National Honor Society (NHS) is an organization for juniors and seniors that helps improve students’ futures while at the same time helping the community.
The Omaha South High chapter of NHS began in 1921; currently 78 South students are involved. South High’s NHS sponsor Josephine Zbylut- Birky said that “Students in this organization are considered to earn the highest honor.”
The requirements to be a part of National Honor Society are that students must be an Omaha South junior or senior maintaining a 3.3 unweighted grade point average. Additionally, students must write an essay explaining how they display the four pillars of NHS which include scholarship, leadership, service and character. Students must also get a recommendation letter from a teacher of their choice. Once students have applied, the NHS board will review the information and select the students whom they believe have what it takes to be a member. Once a student becomes an NHS member, they are required to attend all meetings.
According to Zbylut-Birky, student members of NHS must complete 70 service hours per year, 35 of which are sponsored by NHS. The remaining 35 hours are non-sponsored.
When asked what the most popular volunteer activity has been, Zbylut–Birky said, “That’s a hard one for me; we do a lot with Gomez Elementary, and a lot of our students went to Gomez or have family there. It’s rewarding to really give back.”
Jade Huffman, a first-year NHS member, said that her “proudest moment while being a part of NHS is being given the opportunity to volunteer with the community and seeing the progress in the improvement the community has made.”
Not only does NHS help the community, but it also helps the students who are a part of it. NHS helps students develop strong leadership skills and improves character and communication. It also gets students into their community and meeting new people.
Zbylut-Birky said that her goal is for “the students to develop a hardworking, doing good things for others without expecting anything in return mindset; just young people with high value morals.” s
Huffman said her advice for those interested in being a part of NHS would be to “make sure you come with a positive attitude and that you’re a person who enjoys helping others.”
