National Honor Society by Rachel

National Honor Society by Rachel - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

In high school students are often overwhelmed with the amount of extracurriculars their are. My experience was no different. However, I was lucky enough to find one group that provided me with life long lessons that not only made my high school life better, but prepared me for the future. And that group was the National Honor Society.

At my school juniors and seniors have the opportunity to join this group. But, in order to join who have to demonstrate their four pillars in your life. Those are: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character. This group isn’t made to teach these skills/qualities, but rather show someone how to be better at them This means that the four pillars are not only standards that I reached in order to join the group, but they are words that encompass all aspects of my life. Throughout high school, I have had to rely on all of these in order to succeed. My character, that has formed over many years, made it so I was able to apply myself to my studies and have the drive to improve my community and my own life. Scholarship is what allows me to have an understanding of the world and be able to help others and be seen as a leader because I am able to use my knowledge correctly. There is not one instance in the past two years that I can think of that did not require all four of these words. Whether it be at a horse show on the weekends or running my service-learning project.

Before joining this group I had volunteered and taken on leadership roles, but I was much meeker than I am now. I have always been the person in the group who doesn’t try to draw attention to them, but this group wouldn’t let me do that. I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and actually speak up. That opportunity allowed me to learn that I had a voice that mattered and that speaking up is not only OK, but the only way to make sure that my ideas are heard. After high school many experiences and groups I was apart of will be forgotten because their impact on me was limited. However, NHS is different. Not only did it teach me valuable lessons, but it helped me discover who I am and who I wanted to become. It has allowed me to take the skills that I had in these areas and be able to strengthen and build upon them.

In college I can continue to rely on what NHS taught me in order to excel in my studies and once college and high school is finally over that does not mean what NHS taught me will be forgotten. Instead, how I apply them will change. For instance, instead of using my leadership qualities to run a school group I will be able to take charge in the workplace and make sure that communication between people is done in a productive manner, among other things. Along with this example I could give hundreds more of how each of these pillars will be used throughout my life because this group not only teaches students how to better help others, but it teaches them to find their own voice, their own passion, and how self-reliance and discipline will make it so they can succeed in life. I know that I have learned this through my time in NHS and I am so thankful for the opportunity to do so.