By Hillary Simmons
Truck Editor

The National Honor Society is a nationwide organization that connects model students to opportunities that help communities, and being a member of the club is something many students are proud of. This year, MAST’s NHS chapter is led by faculty advisor Mrs. Stella Crespo, president Emiliana Betancourt, vice president Santiago Larretape, secretary Martina Ibrichimova, and treasurer Nathaniel Gordon. 

Together, they lead NHS with integrity under the guidance of the four pillars: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. By definition, NHS members are scholars and leaders–with that being a requirement to join the club. It’s the service and character pillars that really determine the kinds of activities NHS hosts for its members. NHS has taken time to service our community through various drives and volunteering initiatives. The pandemic has certainly added a unique challenge to those leading a club, but NHS has not backed down. Where others may have seen obstacles, NHS saw an opportunity to double down on serving the community inside of MAST.

For the coming year, NHS will be hosting its weekly tutoring that so many MAST students have come to know and rely on. In previous years, NHS held tutoring for an hour each week. Because of the pandemic, MAST students will be relying on NHS tutoring more than ever, and the officers have rearranged tutoring so it is more accessible to those who need it. Each week, NHS will put out a form where students can sign up to be tutored during the following week. They will then be paired with a qualified NHS tutor and together will discuss a time to meet via Zoom. 

In addition to scholarship, leadership, and service, the NHS’s other core belief is character. The club is hosting monthly webinars that focus on enhancing the character of its members. The webinars will be held in collaboration with other clubs with a focus on current events like voter registration and cultural awareness. Right now, the webinars are only available to NHS members.

“NHS members should be role models. We’re helping [to] develop their character and be informed….it’s very important for us to do,” secretary Ibrichimova said.

 With NHS being one of the biggest clubs in school, the officers are confident they can make a real impact on MAST Academy’s community and the people in it. 

“If you hold one seminar for just the kids in NHS on how they should behave on certain issues or explaining certain cultural issues in our society today, they’re gonna tell their friends. Our goal is to set a new culture at MAST because I feel like the one we had before was really negative and no one really wanted to talk about it,” president Betancourt said. “A lot of situations at MAST that shouldn’t have happened did, and it’s time to address it.”