On Sept. 7 in room C204, the National English Honor Society held their first official meeting of the year and welcomed 30 new and returning members. Everyone settled down with a donut in hand as the officers went through their informational meeting on the overview of the club and their plan for the year.
“I was really happy to see a lot of people that asked questions and showed interest in our club, so I’m really excited for the upcoming year,” senior Cindy Zheng said.
Zheng, president of NEHS, explained that members have the choice to be a part of the MVHS or national chapter. To be a part of the MVHS chapter, members must attend meetings and participate in discussions. For the national chapter, they must be at least a sophomore and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in literature. Nonetheless, everyone receives the same opportunities in the club. The officers personalize content to specific grades such as senior college essay workshops and sophomores course selection sessions.
National chapter members receive honor cords, special ropes people wear around their neck during graduation. The officer team and club advisor Vennessa Nava are currently working on organizing a specific award ceremony for the qualified members.
“It’s not just a club where we read and write,” secretary junior Varuna Ravi said. “We also reach out to help people in their literature classes or connect them with teachers who can help them.”
Zheng explained that in the past, the club held a Harry Potter themed movie meeting where they had butterbeer and watched a movie during finals week. This received a positive response as members were able to take this time to destress. Another fun meeting was held for people to share fanfictions.
Vice president senior Grace Luo believes the club is unique in the sense that they are willing to train members in a skill that will be used throughout their entire life, no matter what field of interest they decide to pursue in. She believes that whoever you are, literature and communication skills will always remain a necessity in daily lives.
“I would encourage people to join because it’s a fun club, it’s fun to write and it’s fun to be with people who love writing,” Luo said. “Even if you think that writing isn’t for you, you always have a place to improve when you’re writing.”
NEHS will hold their next meeting on Sept. 21 in C204, and will continue to hold meetings every other Thursday. If you would like to learn more about NEHS, check out the interest meeting powerpoint.
