On November 25th, at 7:00 pm, hundreds of students from Urbana High School filed into seats at the front of the auditorium. Hundreds more parents and other family members were already seated towards the back. These students were all new inductees to at least one of the ten academic honor societies being recognised Monday night. 

Up on the stage were the advisors and officers of each honor society. The event was opened by a welcome speech by Chad McKee, the President of the National Honor Society. Next, Presidents Soujanya Wiswanathan (SNHS), Maria Reyes (NSHS), Jaqueline Robarge (NSSHS), Sonya Simkin (NMHS), Danielle Dwaah (NFHS), and Liliana Resnik (NEHS) gave their speeches of Scholarship, Leadership, Character, Service, Diversity, and What it means to be a Hawk. These speeches highlighted the Four Pillars of Honor Societies, which define the achievements and character of inductees into the honor societies. After the Keynote Address, which consisted of speeches given by Brian Zhu (President of NTHS), and UHS assistant principal Mr. Wolcott, the main event began.

The presentation of inductees was opened by an introduction speech by Cindy Wu (President of Tri-M), and then the students were presented with their certificates one-by-one. The names of each new inductees were announced by the vice presidents of each honor society, and folders containing certificates and pledges were handed out by advisors of the honor societies. After all of the inductees were seated again, advisors from each honor society came up to the podium to give speeches and lead their honor society pledges, that were repeated by the new inductees. Sandhya Krishnaswamy (President of NAHS) , gave the closing speech, and invited students and their families to meet in the main stairwell for refreshments for after the ceremony. 

Inductees seemed to be very content about being in their honor societies. “Everyone’s really nice, open, and accepting. They’re really laid back and diverse,” said Junior Aiden Granger on the topic of NAHS. And when asked about the requirements for the NTHS, Senior Caityn Evans said “I took child development one and horticulture, and this year I’m taking small and large animal vet.” These were all classes that Evans thoroughly enjoyed. Membership in honor societies shows a student’s achievements in the classroom and commitment outside of academics.