National Honor Society. German Honor Society. French Honor Society. Spanish Honor Society. These academically focused clubs seem to be on the rise. Two seniors, with the help of their teachers, decided that EHS needed a core subject Honor Society too.

National English Honor Society’s mission statement is to “commemorate students for high achievement in English language and literature, provide cultural stimulation in the school environment, Encourage interest in English language and literature, and to promote good character and fellowship among NEHS members,” according to their handout.

Seniors Matthew Morse and Hannah Wente first developed the idea for NEHS last school year on a whim.

“The whole process was really sudden,” Morse said. “I was on my computer and saw something about National English Honor Society. I called Hannah and within 30 minutes she was at my house and we were writing a proposal for Mrs. Haskins.”

The advisers include Mrs. Haskins, Mrs. Mercer, and Mrs. Warner. Helping them are seniors Ciara Ciani and Katie Berry as officers.

“We saw it and knew that it was something that was missing from our school,” Morse said. “There’s a lot of student involvement in some of the other parts of the school, but the English Department didn’t really have something like that.”

The requirements for the club include having a B average English GPA, being enrolled in an Honors English Class, and having an overall GPA of 3.0 overall. According to the group, they want to target students who “have a passion for service and scholarship, particularly in the fields of English and Literature.”

This is the first year that the club will be at EHS, so things are a bit different starting up. Senior applicants must turn in their forms by October 6 and will be inducted sometime in November. Juniors will be inducted in the springtime.

“It was kind of hard because we didn’t know how many people would be interested in joining. Therefore, everything we planned was based off of guessing how many people would show up,” Wente said.­­­­

The club will serve as more than just the title. The officers have started to plan on partnering with local libraries and book stores to assist with events that fall in line with the mission statement.

“We’re working hard to get a great first year in,” Morse said. “There are a lot of seniors who are very committed to volunteering and have a passion for English. If we can start with a few very well executed events, I see the society sticking around for years to come.”­­