National Honors Society, or “NHS” for short, is run by Dr. Ed Schoder and his student advisors, here at Oakdale High School. NHS is open to both Juniors and Seniors with a weighted GPA of 3.5 or higher. Currently, there are more than 100 returning members as well as many eligible juniors and seniors who could be inducted this year.

Because of COVID-19, the staff and officers have had to run the NHS a little differently than normal. “Most, if not all, things will be virtual for now. We are looking at ways to be creative this year so that we can do as much as possible”, Vice President Aubrey Schaffer informed current members. It is almost certain that the induction and all meetings have been planned to be done virtually. 

The application this year has already been mailed to students and is to be completed online and sent to Dr. Schoder. The official due date was 2:30pm on Tuesday October 13th. Many students are worried that due to the lack of service hours available this year, that they won’t get into the society, or for returning seniors, have enough to get back in. Last year students got service hours from volunteering or tutoring, but this year it’s a little harder to maintain social distancing and get hours.

Dr. Schoder and the other staff members helping with admissions know this year is very complicated and according to NHS President Aubrey Linthicum, “There are going to be different ways to independently earn service hours this year that will be announced at a later date,” where students can remain safe and protected from COVID-19. 

Students who are accepted in are required to keep at least a weighted GPA of  3.5 or higher as well as a total of 8 service hours per year. Students who don’t keep up with these requirements can either be suspended or kicked out of NHS. 

Last year, Dr. Schoder made an exception with the service hours as locked downs were occurring. However this year, as students are starting to get back out into the community, members are going to be required to get our service hours in. 

Overall, the entire NHS organization is working hard to run as normal as possible under these very different circumstances. While things are going to look different, Dr. Schoder and his advisors have come up with a plan to continue running NHS while schools are closed.