Head of School John Lewis (pictured standing far left) and keynote speaker Dr. Valerie Imbruce is pictured with current and new members of the National Honor Society. Pictured right is Assistant Head of School Christie Grabis and NHS Advisor Michael Kaylor.
The Gunston School is pleased to welcome 37 students to the National Honor Society (NHS). Joined by their families, students assembled in Gunston’s Field House for the ceremony. This year’s newly selected members include Kate Andrews, Olivia Arthur, Ava Augustus, Annabelle Baker, Jack Beasley, Susannah Clark, Jed Cohen, Hannah Mae Conner, Emery Day, Alexa Duncan, Alex Elfenbein, Riley Faff, Gianni Figliozzi, Aiden Filer, Annie Geng, Ethan Harper, Denis Hein, Eleonor Hubbert, Nina Johnston, Connor Joyce, Layla Kent, Sydney Kim, Lily May, Olivia Murray, Emma Nkanza, Sophie Pierce, Nevin Porter, Elizabeth Pupke, Eamon Schopfer, Lia Schut, Kate Seybert, Arya Shajwani, Emily Steele, Caroline Thomas, Alayna Thompson, Lucas Watkins, and Lilah Wharton.
This year’s speaker was Dr. Valerie Imbruce, the current Director of Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society. As a new resident of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she is bringing her research on the role of food councils to support food security to a new effort in Kent County. Dr. Imbruce received her PhD in Economic Botany from the City University of New York Graduate Center and the New York Botanical Garden. Her research interests include sustainable food systems, food justice, and interdisciplinary undergraduate education. She is the author of From Farm to Canal Street: Chinatown’s Alternative Food Network in the Global Marketplace, among other articles and book chapters.
Current NHS officers include the following seniors: President Allison Davis, Vice President Victoria MacGlashan, Secretary Lily Brantner, Parliamentarian Elena Fraser, Service Coordinators Kazys Morris and Tori Nessly, and Communications Liaisons Alix Allison, Lennox Franks, Louise Mulock, and Zach Steinberg.
Each fall, membership in NHS is offered to those students who meet the required standards put forth by the national office in four areas of evaluation: scholarship, leadership, service, and character.Students who meet this criterion are invited to submit a comprehensive resume that outlines their activities, achievements, leadership, and service. To evaluate a candidate on the national criterion of character, a student’s school records are reviewed, and each candidate selects four members of the faculty to provide their professional reflections on the candidate’s citizenship, leadership, activities, and personal conduct.