Honor society inducts area's brightest students

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by Eric Marotta

Editor

Nordonia Hills -- It's a rite of passage they could remember for the rest of their lives.

The Nordonia High School auditorium was packed April 10 with hundreds of peers and parents to honor 39 inductees into the National Honor Society.

Started in 1921, the National Honor Society offers students the chance to distinguish themselves through academic performance as well as activities and interaction with other students, said Melissa Newcomer, faculty adviser. High schools and middle schools throughout the nation honor new inductees each year in special ceremonies.

The April 10 ceremony featured performances by the high school choir and jazz band, as well as a solemn candle-lighting ceremony to herald the new class.

Newcomer said the students -- with the exception of two seniors -- were selected from among the Class of 2009's best and brightest by a faculty committee that judged nominees in four areas: Scholarship, service, character and leadership.

A high score in scholarship was the prerequisite for nomination, Newcomer said. The process began earlier in the year when students with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or better were invited to submit applications.

A committee of teachers then selected the group of inductees.

"There is no limit and there is no quota," Newcomer said.

Last year's inductees numbered 41 students.

"It's a group of the top people, with great character who are great scholars," said Brian Gibbons, a senior who was inducted last year.

"It's hard to get into; you have to be well-rounded," said Cally Rahal, another of last year's inductees.

During the ceremony, the new inductees' were highlighted by a spotlight and escorted to the back of the auditorium to don green robes.

"It's an honor for all of us here," said inductee Krista Shorf. "We all had to work really hard.

Tony Gromovsky, another inductee, called the process a "challenge."

"It shows that all my hard work has paid off in high school. It wasn't a wasted effort," he said.

Newcomer, who served as the society's vice president her senior year in high school, said the 39 inductees and their peers from the year before are among the most active students in the school.

"They are probably the busiest kids in the school," she said. "They have to be involved in order to score well."

Parents Theresa and Ken Scott were on hand to see their third child -- Michelle -- take her place onstage. Michelle is the family's third inductee.

"I just think family unity is the key," said Theresa. "Education has always been pushed -- not threatened, but pushed. Otherwise, you're not going to make it."

E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com

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