The MHS chapter of National Honor Society (NHS) is holding elections for the 2022-2023 school year at a club meeting on Thursday, April 21 where the 173 members will vote for their new officers. 

NHS members have the opportunity to run for five different positions: President of Service, Vice President of Membership, Fundraising Officer, Secretary of Media and Secretary of Hours. 

Claire Katsev, NHS sponsor, said each officer position must have sufficient communication skills, time management skills and a passion for serving in the school and in the community. 

“I would like to work with students who find joy in service and who look for ways to make the NHS experience overall better for our members and future members,” Katsev said. 

Students run for office on tickets of five, one person in each position. Because of the way NHS elections work, either all five of the candidates running together get the position, or none of the candidates get the position. 

Soham Saraf, current NHS President, says NHS encourages students to run in groups of five because they hope it increases the chemistry and cohesiveness between the officers. 

Cecelia Kreh, junior, is a candidate for Secretary of Hours. She is running in a group with juniors Rishabh Sabnavis, Sushant Marella, Edward Yue and Carter Creech. Kreh said the group knows each other because of classes they have together, and she said they have a strong chance of winning. 

“We’re a group of people who know the responsibilities that it takes to be a good NHS leader,” Kreh said. 

Kreh said her main goal, if elected, is to create more volunteering opportunities for the NHS members. Finding more ways to get hours and bring in different organizations will be the biggest focus of her job. 

“I have noticed a lot of things this year that I want to change for next year,” Kreh said. “I understand that there are a lot of requirements needed to make next year better for everyone involved.”

Kreh said she wants to make NHS a more well-known club throughout the school because the freshmen and sophomores don’t know much about it. So, when the underclassmen are entering their junior year, they will want to apply for NHS and potentially join, she said. 

“I think that is something the whole chapter can work on,” Kreh said. “We need to make sure everyone knows who we are, and that will make us more motivated to help the school.”

Nicholas Kilo, junior, is running for Fundraising Officer alongside Karim Elbeshbeshy, Nico Case, Joyce Liu and Carter Gleason. The group of five is running against Kreh’s officer group. 

Kilo said he thinks the election will be close because both running groups exceed the criteria for a strong group of NHS officers. 

“Both groups are qualified and have a fair chance,” Kilo said. “I think it will really come down to what the people want in their NHS officers next year.”

Kilo’s group wants to make NHS more social and engaging for the members. He said meetings this year seem rushed and they only focus on how many hours you need by a certain date. 

“NHS is not just about how many volunteer hours someone has,” Kilo said. “It should be more fun for everyone involved and meetings should not be something that the members dread.”

As Fundraising Officer, Kilo’s main goal for next year, if elected, is to create a large fundraiser for the club. While he is not sure of any specifics for this fundraiser, he said he knows he wants the members to enjoy it. 

“I want to make it big and make some money for the club,” Kilo said. “If I do that, I’ll feel like I completed my role as fundraising officer.”