By Andrea Genovese Soares (November 19, 2003)

Thirty-two students were inducted into the National Honor Society at the traditional candle lighting ceremony Monday night, in the cafeteria. Parents, friends, and Opus Zero all came together to congratulate the inductees for their high achievement. 
 

Principal Bob Snee opened the ceremony by welcoming everyone and congratulating all the new inductees.  NHS Vice President Mary Ryan went up to light the first candle on the table, which symbolizes service. In describing this important quality required of the inductees, Ryan reminded everyone that a gesture of kindness might spur a lifetime of service.  Arya Namboodiri, president of NHS, then lit the second candle which represents scholarship, another requisite for inductees. According to her, scholarship is not only going the extra mile in classes, but also having a general curiosity of the world around us.

Senior inductees of the National Honor Society  included, left to right, Richard Arndt, Christina  Heupel, Rawan Faramand, Tanya Onyschenko,  and Rachel Leonard.  (Photo by Andrea Genovese Soares)

Luisa Fairfax, NHS Secretary, then came to enlighten the listeners about leadership and to light the third candle. She made a point that leaders are usually seen as those who tell everyone what to do, yet they are much more than that. 

Then, NHS Treasurer Rahul Gupta lit the last candle, representing character. In order to describe character, the last requirement for inductees, Rahul quoted author H. Jackson Browne Jr., who said "Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking." 

After that, Opus Zero, the GM choir, directed by Frank Marino and accompanied by Connie Jenkins, performed two inspiring songs, "How do I Love You" by Perry Browning and "Now Let Me Fly" by Spevacek. Marino said, "It was our first concert of the year, and I thought they were incredible. The ceremony was great and the speakers were wonderful."

Finally, the new inductees were called up to receive a candle and a flower. The candle is given so that every inductee can touch his/her candle with the flames of each candle previously lit by the officers. As Namboodiri said, "It symbolizes the new inductees’ commitment to those ideals." 

Though parents took many pictures, the most important part was still to come. Finally, all the new inductees were led by Mr. Snee through the National Honor Society Pledge, which goes like this: "I pledge myself to uphold the high purposes of the National Honor Society. I will be true to the principles for which it stands. I will be loyal to my school and will maintain and encourage high standards of the following ideals: scholarship, leadership, service and character." 

Senior inductees were Rachel Arrowsmith, Andrea Arias, Richard Arndt, Edmund Jong, Michal Chojnacky, Christina Heupel, Colin Ehmer, Rawan Faramand, Anya Solovieva, Jessica Piscopo, Mathew Peetz, Rachel Leonard, Whitney Lemke, and Nadia Lushina. 

Juniors who were inducted were Katerina Zissios, Lisa Webb, Margaret Torla, Omar Tanamly, Casey Smirniotopoulos, Andrew Roller, Kellan Pabon Meador, Daniel McDonald, Madiha Khan, Nora Hemphill, Stephen Donnelly, Rabita Aziz, and Claudia Daisley.

The sophomore inductees were, Jill Maier, Robert Fulwiler, Emily Walden, Emma O’Hara, and Maggie Person.