Houghton High School students joined the National Honor Society on Thursday in induction ceremony in the school's multi-purpose room. 42 new members joined, bringing the school's society count to about 90, and according to the society's advisor, students must show excellence in scholarship, service, leadership, and character to qualify as a member.

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - Houghton High School (HHS) students were inducted into the school’s National Honor Society (NHS) today.

42 new members joined, nearly doubling the society’s size by bringing its total number to about 90.

The society puts on a number of events, including two annual community blood drives, bake sales, and this year, a leadership conference for HHS.

The society’s adviser and HHS teacher, Debra Zei, says that to be part of the society, students must show excellence in scholarship, service, leadership and character. These are referred to as the ‘four pillars’ of the society.

Nationally, honor society members are eligible scholastically with a 3.0 grade-point average (GPA).

But Zei says a higher standard is held at HHS.

“At Houghton, we have so many high-achieving students,” she said. “As a sophomore, we require a 3.7 GPA for acceptance into NHS, and we require a 3.5 GPA for the acceptance of juniors. They need to maintain a 3.5 GPA throughout their entire high school career.”

Additionally, students are required to participate in a certain amount of community service.

“We also require students to 40 hours of community service per year,” added Zei. “20 of the 40 hours that we require, we offer a study hub here at school where we tutor students from grades 6 through 12, in the core academic classes. Each student that’s in the NHS is required to put in two hours a week of tutoring time.”

Letters of recommendation are another requirement for membership, as well as the approval of other faculty.

“They’ve had to have letters of recommendation written by faculty members,” added Zei. “In addition, we have a faculty council that goes over each application and compares it with a rubric to determine whether our candidates are acceptable to be inducted into the NHS.”

NHS members can get scholarships specific to the society and have a higher likelihood of acceptance to colleges due to their membership.

Zei said new members may start attending NHS meetings as soon as next week.

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