Formally dressed and anxious to cross the stage, new members of the National Honor Society (NHS) entered the cafeteria at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 for their official induction into the school’s NHS chapter.

Current NHS officers met after school at 4:30 p.m. to coordinate the setup and decoration of the event. The preparation process entailed overseeing seating arrangements, technical considerations, and directing the senior volunteers to their designated responsibilities. As the evening progressed, the officers remained backstage after giving speeches to facilitate the rest of the ceremony.

“Officers started [preparing] pretty early that day,” NHS Vice President Deborah Gutierrez ‘25 said. “We had had some meetings beforehand and we were planning all the logistics. Setup was basically just getting all the certificates in order and making sure everybody had their designated seats. That helped us, because the ceremony went a lot more smoothly [as a result].”

The ceremony began with a speech from NHS President Eera Gour-Gupta ‘25, who welcomed the parents and inductees and, after a presentation of colors by the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC), stressed the importance of the members’ dedication to service and community. The organization is one of the nation’s most prestigious student recognition programs, and density of high-achieving students at Westwood contributed to the sheer number of inductees — 285 new members for the 2024-2025 school year.

“I think it was very important to give recognition to our students who have not only excelled academically — with a 4.0 GPA — but excelled in terms of their extracurricular pursuits and passions,” Gour-Gupta said.

Next, Thirst Project Director Phylicia Ren ‘25 and Food Bank Director Aleks Tremmel ‘25 explained two ongoing projects that NHS members will be expected to contribute to throughout their time with the chapter. Then, following a short speech from Associate Principal Ms. Sarah Lowery, International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator and NHS Sponsor Ms. Christin Key took the microphone to highlight the inductees’ newfound responsibilities — and remind them to uphold their values and support each other both within and outside of the classroom.

“This was our first event back this year,” Gutierrez said. “I think seeing everybody together and getting to know each other before the event, and being really proud of each other and helping each other [was the most important part].”

Halfway through the speeches, the officers held the candle-lighting ceremony, where they lit four candles in front of the audience, each representing a quality of NHS membership: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Finally, the inductees walked across the stage one by one as their names were called, each putting on a golden cord, shaking hands with Ms. Key, and posing against a burnt-orange backdrop with Associate Principal Lowery. The ceremony concluded with the NHS pledge as the attendees promised to uphold the standards of the organization and do their best to serve their community for the remainder of the year.

“This is the start of giving them the opportunity to pursue something greater than themselves,” Gour-Gupta said. “That was what tonight was really about.”