For over half a century, National Honor Society has been a staple for high-achieving students at Utica, and those students are chosen for NHS by conforming to criteria chosen by the organization.

Previously, many students participated in the National Junior Honor Society, which is held at the junior high schools, prior to being inducted into the National Honor society, which is available in high school only.

At the recent induction ceremony, the sixty-year anniversary of the society was celebrated, as well as celebrating all of the new inductees.

Those inducted were selected to represent the four pillars of the organization (scholarship, service, leadership, and character) which also require a certain gpa and being willing to donate their time doing charity hours.

Commemorating both the induction and the sixtieth year of NHS, guest speaker Dr. Jeffrey Haddad, a local dentist who graduated high school as a member in 1993, was invited to come speak about how NHS impacted his life.

“Our induction this year was more special than usual because we had someone who was able to describe how NHS aided him,” senior and NHS president Matthew Zaleski said. “I think it was especially important for all of the new inductees to hear what he had to say about the organization.”

According to Zaleski, Haddad spoke specifically about how he learned about the benefits of helping others through the completion of service hours through National Honor Society; in addition to how this he used this knowledge to realize what he wanted to study in school and choose his career path.