11 Coginchaug Students Inducted Into National Honor Society

Eleven Coginchaug High School students were inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS) during a ceremony at the high school on Thursday night.

"You are here, not only because of your exlempary academics, integrity and character but more so because of the way in which you can combine all of these traits into a single intangible quality that enables you to create noticeable impacts on your lives and the lives of others," said Zachry LaVigne, a senior and president of the Coginchaug Chapter of NHS.

Family, friends and school administrators joined the chapter's 25 members for the ceremony.

Principal Andre Hauser said the students exemplify excellence at Coginchaug through academics, athletics, arts and music as well as membership, leadership and service in the community.

"It's something called servant leadership," Hauser said. "It's the idea that those of us who have more, need to give more."

During the ceremony, NHS members shared personal stories that represented the four traits that guide students: scholarship, leadership, service and character.

Senior Sarah Ertle recalled her great-grandfather, who overcame poverty, personal illness and tragedy to become a successful teacher.

"Not once, not even slightly did he complain about the series of negative events that plagued his life," Ertle said. "Character is the concious effort to make the world a better place by leaving it a better than the you found it."

William Kurtz, District 13's Technology Integration Specialist, served as keynote speaker for the ceremony.

"We like to imagine that there are no limits, that we can accomplish any goal to which we put our minds, that anything is possible," Kurtz told students. "Challenge the conventional wisdom, embrace ambiguity and the promise that the way that things are done today does not have to be the way they're done tomorrow."

National Honor Society 2012 Inductees

Rachel Foley '12

Kristen Ciarlo '13

Molly Fehon '13

Sean Harper '13

Rachel Kowalski '13

Anne Linden '13

Colleen McLaughlin '13

Katherine Scibilia '13

Lauren Trombetta '13

Ashley Vanaman '13

Carli Wallace '13