Walnut Inducts School’s First-Ever Cohort of National Junior Honor Society Students
GRAND ISLAND (Neb.) — Students are making academic history, as Walnut Middle School introduced their first school chapter of National Junior Honor Society this year. The school inducted 27 students into the inaugural group at a ceremony on May 13, 2024.
The idea for the chapter was student-driven, and Ms. Stacy Laue helped make it a reality.
“At the beginning of the [24-25 school] year, my 8th graders and I had some discussions about possible ways we could honor students for their academic success,” Laue, an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher, said.
After attending a conference, Laue discovered the possibility of the National Junior Honor Society. She spoke with Mr. Foley, Walnut Principal, who was receptive to the possibility of Walnut starting an NJHS chapter.
“We felt it would be a great way to recognize students for their scholarship and other talents,” she said, which was the topic her students previously discussed. “We also wanted to find ways for students to give back to the school and community and service is one of the requirements for any NJHS inductee. It seemed like the perfect fit.”
Once Laue applied and Walnut was accepted to begin a chapter, she was able to start the process of selecting and inducting members.
There are multiple qualifications Walnut students must meet in order to apply for the NJHS. Students who met the rigorous GPA requirement were notified of the honor. They were given a packet to complete which included the students answering questions on how they provide service to the school and community, their involvement in activities, and character recommendations from teachers. Students also had to write an essay. Applications were then voted on and approved by a panel of faculty members.
Laue said the NJHS opportunity will be a major benefit to students in multiple ways. For some, the honor will help motivate students to do well in classes and provide more positive opportunities to be recognized.
“It will also help increase their [students’] leadership capabilities and become role models for other students,” Laue added. “These students will also get to become immersed in providing service to the community and the school. They will be a great group that can help out in so many different ways.”
“Walnut is so proud of the students who were recently inducted into the NJHS,” Laue remarked. “They will be the first of many who will be recognized for their service, character, leadership, scholarship, and citizenship. We can't wait to continue to build the group in the coming years to help serve the community and school.”
Congratulations to the 27 Walnut Wildcats who were inducted into the first-ever National Junior Honor Society chapter at Walnut Middle School:
Adolfo Bernabe Mateo
Maci Brooks
Josue Castillo
Emery Clark
Kinley Fernau
Jocelyn Garcia Velasco
Jonah Gilbert
Isabella Killion
Owen Madison
Stephanie Marquez Cell
Damian Mendez
Josue Nava
Owen Newman
Alan Nghiem
Jaycee Nguyen
Sunny Nguyen
Cristhel Ordonez Velasquez
Hannia Perez Aguilar
Janessa Rendon
Daisy Robertson
Ayime Sanchez
Brandon Vicente Chanchavac
Coye Wiegert
Ysanne Zumaya-Castillo
Anthony Zuniga-Alvarado
David Zuniga-Alvarado