On Wednesday, December 18, 124 juniors and seniors were inducted into BCA’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) because of their academic and service-based accomplishments. The NHS is a prestigious group of students that have demonstrated scholastic achievement and strong moral character throughout their career as high school students. As the students were inducted, Principal Russell Davis and Mr. Luke Miller, the new chapter advisor and second-year history teacher at BCA, were there to congratulate the inductees and hand them their certificates.

The ceremony featured exciting moments that included the lighting of the candles and the recitation of the NHS pledge by the inductees. After the ceremony, the inductees and their families took photos and had refreshments to commemorate the special occasion. All in all, the ceremony celebrated the hard work and dedication that the inductees put into becoming members of BCA’s NHS chapter. However, the work of the NHS inductees is not over as they must now continue to demonstrate strong academic performance and promote the core moral values of the NHS. 

Mr. Miller was kind enough to interview with the Academy Chronicle and provide insight into what went into planning the ceremony. One of the main challenges was the large amount of time Mr. Miller and the NHS board had to plan the ceremony. “We had about two months to plan the ceremony,” Mr. Miller said. “In total, being the NHS advisor has taken up about an hours worth of my time each school day to make sure everything runs smoothly.” 

Evidently, a lot of hard work from Mr. Miller and the dedicated NHS student board went into planning the induction ceremony. In previous years, Ms. Buccino was the advisor for BCA’s NHS chapter, but after she left BCA, Mr. Miller took over as the chapter advisor. “When Ms. Buccino left, the advisor spot was vacant and I knew they were struggling to find a new one. Then in late September, the NHS president, Heidi, asked me if I would do it and I said ‘yes.’” 

One factor that made things easier for Mr. Miller and the NHS board was that they had information about previous years’ ceremonies. “Ms. Bucccino gave me all her stuff for the ceremony and Mr. Demeter has also been a huge help because he knew everything that happened during the ceremony. There were no big changes from previous years and everything was generally the same. The only difference was that I wanted to focus on the challenge of the NHS and reminding the inductees of their responsibility as NHS members.” Mr. Miller’s influence as chapter advisor can be seen through the new emphasis of the NHS on the duties of NHS members.

Another important responsibility that Mr. Miller has had as chapter advisor was that he was in charge of selecting the NHS members. “Honestly, the process of selecting NHS members was more difficult than planning the ceremony. That process involved a review committee and looking over all the applicants information, while the ceremony was simpler. Also, I was very lucky to have a great set of officers to help with the ceremony planning.”

Overall, Mr. Miller was satisfied with how the ceremony went. “Everything went really well, so I don’t think any major changes in the future are needed.” The ceremony went smoothly in large part due to the dedication that Mr. Miller and the NHS board put into planning the ceremony.

Although Mr. Miller and the NHS board have put in a lot of hard work so far, their job is not over. For the rest of the academic year, one thing they have to focus on is assimilating the new members. “Going forward, the biggest tasks will be transitioning the new inductees into the chapter, which starts with a morning breakfast meeting. Also, we have to check to make sure all members are keeping up with their tutoring and community service hours. Last, we have to determine the one big community service project we do at the end of the year.”

In his first year as chapter advisor, Mr. Miller has successfully planned and executed the induction ceremony. In the future, the NHS officers and him will continue to transition the new inductees into the chapter and start to work on the annual end-of-year community service project that the NHS does.

This year’s inductees stand during the induction ceremony while repeating the NHS pledge.