German Honor Society Kicks off with Kaffeehaus Social

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  • Secretary Maya Granoff offers the doughnuts she brought for the social. Every officer contributed a food or drink for members to enjoy as they conversed.

  • Club sponsor Frau Melgar joins in on a conversation with the students. After rejoining Westwood’s faculty this year, this was the first official event she helped organize for NGHS.

  • Arjun Bhardwaj ’25 and Aarvin Hirode ’25 engage in a German conversation based on the discussion questions provided by the officers. Both students are new NGHS members but have experience with learning and using the language.

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On Friday, Sept. 23, National German Honor Society (NGHS) held its first event of the year in Frau Melgar’s room. The Kaffeehaus Social, or Coffee House Social, gave students a chance to reconnect with fellow members while enjoying snacks and German culture.

“I love [German] language and culture,” Arjun Bhardwaj ‘25 said. “NGHS gives [us] a good view on the culture of Germany and it lets us embrace German heritage.”

The officers began the meeting with introductions and a slideshow of questions in German. Attendees were encouraged to practice their German and learn more about German culture while enjoying a variety of snacks and drinks provided by officers.

“We all kind of took different responsibilities for making this event happen,” NGHS secretary Maya Granoff ‘24 said. “Each of the officers brought a food item, but also some of us worked on the slides and advertising to get everyone here. It was just a big group effort on the part of the officers to make something like this happen.”

The Kaffeehaus Social allowed the NGHS to reconnect after recovery from the pandemic inhibited club activities last year. New and returning members alike explored German culture and got a preview of the events NGHS plans to hold this coming year.

“We’re trying to come up with new ideas because obviously last year, coming back from the pandemic kind of messed up our routine,” Granoff said. “We’re trying to innovate and try new things and try to rebuild this honor society and make it better.”

NGHS will continue to hold events that incorporate German culture throughout the year. Their next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 4, and they will soon begin preparation for upcoming competitions in the language and culture.