The 2019 NHS and NJHS Induction Ceremony

This year, the NHS and NJHS welcomed the new members and officials in an exceptional ceremony, welcoming Miguelo Oliveras as the guest speaker, whose kind words touched each and everyone’s heart. This year, the ceremony took a more dynamic turn, eliminating the yearly signing by the new members of the book (which has the signature of all NHS and NJHS members throughout the year) and adding a guest speaker and a video presentation featuring past NHS presidents, who wish the inductees the best of luck during their journey in the society. This induction ceremony was a complete success; it was an event that was not only the NHS and NJHS inductees would enjoy but also the whole student body and Baldwin faculty!

The ceremony began with the presentation of NHS and NJHS officers. The newly inducted officers for the National Honor Society are:

• President: Alexxa Aponte
• Vice President: Ana Soto
• Secretary: Patricia Rodriguez
• Treasurer: Diego Pou
• Historian: Sofía Melendez

• Parliamentarian: Nicole Uribe 

The new officers for the National Junior Honor Society are:

• President: Caridad Álvarez
• Vice President: Alanna Ríos
• Secretary: Natalia Uribe
• Treasurer: Lía Bermúdez
• Historian: Chloe Goldberg
• Parliamentarian: Karina Acevedo

Afterward, the returning members were presented. The returning members of the National Honor Society are:

1. Alana Badillo
2. Alejandra Lozada
3. Alexandra Pérez
4. Alexandro Kontokalos
5. Andrés Fierres
6. Ángela Pérez 
7. Daniela Cruz
8. Diego Ramos
9. Gonzalo Comas
10. Hailey Goldberg
11.  Jelle Kooij
12. Jessica Stolz
13. Mario Mancera
14. Natalia Fontana
15. Nathalie Díaz
16. Rani Patel
17. Ricardo Kury
18. Sofía Bermúdez
19. Sofía Cañuelas
20. Stephanie James
21. Yael Berezdivin

The NJHS returning members are:

1. Andrea Pérez
2. Bárbara Ruiz
3. Camelia Elías
4. Diana Pujals
5. Isabel Vázquez
6. Kevin Riordan
7. Mía Allio
8. Natalia Amaro
9. Nayma Carballo
10. Pilar Colón
11. Stella Benítez

Right after the presentation of the new officers and returning members, the inductees walked onto the stage. The NHS inductees are:

1. Daria Figlus
2. Charlotte Olmedo
3. Carlos de Ontañón
4. Ariana Sabnani
5. Amanda Delgado
6. Alexandra Puig
7. Ignacio Sadurni
8. Ignacio Pérez
9. Gabriel Comas
10. Evelyne Williams
11. Emilio Legrand
12. Diego Jurado
13. Raj Patel
14. Natalia Fierres
15. Natalia Díaz
16. Maruquel Tampe
17. Laura Rodriguez
18. Jennifer Badillo
19. Victoria Villoldo
20. Stella Puopulo
21. Sophie Termaat
22. Sebastián Vélez

The students who were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society are:

1. Estefanía Puig
2. David Soto
3. Caio Miyake
4. Brianna Quintana
5. Arianne Brechot
6. Adriana Muñíz
7. Isabel Rodriguez
8. Irene Lockwood
9. Inaya Rivera
10. Gloria Mancera
11. Gabriel Valenzuela
12. Gabriel Bonilla
13. Lucia Kitsos
14. Lucy Puopulo
15. Lucas Torres
16. Leila Oller
17. Jamie Duerig
18. Isabella Febbo Whitney
19. Paris Jackson
20. Paola Soler
21. Montserrat Betancourt
22. Mariana Robles
23. Mariana Algaze
24. Madeleine Jane McKnight
25. Yulianna Morales
26. William Forester
27. Victoria Spikes
28. Shennen Torres
29. Sérgio Lugo
30. Reyna Torrado

The national anthems were sung beautifully by Diego Ramos, a National Honor Society member and by Victoria Spikes, an NJHS inductee. Diego sang the Puerto Rican anthem while Victoria sang the American one.

Our new principal, Ms.Victoria Banks, gave us all a warm welcome with a beautiful speech, which was followed by the annual pillar candle lighting performed by the NHS and NJHS Vice-Presidents, Ana Soto and Alanna Rios.

In this candle lighting, Soto described the four pillars of the society as Rios lit the candles that represented them. These pillars are scholarship, service, leadership, and character. NHS and NJHS members aren’t only made up of their grade point average but are also defined by these four characteristics we all should possess.

Something never seen before in an NHS/NJHS induction ceremony is the video presentation featuring the NHS presidents from the classes of 2017, 2018, and 2019. The presidents in the film were Andrea Badillo from the class of ‘17, Nara Finklestein from the class of ‘18, and Nicole Polish from the class of ‘19. In the video, the three girls wished all inductees good luck in their journey and explained how being NHS presidents changed their lives.

Ms. Victoria Banks installed the new officers of NHS and NJHS before Alexxa Aponte spoke about Students Offering Solutions (or S.O.S. for short), a student lead organization created by NHS presidents in different schools to promote student-lead initiatives. The first big project was made to help the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian passed through. S.O.S. raised about $6,619 for the Dorian relief. 

Afterward, the NJHS and NHS inductees were installed; each one was given a certificate by the newly-inducted presidents. Once all certificates were Alexxa Aponte read a pledge for all members to live by. Alexxa along with Caridad gave thought-provoking messages for the new members to keep in mind in their journey through NHS and NJHS.

Lastly, Mr. Miguelo Oliveras, our guest speaker, gave us all a heartfelt speech, where he outlined six qualities we should all have in order to be a scholar, develop character, provide, leadership, and excel in service. These qualities are to be alert, loving, decisive, a winner, influential, and northbound, which spell out Baldwin! The 2019 NHS/NJHS induction ceremony is one to be remembered.