Passionate students create first chapter of English Honor Society
The first-ever induction ceremony for the Northport chapter of the National English Honor Society welcomed 176 students on Monday, June 5 at Northport High School. The idea for the group was started by three eager and talented juniors: Alexa Elliott, Molly Gonzalez and Eleanor “Ellie” Johnson. Named the “Northport English Literature Society,” the inducted students received ribbons, membership certificates and flowers constructed by students using discarded novel pages.
The event began with a welcome speech by Chairperson for English Riana DiPalma and congratulatory remarks from English teacher and advisor Megan Scanlon. Officers Ellie, Alexa and Molly then spoke to their peers and called them to the stage.
The Northport English Literature Society came to fruition through the ideas and dedication of its officers, who saw a need for a place for students with an interest in the subject to come together and connect over reading and writing. Looking ahead, they hope to collaborate on initiatives ranging from a “Book Buddies” program with elementary school students, to poetry slams, book clubs, peer tutoring and more.
“We have a lot of ideas. Right now, I am looking forward to next year and having a Book Buddy program with the elementary schools. I’m also thinking about book drives or people sharing their favorite book so we can talk about them and discuss them. I think there’s a lot of cool things we can do with this,” Gonzalez said.
Johnson also acknowledged the need for the group: “We feel that we have such a big literary community, and we know from personal experience that lots of students at Northport High School enjoy English and we wanted something that recognizes people that go above and beyond in that subject,” she said. “Giving people the opportunity to express themselves through different writing competitions or even poetry slams, I think it would give people this community where they would feel comfortable sharing their literary ideas and creative elements and we hope to create some kind of English family through this society.”
Elliott shared a similar sentiment; she hopes this club will give others an opportunity to get more involved in the English department. “I feel like English creates the ability to communicate with others and grow,” she said.
Advisor Megan Scanlon believes the group has the opportunity to reach students who are talented writers or readers but may not have realized their own talents just yet.
“There’s so much talent and ability just untapped, that could not only make these people have success, but maybe help others too,” she said.
The first chapter of the society will begin its work in the fall.
