46 West Orange High School Students Join National Honor Society

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following article comes courtesy of West Orange Public Schools. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here.

46 West Orange High School juniors were inducted into the National Honor Society in a ceremony held on May 15.

The event was organized by co-advisors Anna D'Elia and Gregory Saul, along with the outgoing NHS officers Michael McCullom (President), Sessina Dani (Vice-President), Orianna Carter (Secretary), and Ryan Retino (Treasurer).

McCullom lead the students in the National Honor Society oath: "I pledge myself to uphold the high purposes of the National Honor Society to which I have been selected. 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 scholarship, service, leadership, and character."

Principal Hayden Moore welcomed students, teachers, and family members to the ceremony, which is built upon the four pillars of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. The National Honor Society was established in 1921 to uphold these values. Students must complete an application and essay and have a GPA of 3.55 or higher for consideration into the NHS.

Math teacher Mark Navata, himself a West Orange High School graduate, received the Most Influential Teacher Award. Each year, NHS inductees write essays describing their favorite teacher and Navata, who also coaches both the Girls and Boys Swim teams, received the award.

"It is you who inspire me," noted Navata.

"It is an honor working with these fine young men and women and having the opportunity to teach and coach them."

“Tonight, we congratulate and recognize several of our juniors and seniors for their outstanding academic performance, leadership, and dedication to community service,” said Moore.

“The administration is very proud of these students, and their strong work ethic has set the bar high for future Mountaineers. Special congratulations to those that helped them get to this moment – you, their families,” he went on to say.

See all the photos from the NHS ceremony here.

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