On Thursday, November 11th Millbrook High School’s National Achievers Society (NAS) hosted its induction ceremony for the 2022-2023 school year! This year 72 new members were inducted into the society!

 NAS is an honors society for minority groups and its main purpose is to support students to the best of their academic abilities. We need more representation of minority groups in higher education and job positions, and NAS has created an environment for students to work toward this.

Alongside the honor society’s focus on academics, NAS also strives to show students that what they do outside of the classroom is as important as what they do inside the classroom. NAS is also a service club that participates in various service projects throughout the school year. This year, the first volunteering activity NAS will be participating in is being Santas helpers at the Pride 4 Parents store. Alongside this, every single year NAS adopts a family during Christmas time and gives them gifts to add some joy into their lives.

NAS looks to induct students during their sophomore or junior year if they are a part of a minority group and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

“It feels really good to be a member of NAS!” Sophomore Dulce Marban said. “Being a member of NAS makes me feel accomplished for all the hard work that I have done. All the sleepless nights and falling tears are worth it!”

  The induction ceremony was held in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Inductees’ friends, families, and loved ones attended the ceremony to watch them receive their certificate, making their entrance into the society official.

Throughout the ceremony, Inductees and their friends, families, and loved ones heard remarks from current student leaders of NAS and Dr. Saunders, they also heard speeches from two guest speakers, including a NAS alumna and the WCPSS assistant superintendent, as well as musical performances from Mr. Shipp and Sydney Thomposon.

Certificates were then presented, and Aracely Villaroel-Gomez, NAS social media liaison, led the reading of the NAS Litany. Then Sharon Clarke-Tulloch, Genevieve Capers, and Kierston Bartney, NAS advisors made some final remarks to conclude the ceremony. After the ceremony, everyone was then treated to a reception filled with goodies.

“The ceremony was really thought out!” a returning member of NAS Caleb Williams said. 

Aside from NAS focusing on academics and service, NAS was established with the sole purpose of creating an environment where students of minority groups can come together and thrive in many different ways. NAS provides a sense of belonging to students who are part of minority groups who are away from their home and their people, it shows them that they are not alone and gives them the motivation to do their best in everything that they do.

 Millbrook is a very diverse school and that is why NAS is extremely essential to have in it. Today, we lack representation of minority groups in higher education and higher-level jobs. By having NAS at Millbrook, more and more minority students will be encouraged to keep going until they get to where they want to whether it be becoming a doctor, teacher, politician, and etc etc. We are creating the representation that we never had for future generations to be able to look up to us and think to themselves, “They look like me” or “They come from the same place that I do”. 

“I am very excited for our new members,” Williams said. “NAS is a good opportunity to not only represent who we are but it also allows us to serve in our community on a wider scale.”