On Sept. 26, 119 new members were inducted into the Mounds View chapter of National Honor Society, or NHS. NHS is a nationwide organization that recognizes students who demonstrate scholarship, service, leadership and character, the four pillars of NHS, both inside and outside the classroom.

The induction ceremony began with an introductory speech by library media specialist and NHS advisor Becky Stouten, who stepped into the role just this year. “I wanted to be more involved with students and things that are going on here at school, and I just see some areas that I think I can add to the program,” said Stouten.

A new advisor is only one of the changes made to NHS this year. In preparation for the current school year, the presidents and executive board worked in conjunction over the summer to revamp NHS, resulting in changes to the NHS rules and requirements and new additions such as a portal and app for NHS members.

The portal and app are part of the hybrid mobile platform was designed by co-vice presidents Vicky Li, 12 and Aarthi Vijayakumar, 12, and technology coordinator Abhishek Vijayakumar, 12, to make communication easier within the NHS community. Some unique features of the portal include the tracking of volunteer hours, easy access to policies and reminders on upcoming events.

“As [Vicky and I] were thinking about what we could bring to NHS the following year, we realized that throughout the year, communication was a huge issue for NHS as a whole, and especially for the executive board, so we were thinking about how we could change that,” said Aarthi Vijayakumar.

There are also more mandatory service event options this year; in addition to Pennies for Patients, Music for Mounds View and Thanksgiving Baskets, there will be a Mental Health Walk in May headed by co-presidents Nate Moller, 12 and Chris Jin, 12. “I think it would be a great way for the Mounds View community as a whole to show that we’re there to support people who struggle with mental illnesses,” said Moller.

The induction ceremony concluded with all 119 members following Jin in reciting the NHS pledge, in which students promise to encourage and maintain the four pillars of NHS. With the changes to NHS and the addition of new members, the Mounds View NHS community looks to keep promoting scholarship, service, leadership and character.