WOODBURY — Honor societies at Nonnewaug High School are hard to get into, so are they worth investing your time or would it be better to skip out on the opportunity?

High school students have many chances to get involved in clubs, sports and any after-school activities including honor societies. Nonnewaug provides opportunities to join seven different societies, including those in art, music, math, social studies, science, English and the National Honor Society. Each group has many requirements that make them hard to join.

While normal clubs have minimal to no requirements, honors societies have many. For example, students must have and maintain a grade-point average above 80 or 90 in their classes. The honor societies also have more rules and tend to be more strict; in some societies, students can only miss two to three meetings before being removed.

On the other hand, honor societies can provide a lot of opportunities and benefits.

“The benefits of being part of an honor society are the additional community service and leadership opportunities that each individual society offers (and sometimes requires),” Nonnewaug guidance counselor Stephanie Gutierrez said. “These are opportunities that might not necessarily be available under different circumstances.”

Plus, the status looks good for those applying to colleges.

“The other added benefit is that it looks good to colleges to be part of a national organization,” Gutierrez noted. 

Jeff Stein, a senior and president of Nonnewaug’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society, highlighted that “the biggest impact was the opportunities for leadership” and how “the supportive environment brings the best parts of every member.” 

He also noted that being in an honor society, especially NAHS, is the best way to get involved in the community.

“There is something incredibly fulfilling about the face that kids make when you ask them if they want glitter in their face paint that is impossible to get from another source,” Stein said.