If anyone were to describe Lincoln East’s chapter of the National Honor Society, it would only be one word, leadership. About 150 students are members of a prestigious organization at East doing their part for the community and for their students’ futures.
The NHS is a group of students who are inducted based on their leadership and volunteer work. They’re in charge of the school’s blood drive, they are tutors at school and even mentor elementary students. On top of that they work with “Huskers Helping The Homeless” where they spend days collecting and donating to people in need right here in Lincoln. Feeding poor and homeless people everyday while providing nutritious food and nice service.
“The endgame I see for a lot of people is to make a positive change in our community. And that’s kinda what National Honor Society boils down to,” said Allyn Gonsor, a teacher and organizer of NHS. A very popular motif as I talked to a member who is just joining, Cambry Waddell, a senior this year. When I asked her why she wanted to join she said,“The organization is full of like minded people. They value school and they value being a part of the community that wants to help and make a difference.”
However, helping our neighborhood isn’t the only thing that the NHS is good at. About 80% of their students receive scholarships to universities all across the country. Including Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Brown, and Stanford. If you want to look into this club at East, they are always looking for people willing to put forth a lot of effort and hardwork into their community and like to preach about drive and moral ambiguity. And to bring a positive attitude and be prepared to go work with very determined people.
COVID has certainly ruined many things this year, many clubs, sports, and events have been canceled. But a global pandemic will not stop this well oiled machine. Although hours for volunteering have gone down, many students are still out there everyday working hard to help in Lincoln. They are following social distancing measures by doing zoom meetings and keeping morale up. Truly an amazing thing to watch even in the hardest of times, that good people continue to do good things.
While working 6 years with this organization, Gonsor stated that he learned how to be a better leader while watching the kids manage themselves. He learned new and improved ways of helping others in need and thinks that everyone should strive to be more like minded. Their message to the world is a simple and wholesome one,“Do your best to be as ethical as you can, and help your fellow man.” Truly words to live by, and a summary of what this organization is working for.