“Honor societies reflect the diversity of interests we have here at the high school,” explained NHS President Stephanie Snyder.
Currently at BHS, there are five honor societies for students to join, with one more being added next year.
Braintree High has National Honor Society (NHS), French National Honor Society (FNHS), Spanish National Honor Society (SNHS), National Art Honor Society (NAHS), and Tri M, the music Honor Society. For next year, the school will be adding English National Honor Society to add more diversity to the school community.
Each honor society adds something different to BHS, aiding the growing and diverse community.
French and Spanish National Honors Societies allow students to “learn more about the French and Spanish culture and language,” explained President Samantha Longobardi.
Longobardi was the President of both the French and Spanish Honors Societies, as well as the Vice President of Leadership in National Honor Society, and a member of National Art Honor Society. She is a firm supporter of the existence of honor societies, as they aid students throughout high school.
Samantha also explained that NAHS allows its members to “create art to view around BHS and promote creativity for all BPS students.”
“Tri-M we do a lot of tutoring with the younger students,” described Vice President Lauren Stenmon.
Lauren is Vice President of Tri M, and a member of FNHS and NHS. She believes honor societies are good to help people “be aware of their academics and their academic standings.”
Along these same lines, Stephanie Snyder explained that NHS “encourages people to hold high academic standing, as they must maintain a GPA of 3.75 or higher.” National Honor Society also allows students to “collaborate with other driven students to do community service and hone leadership skills,” says VP Samantha Longobardi.
Stephanie Snyder was the President of National Honor Society, as well as a member of SNHS.
Honor societies are not just an academic accomplishment that looks good on college applications and resumes. There is so much more to being in an honor society than just being there for the application fill-ins.
“Regardless of the subject, an honor society is designed for people who are passionate, talented, and driven in a specific area to come together and share their interests,” explained Samantha.
Honor societies allow students to find what they enjoy and share it with the world. Because language honor societies exist, Samantha has been able to express her love for linguistics and teach others about her passion.
“I think that if you are passionate about those things, and you want to pursue them at some point, it’s important to have something that highlights that,” said Lauren. Lauren is in Tri M as she is passionate about music because she plays the flute; in Tri M she has been able to share her love of music with the other members.
These societies also allow members to meet other people with similar passions.
“This collaboration allows for networking activities and provides a creative outlet that strengthens the support system in the school for those subject areas,” explained Samantha.
With honor societies, each student can bring their passion and help to create an environment where everyone who cares about the subject can come together and express their passions, and this could even help a person find their future career.
“They help connect you to your community,” Lauren expressed.
Honor societies also give each of its members a sense of unity, as it allows their members to engage with the Braintree community.
“We do as much as we can around the community, we perform for the community, you have to be part of an outside ensemble or try out for districts or SEMSBA, which are community music programs,” Lauren explained.
Tri M members are sent to connect with and make lasting relationships with the community. They perform at various events, like Art fest at the high school, as well as graduation and other large community events.
“NHS gives its members a responsibility to serve their community” as they are “encouraged to volunteer,” Stephanie described.
NHS members go and do various acts of community service, such as volunteering at the library, making sandwiches for the Marge Crispin Center, volunteering to watch children at PTO meetings and more. Each of these examples allows the members to get out and meet new people in their community.
By getting involved in the community through honor societies, it makes it easier for its members to get involved even after high school.
There are many qualities to honor societies that aid students even after high school, like becoming a part of the community and finding something you are truly passionate about.
“While one school organization may be trivial to one person, to someone else it is the reason they are excited to come to school,” explained Samantha. If you choose to join honor societies, don’t take them lightly. They are not a joke, they are valuable to people’s lives and can seriously impact them and their education.
“I definitely think more honor societies give more opportunities because if you have a diverse interest it can be represented in an honor society,” expressed Stephanie. Honor societies at BHS give it its diversity, as most passions and talents are represented, these also give students something to carry with them for the rest of their lives.
