Some 121 members of the Class of 2018 at Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS) were inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS) during an induction ceremony, Thursday, Oct. 26, at the school.
Parents, families and guests witnessed the ceremony in the school’s Performing Arts Center (PAC). Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett welcomed all students, parents, teachers and guests who were in attendance, and congratulated the students. Principal George Alexis also congratulated all the students on the high achievement of being inducted into the National Honor Society.
Alexis challenged the inductees to consider the meaning of the NHS’s four core values, Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Community Service, in the context of their own lives and encouraged them to see their senior year as “a series of opportunities to continue being a role model and serving others.”
“As much as this ceremony feels like a culmination, it’s really just the beginning of your responsibility,” he said. “I leave you with one essential question: What can you do daily to breathe life into these core values in our school community?”
The inductees also selected their “Teacher of the Year,” WHRHS History Teacher Ryan Murray. Three of his students, fellow NHS inductees Vamsi Desu, Calvin Le and Kevin Tan, introduced Murray, speaking highly of him as a teacher. They noted his endless enthusiasm in encouraging them to share in his having a thirst for learning.
The 2017-18 Class of NHS inductees at WHRHS are: Keerthi Adusumilli, Reid Baltuch, Kathryn Berger, Spencer Bokach, Peter Bosco, Michael Brady, Carson Brooks, Isabella Burt, Alison Cabrera, Shaun Cagnetta, Matthew Canary, David Cantone, Demetra Chang, Rebecca Chang, Shane Checko, Abigail Chutnik, Sean Coleman, Julia Cunningham, Vincent Dai, Gavin DeFuria, Anthony DeNave, Michael Deo, Vamsi Desu, Michelle Du, Michael Erickson, Lindsay Fogel, Julia Fullowan, Andrew Giniger, Ian Glass, Julia Glickman, Nina Goliyad, Justin Halper, Nathanael Hanna, Aaron Hao, Thomas Hemsworth, Maura Herkert, Melissa Hertzberg, Sierra Heuvelman, Alison Hoffman, Jessica Hoffman, Daniel Hold Jack Horan, Ashil Jhaveri, Emery Jochnau, Brittany Keller, Stephanie Keller, Nila Kirupaharan, Emily Krouk, Mary Kusik, Rachel lee, Calvin Li, Rachel Lu, Alanna Margulies, Ethan Marmolejos, Andres Marquez, Emma Marzalek, Sarah McCracken, Marlise Moesch, Sydney Moholkar, Katherine Morris, Angela Munoz, Camryn Murphy, Ryan Murray, Eliana Neuwirth, Gillan O’Meara, Lauren Olin, Caitlyn Park, Micah Parker, Jessica Pearlstein, Joshua Pester, Carl Peterson, Matthew Piccirilli, Brady Pilsbury, Jared Pincus, Andrew Pluta, Lexi Pollner, Alyssa Printz, Brigita Przybylski, Deepta Raghavan, Michael Raman, Gabriella Roca, Andrew Roth, Shahab Sahranavard, Neha Saju, Nicole Salk, Gillian Santos, Diana Sarrico Jarett Schwartz, Lindsey Shi, Connie Situ, Andrew Song, Emma Sonta, Anusha Srinivas, Jeffrey Stickler, Sophia Su, Sanjay Subramanian, Annika Surapaneni, Chantal Taluba, Kevin Tan, Marlene Tartaro, Alexis Tekin, Michael Tobin, Caitlyn Tong, Eris Ulaj, Foram Vaidya, Craig Vergilio, Amreeta Verma, Julia Waldman, Jennifer Walpow, Ella Walsh, Kevin Wittmaack, Olivia Xu, Helen Yang, Michelle Yang, Neil Yang, Jason Ye, Linda Ye, Zachary Young, Christopher Yu, Carrie Zhang, and Cherlin Zhu.
WHRHS PHOTOS 2017-18 Nat Hon Soc Exec Bd (above) With National Honor Society Faculty Advisor and Chemistry Teacher Michelle Nunez, left, are this year’s student NHS executive board: From left, vice president Emery Jochnau; secretary Vincent Dai; treasurer Demetra Chang; and president Julia Waldman.
WHRHS PHOTOS Student Speakers (above) Student inductees who spoke during the induction ceremony are, from left: Demetra Chang, who spoke about the core NHS Value of “Scholarship;” Alanna Margulies, who spoke about “Leadership;” Thomas Hemsworth, who spoke on the core value of “Character;” Sophia Su, who joined Chang speaking about Scholarship; Olivia Xu, who spoke on the core value of “Community Service;” and Cherlin Zhu, who joined Margulies in speaking about Leadership.
WHRHS PHOTOS Ryan Murray and Students (above) Named National Honor Society teacher of the year by this year’s class of WHRHS National Honor Society inductees is WHRHS History Teacher Ryan Murray, second left. He was introduced at the induction ceremony by NHS student inductees, from left, Calvin Li, Kevin Tan, and Vamsi Desu. WHRHS PHOTOS Nunez Congratulates
(above l-r) Principal George Alexis, Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett, NHS Teacher of the Year and History teacher Ryan Murray, and NHS Advisor and Chemistry Teacher Michelle Nunez were among the administration and faculty members who congratulated student inductees to the National Honor Society immediately after they were called to the stage and presented with certificates and “Gold Cord.” The NHS Induction Ceremony was held Thursday, Oct. 26. Among the newly inducted WHRHS students is Gavin DeFuria, right, receiving the congratulations from Nunez. Students will wear the NHS Gold Cords with their cap and gown at graduation.
