If you have an accumulative GPA of 3.5 and want to improve the community, then you belong in National Honor Society (NHS).

   NHS is a nation-wide organization that juniors and seniors with high academic success, who demonstrate service involvement and leadership skills, can be a part of.

   The overall goals of NHS are not just beneficial to the community but also to the students who are in the club.

   “We try to teach each other that community service is important; especially because our lives here at LHS are so privileged,” senior President Lucas Peterson said. “We have so many opportunities and there are so many people in the community who don’t have that. So really, the point of it is to work together towards a common goal of bettering the community.”

   If you meet the requirements for attendance to meetings and the appropriate amount of in-club service hours, you can have the pride of walking with cords at graduation. Getting cords are just one of the many benefits to being a part of NHS.

   “It’s definitely an honor to be in the group,” sponsor Kelsie Kleinmeyer said. “There are currently 177 members of NHS. It’s prestigious. It’s something that looks good not only to colleges but also for scholarships. It really shows that the students are the best of the best.”

   Students who are always willing to learn and grow while helping out the community should consider becoming a member of NHS.

   “I have learned a lot,” Peterson said. “Last year as a junior, I learned community service is a really important thing. I’ve also learned time management, responsibility, and accountability. One specific thing I’ve learned is how to communicate better with my fellow officers. There was a one time where a member of NHS was asking about a service project; I didn’t know what was going on. I texted the other officers but I didn’t have the one officers contact information that knew what was going on. So I told the person with the question to not show up. They ended up missing out. I learned that communication is key.”

   NHS participates in many service projects and activities across the Kansas City area.

   “I like the volunteer opportunities, they’re a lot fun, especially when you get to go with your friends,” senior Vice President of Attendance Mallory Bell said. “My favorite so far is the Cedar’s [of Liberty] Nursing Home. There are a lot of sweet people there. It’s just so rewarding going there. We set up crafts in their Rec center, one kid last year brought a guitar and played with them, also play games like checkers. With the girls we brought a whole bunch of nail polishes and set up a table where we painted their nails and talked to them. It’s a lot of fun to interact with them.”

   At the beginning of each year juniors and seniors will be notified via letter if they are invited to apply to the club or not. The letter will explain the requirements and tasks you need to complete to apply.

   “The requirements are to have a 3.5 GPA and at least five hours of volunteer work to complete the application,” senior Vice President of Volunteer Coordination Tiffany Lawson said.

   Freshman, sophomores, and juniors who are interested in being a member of NHS remember to start working to that goal now.

   “Keep your grades up and it’s always good to have experience with volunteer opportunities beforehand and not to do it just to put on a college application,” Bell said.  “Do it if you want to do it, if that’s what you are passionate about.”