New and current Wadena-Deer Creek NHS students attending the induction ceremony, Sept. 28 at WDC Middle/High School included, back from left: Mikena Formanek, Kelsie Pierce, Rylie Langer, Jessica Langer, Kirsten Peterson, Nicole Miller, Lauren Soroko and Kassandra Peterson; middle, from left: Kendra Evans, Briana Malone, Konner Stueve, Austin Sutherland, Tyler Wheeler, Jarrett Pettit, Wyatt Fitzsimmons and Andrew McCullough; front, from left: Ashley Lehmkuhl, Taylor Dirks, Hannah Vorderbruggen, Jessalyn Rondestvedt, Gabrielle Ross, McKayla Woods and Kayla Peters. Not pictured: Beth Schmitz. (Photo by Dawn Hamelau, WDC Schools)
Wadena-Deer Creek High School’s National Honor Society (NHS) held its induction ceremony and reception last night where 11 new students were inducted.
Those new inductees, who are all juniors, included: Taylor Dirks, Ashley Lehmkuhl, Andrew McCullough, Nicole Miller, Kayla Peters, Kirsten Peterson, Jessalyn Rondestvedt, Gabrielle Ross, Konnor Stueve, Tyler Wheeler and McKayla Woods.
The ceremony featured a traditional candle-lighting ceremony and a formal program. NHS seniors Rylie Langer, Hannah Vorderbruggen, Jarrett Pettit and Lauren Soroko spoke on the four pillars of NHS — scholarship, leadership, service and character.
Principal Tyler Church presented awards to the new inductees and also shared his congratulations to the students and their families.
“The students you have standing in front of you tonight epitomize what great students we have at Wadena-Deer Creek. The best attribute of this group is the character they demonstrate each and every day. They treat others the right way and make Wadena-Deer Creek a great place to be,” Church said.
According to Dawn Hamelau, who is in her second year as NHS advisor, the Wadena-Deer Creek NHS chapter is very selective when choosing which students are inducted into the organization.
“In order to qualify for membership, a student must be a junior or senior who embodies the qualities of character, leadership, scholarship and service. Students must have a GPA of 3.5 and demonstrate good attendance, involvement in co-curricular activities, and leadership experience,” Hamelau said.
Students must also average 50 or more verified hours of community service for each year of high school and submit three letters of recommendation. Applications for membership are reviewed by a panel of WDC teachers and administrators.
New members will join returning senior members Kendra Evans, Wyatt Fitzsimmons, Mikena Formanek, Jessica Langer, Rylie Langer, Briana Malone, Kassandra Peterson, Jarrett Pettit, Kelsie Pierce, Beth Schmitz, Lauren Soroko, Austin Sutherland and Hannah Vorderbruggen to complete a wide variety of community-service projects. Yearly projects that are led and organized by NHS members include three blood drives, a charity phone-a-thon, Day of Caring, Adopt-A-Highway, and a global-service project as well as a variety of other community service projects.
“I look forward to working with these students as they contribute their time and talents to the members of the Wadena-Deer Creek community,” said Hamelau.