By Meghan Murdock
Ninety-one new members were inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS) on the night of Monday, October 3^rd, based on meeting the standards for scholarship, leadership, service, and character, bringing the grand total of members to 152.

Parents and students gathered in the Hopkinton High School auditorium for the annual Induction Night, where they listened to several speeches about the four characteristics for a member of the National Honor Society.

Principal Alyson Geary commenced the ceremony by congratulating new members on this honor, yet stressed its importance beyond just its name.

“Membership in the National Honor Society does not begin and end with this evening. It is not just another token on your resume. This membership is about continuing to do the right thing, serving your school and community, and continuing to make your parents even more proud of you than they are tonight,” stated Geary.

President Victoria Munger, Vice President Lara Murray, Treasurer Sam Chirco, and Secretary Bevy Reynolds each spoke about the importance of one of the four characteristics that members of NHS exemplify.

“Knowledge is one element in life that leads to the greatest success,” said Reynolds.

“Leadership should exert a wholesome influence on this group. In taking the initiative in class and school activities, the real leaders strive to train and aid others to obtain the same objective,” said Murray.

“[Character] gives us each individuality. It is that without which no one can respect oneself nor hope to attain respect from others,” said Munger.

“Willingness to work for benefit of those in need without monetary compensation or without recognition is a quality we seek in our membership,” said Chirco.

Members of the National Honor Society are required to complete at least 20 hours of service per year, including participation in an event with the Hopkinton Senior Center.

“Monday’s induction night went very well, the beginning is always the hardest part, trying to get everyone organized but other than that, it went very smoothly. We even had a few points of comic relief, which are always fun for the audience!” said Munger.

As for the future of the society, Murray says she hopes to improve the reputation of the club because sometimes she feels that people do not take it as seriously as they should.

Reynolds says that she hopes to get members more excited about community service rather than viewing it as just an obligation.

For juniors who were not accepted into the society this year, NHS Advisor Jaime Hall encourages students to re-submit their Information Forms next year.

“Students who were deferred this year should continue everything that they had been doing up to this point,” said Hall, “In addition, they should try to work on the area(s) that the Council found that their Information Form were deficient this year.”

The Faculty Council is composed of five members who review students’ Information Forms to determine if they show evidence of the four characteristics. A majority of the council needs to agree that any student meets these standards and should therefore be accepted.

“The Council works extremely hard to be consistent, reasonable and fair on each information form” said Hall.