity on the survey, they are encouraged to evaluate them,” Mrs. Chandler said.

Once students are selected to join the club, to maintain an active status they must participate in two of the four major NHS projects, as well as collect 35 points by graduation. The students must also maintain a 4.5 GPA throughout their senior year.

“We are really fortunate here at Hinsdale Central to have a community of students who are dedicated to service,” Mrs. Chandler said. “This school does a great job of really elevating the importance of giving back to the community. Our kids are really generous in terms of what they are willing to give back to the local community.”

Points can be collected through volunteer opportunities and being part of the major NHS projects, like the Halloween bake sale that took place last week or the upcoming Clubs that Care event.

“[The one difficult thing] is trying to earn community hours from different places,” said Sedra Khan, senior member of NHS. “NHS only allows you to volunteer for a [maximum] of five hours at each place [or] event you participate in. However, the sponsors and board do their best to provide you with a variety of volunteer opportunities so you never run out of options.”

The acceptance letters will be mailed around spring break and the induction ceremony will be held on May 16 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.