On Wednesday evening, the RMHS National Honors Society held their annual induction ceremony virtually, celebrating the entrance of many high school seniors into the club despite the pandemic. 

Over a Microsoft Teams Live presentation, inductees were invited to watch a panel of NHS leaders and RMHS administrators attempt to recreate the usually in-person induction ceremony virtually. The ceremony came months late as a result of the coronavirus, and had been delayed several times since the original April date. 

“This year’s virtual NHS induction was definitely a challenge,” said NHS officer and Secretary Molly Hamlin (‘21). “But, everyone involved really stepped up, especially our advisors. I’m proud of how it turned out, and I hope everyone was able to celebrate their accomplishments from home.”

The club’s six officers, along with club advisors Ms. Lombardo and Ms. Murphy, both of the English department, created a slideshow that highlighted the most important parts of the ceremony in order to accommodate viewers’ personal schedules. This included short speeches from several officers on the pillars of the NHS mission, a slide commemorating each new inductee, and the official statement of induction. 

“I thought it was disappointing not being able to do it in person,” said inductee Adam Diemer (‘21) of the online ceremony. “But that said, everyone did a really good job. Obviously it was difficult to create and the effort shows. It was a really quality ceremony that honored our hard work well and was heartfelt.”

Inductees were invited via a Google Form in advance to send in a picture of themselves for their individual slide, as well as a personal achievement that led them to induction, either of a leadership role or service project. Keeping in tradition with the in-person ceremony, inductees were also given the option to include a note of thanks to a teacher, coach, or role model in their lives. All 110 slides of inductees were read one at a time by the NHS officers. 

The ceremony also included speeches from RMHS Principal Boynton, and Reading Schools Superintendent Doherty, who took time to congratulate the new members. 

“I think that the NHS officers, advisors, Ms. Boynton, and Dr. Doherty all took the challenge of doing a virtual ceremony in stride, and did a great job,” said inductee Emily Clarkson (‘21). “It was just the right amount of time, not too long or too short, and myself and others really appreciate the time and effort that was put into it.” 

The ceremony ended with NHS President Erin Mulvey (‘21) asking viewers to raise their hand, and repeat the statement of induction to officialize membership into the club. The officers then introduced this year’s NHS service project, a food drive campaign set to take place at each Reading Public School during the week of December 14th through the 17th. 

Although most members and families would have preferred to honor the inductees in person, the NHS officers and advisors did their best to spend some time to celebrate the induction. Given the continuing constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, when large school gatherings like the NHS ceremony can return remains uncertain.

According to a recent NHS Remind notification, members can expect to pick up their induction certificates in the main office in the coming weeks.