Over 20 juniors and seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society chapter on Thursday, November 1.

“It was a great ceremony,” NHS Secretary senior Skyler Smith said. “I feel honored that I got to be one of the people to welcome the inductees into this amazing organization.”

The induction began with a brief message from NHS president senior Julian Humphrey and two of the NHS sponsors, Christie Milam and Jeramy Chatman.

“Being an NHS member shows that you are among the best students in the school,” Milam said. “Not just academically, but in your character, service, and leadership too. It shows you have a commitment to community service activities.”

Basketball coach and longtime Lakeview teacher J.T. Locklear was the evening’s guest speaker. He spoke to the students on different important lessons he has learned from his life and focused on telling the new inductees to lead by getting to know everyone.

“Everyone has a story,” Locklear said in his speech, “and you are expected to find them out. Leaders can’t lead people without knowing other people’s stories. Learning the people around you and what matters most to them is so important.”

Many of the inductees said they felt touched by his speech.

“It made me want to do my very best for NHS,” senior Oscar Silva said. “I want to make my family proud.”

Following Locklear’s speech, the current NHS officers each read a short paragraph about importance of the four NHS pillars: character, scholarship, leadership and service.

“I was really nervous to go up on stage and talk about service,” NHS historian senior Emely Pineda said. “But it has an amazing opportunity for me to break out of my comfort zone and welcome the new members.”

After the officers spoke, the inductees recited the new member pledge and were then individually called up on stage to receive their certificate of membership and to sign their name in the NHS book.

“I felt so excited getting the certificate and making it all official,” junior Cassandra Gallegos said. “I’m excited to be part of the community and to serve others.”

National Honor Society’s first meeting will be held November 6. Junior Hazel Velasquez said she is ready to start setting an example of leadership in her neighborhood.

“Aside from it being a nice thing on my resume, I like that it helps the community in ways that I’ve never participated before,” Velasquez said. “I’m really excited to make new friends and to explore my community.”