On Tuesday, May 5, Old Rochester Regional High School inducted 52 students into an organization that honors hard work and community involvement. That organization is the National Honor Society, which admits students based on their adherence to the society’s four main pillars: service, character, leadership, and scholarship. English teacher SaraBeth Morrell advises the ORR chapter of the NHS.
After a rehearsal dinner the night before, the hardworking students were ready to be honored on the night of May 5. The event began at 7:00 pm as the students entered the cafeteria in alphabetical order by their last name. Morrell began the evening with a speech welcoming the students and audience, as well as serving to explain the purpose and function of the organization.
The current president of the NHS’s ORR chapter, senior Stephen Burke, made the second speech of the night. Principal Michael Devoll followed, who congratulated the accepted students.
The night’s guest speaker was Ross Hooley, an employee of the Nemasket Group, a nonprofit in Fairhaven that helps those with special needs to better combat real-world challenges. He provided a great example of a community figure whose work produces terrific benefits.
Next, four seniors spoke on the qualities of an NHS member. Austin Salkind spoke in regards to scholarship, Ashley Pacheco focused on service, Jaclyn Dyson talked about character, and Michael Kassabian reflected on leadership.
Kassabian continued with a speech recognizing Dana Dourdeville, who tragically passed away in a kayaking accident in December 2013. Dourdeville, a member of the NHS during his time at ORR, graduated in 2011. He was attending Brown University and was a standout track and cross country star at the time of his passing. Most importantly, he was an extremely well respected and hard-working student who exhibited all of the NHS qualities throughout his life.
A performance by the ORRHS Jazz Band followed. The quartet of seniors Matthew Parisi, Matthew Twaddle, Hannah Cormier, and sophomore Max Wolski, which has appeared at numerous school events in recent months, sounded excellent during their latest performance.
At this time, the candle process began to officially induct the NHS students. Pacheco, Dyson, and fellow seniors Julianne Mariner, Madeline Cafarella, and Julia Nojeim assisted with the process. Kassabian provided the piano accompaniment, and Burke gave the closing address.
After Burke’s speech, the 52 students were officially acknowledged as NHS members. Many photos were taken after the commencement of the event, and refreshments were provided to the students and on-looking relatives to cap off a successful evening.
Morrell has been working as the NHS advisor at ORR ever since she was hired. “I was in the NHS in both college and high school, and it is a great organization,” she explained.
Her favorite part of the position is working with students outside of the classroom, and getting to know them on a different level, she said.
As for the NHS’s benefits, Morrell said, “I think it rewards them for more than academic success, and proves their commitment to service and character.” On the topic of service and character, she noted Ross Hooley’s speech as her favorite part of the induction event.
This year’s NHS inductees will now focus their efforts on maintaining high grades, participating in their communities, and working on service-related projects. The first of these service-related projects will occur on June 11, as the inductees assist Rochester Memorial School students with their annual Field Day.
The induction ceremony was a great success, and gave a reminder as to how hard the students of ORR work to achieve excellence in their schooling, community involvement, and extra-curricular activities.
Those students inducted into the NHS during the May 5 ceremony were Elexus Afonso, Ashley Aruri, Samantha Babineau, Colleen Beatriz, Isabella Bernardi, Julianna Bernardi, Rikard Bodin, Patrick Briand, Kyle Camacho, Catherine Feldkamp, Abigail Field, Matthew Fortin, Lauren Gaspar, Brianna Grignetti, Serena Iacovelli, Serena Jaskolka, Emily Josephson, Jane Kassabian, Adrian Kavanaugh, Mallory Kiernan, Isabella King, Samantha Kirkham, Edward Krawczyk, Madeleine Lee, James Leidhold, Kylie Machado, Hayli Marshall, Nicole Mattson, Alexandra Melloni, Madison Miedzionoski, Lucy Milde, Abigail Morrill, Victor Morrison, Jeffrey Murdock, Zenobia Nelles, Michaelah Nunes, Devyn O’Connor, Lauren Ovian, Potsawee Pliansak, Alexandria Powers, Drew Robert, Evan Roznoy, Haily Saccone, Evan Santos, Kristina Sauerbrey, Rachel Scheub, Alex Tavares, Anne Tucker, Elena Voigt, Teagan Walsh, Paige Watterson, and Margaret Wiggin.
By Patrick Briand